Crediticity

Last week I saw something incredible. For the first time I was able to witness the impact of solar panels on the lives of the Prisma clients who reside in the mountains. Throughout my internship as a loan officer, I had always heard about the solar panels provided by our branch offices outside of the city to the local rural communities. And so my mind was left to imagine clusters of homes in the countryside, each boasting a small solar panel on their roof. But alas, what I saw completely proved me wrong.

During these past months at Prisma, I had been practically begging Roberto, our Credit Manager, to take me to a branch office so I could get acquainted with Prisma’s rural demographic. One of our branch offices is in the small colonial city of Danli, but it primarily serves rural clients outside the city. I think my own interpretation of the word “rural” is where I made a mistake. As we drove farther out of Danli and into countryside, small neighborhoods on either side of the main road slowly faded into a few scattered houses here and there, and as we drove higher into the mountains and into thicker forest, I only managed to catch a glimpse of a house every 20 minutes or so. And that’s when I realized that I had been wrong in my presumptions.

To make a point, we had to drive for almost 3 hours to arrive to the first client's house, and in total we saw about 5, summing up to about 8 straight hours of meandering on the dirt roads that scraped through the edge of the mountains. I was completely astonished at what I saw. Families of at least 6 or more living literally in the middle of nowhere, surviving off gains from selling coffee and perhaps a few cattle—but with functioning electricity running through their household.

The government of Honduras launched a program called ProSol to attract MFIs in Honduras to provide solar panels on credit. Prisma was quick to sign on to this, and now works in collaboration with ProSol to offer solar panels to clients. In actuality, what clients pay off is a reduced amount from the original worth of the solar panel because of a generous government subsidy that accounts for about 18% of the original price. Prisma then finances this reduced amount.

The technology is so simple. A solar panel sitting atop a tin roof absorbs light energy from the sun, converts it to an electric current which then travels through a charge controller, then through a battery system for DC power, and through an inverter for AC power. Depending on the size of the panel, clients can charge cell phones, plug in radios and TV's, and even use an electric water filter. Again, simple technology powering rudimentary devices,  but the sight is something to behold. When you look at a household perched on the side of a mountain, with nothing but nature for miles around--but with electricity--it's captivating. 

I'm head over heels in love with the idea that Prisma finances this type of product because it reveals the institution's perception. Coming from a hyper-connected generation back in the US, one doesn't often think about the pockets of populations across borders that live in complete isolation. A basic commodity such as electricity is a proactive step towards connecting these very populations.

On a more symbolic level, I see this type of project as a crutch for some of the most important citizens of Honduras. Most of the clients I saw last Wednesday owned and cared for small coffee plantations. Coffee constitutes about 20% of export revenues and most coffee plantation owners are stiffed on the true value of their produce. Despite this sad reality, the revenues confirm that plantation owners have a significant role in sustaining the economy. To recognize the importance of coffee to the Honduran economy is to also pay tribute to those who cultivate it. I believe Prisma has done and will continue to do a beautiful job at achieving this.

At the end of our trip, Roberto told me that because of the success of this project with the current handful of clients, there were about 600 new potential clients who showed interest. As they say here, "Manos a la obra!"

P.S. To all my dedicated readers, I promise to put up a post full of pictures soon so you can see what I'm talking about!