Business Overview
The community bank of Quebrada Honda was founded in 2015 as a way to provide financial access to credit and savings to the community. They are looking to expand their membership.
Community Bank of Quebrada Honda - Quebrada Honda, Panama
Economic Challenge
Quebrada Honda is largely an agricultural community, where residents work on farms to produce crops such as beans, corn plantains and yams. These agricultural activities are the main source of income for 90% of residents. The membership of the community bank remains relatively low (15) compared to Quebrada Honda’s population (500). Regardless, it is important to highlight that the members of the Caja Rural have less to access credit and savings, given that they are mostly farmers and/or dedicated to economic activities within the informal sector. On the other hand, the community bank of Quebrada Honda has shown a remarkable performance in the past years; they have motivated group with an immense potential to grow in membership and performance even further.
The Business
The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained the Quebrada Honda Community Bank in 2015. They also brought Microfinance and Business brigades in order to strengthen both the knowledge and trust in the Community Bank. This encouraged the opening of more savings accounts, growth of seed capital, and upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the Community Bank began giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects. The Caja Rural of Quebrada Honda are excited to increase their membership.
Obstacles
Their main obstacle is their lack of knowledge in terms of marketing strategies to promote the community bank; as well as the reluctance of people of Quebrada Honda to join the community bank. Strategies/tactics to reach out to more people and increase membership are strong needs of this community bank.
Business Snapshot
Next Steps
The tasks thatCommunity Bank of Quebrada Honda has prioritized are:
The tasks that Community Bank of Quebrada Honda has prioritized are:
Page Last Updated:February 26, 2020