Introducing the Community Bank: Empowering Migrants and Asylum Seekers with Microcredits

First modification: 28/08/2023 – 14:36Last modification: 28/08/2023 – 14:38

2 min

The Community Bank, an initiative supported by the United Nations Organization, is an instrument to facilitate access to loans, seed capital and bank access to people who flee their countries of origin for different reasons.

José Ignacio Peralta, UNHCR Livelihood Assistant in Chile, explained that “the Bank arises in response to a need, a very specific aspiration of the people with whom we work, such as improving the sustainability of their ventures and business units. . Whenever we talk with our agency’s people of interest, they ask us to give sustainability to their business and access financing.”

The loans will be managed through the Esperanza Fund, an institution with more than 20 years of operation in Chile, and which, according to the UNHCR spokesperson, “has a successful model proven internationally, where microcredits are given to groups of people.” .

What kind of projects does the Community Bank finance?

The project seeks to provide resources to consolidate various types of ventures, such as those that have to do with gastronomy, bakery, preserves, chocolate, pastry, among others.

In addition to the distribution of funds, the Banco Comunal contemplates the training of migrants in business management, the delivery of materials, supplies and tools by UNHCRin order to activate and promote business.

Acnur reported that, through this initiative, “it seeks to provide an alternative for access to microcredit, becoming a real opportunity for these people to establish themselves in Chile, despite not having support networks or state aid.”

The humanitarian agency has also set itself the goal of advancing economic integration, allowing refugees and migrants to become an active and productive part of the community.

Although the pilot project has been launched in Chile, the UNHCR spokesperson said that it is possible to replicate it in other Latin American countries, considering that there is a market with a growing demand for microcredits.

In fact, in a recent study, the Inter-American Development Bank reported that the countries with the largest number of migrants in the region are Argentina (2.3 million), Colombia (2.2 million), Mexico (1.2 million), and Chile (1.5 million).