Dr. Kendall Mau's MICROFINANCE TRAVELS

Back from Nicaragua and Honduras Visitors

I got back from Nicaragua a few days ago, hopefully my last international trip for 2007.  It was a fast trip to finish up the pilot hotel project I was doing for the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).  Eleven small hotels belonging to the Nicaraguan Small Hotel Association (HOPEN) are participating in the first round of loans ($6.5M) to expand their hotels, upgrade facilities, redo their reservation and accounting systems, and improve their hotel maintenance programs.  There are currently 42 hotels in the association.  The Nicaraguan government has the tourist sector high on its priority list of areas for economic development.  Tourism will bring increased foreign exchange into the country and provide new jobs for the locals.  If this program is successful, it will be extended to all Central American countries. 

It was a complicated process as no 2 hotels had the same needs and there were 4 parties involved - the BCIE, the intermediary banks, the individual hotel owners, and HOPEN.  In game theory, I had to get all parties to a win-win-win-win position.  In the end, we were able to reach such a position.  The whole $10.0M-package is now under review by the BCIE which will accord the original funds for the loans.  It'll take until the end of the 2nd quarter 2008 to get the program fully up and running.  All 4 parties are excited to get moving.

I made new friends in the small hotel industry, got to visit and stay in all the different hotels, and sampled their cuisine and hospitality.  Here's one of my favorites - the Mansion Teodolinda in Managua.  It's a business person's hotel.  Clean, comfortable rooms, working bathrooms, and good Internet connection.

   

While I was in Nicargua, Michelle from Kiva paid a visit to Prisma's Honduras Division.  She met our staff, several Kiva clients, and traveled to the Pedregal and Danli branch offices.

Speaking of visitors, Melissa B. of the University of Chicago dropped by the Honduras office.  She visited the main and Pedregal offices, and got to speak with some clients.  We also had a visit from Mr. J. Lee and his group (CARE).  They are avid investors in Kiva projects.  Thanks for dropping by.  We enjoy meeting new friends.

Dog-sitting in Saratoga, CA., etc.

Upon returning from Honduras, I was scheduled to dog-sit Mr. Monty - an 8-month old Sheltie, like a miniature Lassie.  Extremely intelligent, and full of life.  He's 95% house trained.  Absolutely goes wild with terror when I play the big grand piano in the living room.  I should slowly introduce him to the sounds of the big instrument, but find it easier to put him in his cage on the other side of the house.  I'll let his masters work that out.  He's learning to walk on a leash a la Uncle Matty style.  Doing very well for only 2 days of walking.

Meanwhile, my business partner and sister, Melvia Wong, is returning tonight after 3 weeks in Kyrgyzstan where she held several marketing workshops  and then traveled to Osh and other parts to help participants do customized marketing programs for their MFIs.  The MFI's are particularly interested in marketing and sales programs to attract deposits.  This is her 3rd trip to Kyrgyzstan and they want her back in March 2008.  It's a long trip.  It took her 4 days going as one of the planes had engine trouble 45-minutes outside of Chicago and returned.  They had to spend the night in Chicago.  Next 2 days, she flew Chicago-Munich-Istanbul-Bishkek.  I sure don't envy her.

While she was gone, I was a guest panelist for an MBA Ethics class at the University of San Francisco.  An old high school and UC Berkeley classmate, David Gill, PhD, teaches the class.  Students were very interested in real-world experiences (domestic and international) where one's personal ethics conflict with those imposed by senior management of the company.  There were lots of stories to tell and analyze.  An enjoyable afternoon for me and the students.

Emergency Trip to Hawaii and Misc.

I just got home from Nicaragua and had to take off for Honolulu, Hawaii.  The patriarch of the family and my Godfather died at 99 years old.  He was the last of my mother's 8 brothers and sisters to pass away.  Uncle Peter was a well regarded surgeon and one of the finest local Md's in his days.  He graduated from Jefferson Medical in Philadelphia and left the bulk of his estate to the school.  It was an opportunity for all the cousins to get together and celebrate his life.

