The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has closed a loan transaction of 5.6 million Peruvian Soles (equivalent to $ 2 million) with Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Credito SA Maynas (CMAC Maynas) to boost home improvement loans for low-income families in Peru’s Amazon region.
The project's main goal is to help reduce the housing shortage in the country, estimated at 900,000 homes, particularly in low-income segments. The resources will help improve housing conditions in the province of Loreto, where only 57 percent of homes have access to electricity, almost half of them use external water sources such as rivers and wells and more than 35 percent of them have dirt floors.
"Despite the significant progress Peru has made in housing and the growth of construction sector in recent years, the gap between supply and demand of housing for low-income families remains high," said Susan Olsen, head of the IDB project. "Our resources will help finance micro-credit for low-income families to improve their housing conditions."
The operation is part of a comprehensive $10 million program from the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative for the regulated microfinance system in Peru. This program seeks to increase the credit for low-income housing and was designed to complement "Techo Proprio" and MiVivienda Fund, two government housing programs.
Since its inception in 1987, CMAC Maynas focused in serving the low-income population segment without easy access to formal credit. Through this project, CMAC Maynas aims to benefit about 500 households through the granting of credit to improve or repair their homes.