Meanwhile, our CPA is still preparing Prisma USA's 2006 taxes.  It's a tedious process as I have to translate the trial balance chart of accounts from Spanish to English for Nicaragua and Honduras.  I'm cross-eyed.  100's of accounts!!!  Hopefully we'll get it done within the month.  It's particularly hard this time as we began installing a new computer system in Honduras the last quarter of 2006.  There were many new accounts added and old ones put to sleep.

David and I are heading down to Honduras next week for Strategic Planning sessions and visit the branch offices, customers, and employees.  I always have to take down 5 to 10 lbs of chocolate for them.  Got to keep them happy.  They're so used to my bringing them bags of chocolate from Costco that they go into a funk if I show up empty-handed.  My fault for getting them started 4 years ago.

Michelle from Kiva was going to join us, but can't make it down to Honduras until the first week of December.  Prisma is on suspension until she completes her audit of accounts.  Hopefully we can put this bad spell behind us by the end of the year.  I guess every business has to work through obstacles from time to time.  Successful recovery requires complete transparency, good communications with investors, and rapid resolution of the problem.  I thank the Kiva investors who have been supportive of our efforts to rectify any suspicious activity in our accounts.    

On a Break in Nicaragua

I'm in Nicaragua for 2 weeks working with 9 private hotels in Managua and Jinotega (coffee country, 3 hours to the North of Managua and high up in the mountains.)  It's a definite break from micro-finance.  The Central American Bank for Economic Integration via the International Executive Service Corps asked me to see if the 9 hotels as a united group would be a good loan candidate.

I've been moving to a different hotel every 2 nights to experience the services of each hotel and look over the financial records.  My poor body doesn't know where the next bed will be.  Despite all the moves, I am very fortunate to visit so many nice boutique hotels in Nicaragua.  The owners have been gracious hosts.

I did have dinner with Michelle Kreger from Kiva last Tuesday evening in Managua.  We had a great time catching up with the latest news about our colleagues and challenging each other about different micro-finance practices.  She spent Thursday with Prisma's staff and visited some projects.  There were heavy rains that day and I have not yet heard all the details of the visit.  I couldn't be with her during the visit because I had to leave for Jinotega early that morning.  Jinotega was foggy, extremely rainy, and quite cold.  Fabulous coffee at the local coffee house.  My host loaded me down with 8 pounds for freshly roasted coffee to take back to the US.

Yes, I did have time to do some Prisma work.  Hired a new CPA company and commercial property appraiser to do some due diligence work for us.  Other than that, I'm playing hotel financial analyst this week.

Disneyland Here We Come

On a lighter note, Orbelina Valeriano and her family (husband and 3 children) took a grand vacation the first week of December 2006, after working so hard on the CHF loan portfolio acquisition.  They flew from Tegucigalpa to Miami, to Los Angeles, back to Miami, then home to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

They spent 3 days at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA.  It was a dream trip come true.  Adults as well as children participated in all the rides and shows.  The kids wanted Orbelina to move near the park so they could go anytime - isn't that the dream of every little kid?

Her husband and son are both car nuts - new, used, classical, custom rods, you name it.  David Satterthwaite, Prisma's President, was down in LA at the same time and took time off to get them from Disneyland to Central LA where they toured the Petersen Auto Museum on Wilshire and Fairfax, and the highlight of the whole trip, the LA International Auto Show.  Orbelina tells me that husband and son got lost for 6 hours.  They snapped pictures of every car starting at the auto museum.

Next time I'm in Honduras, I have to get Juan Carlos (husband) and Carlos Alfonso (son) to come clean - what were their favorite cars?  Going in, they dreamed of a Ford Explorer!!!!!!!  Nyet, No, No Way, to that.

Of course, 2 days of shopping in Miami with probably 50 gifts for all the relatives back home.  The last time she spent 2 weeks in San Francisco (3 years ago) with me interning at a credit union in the Bay Area, she went home with the largest and heaviest suitcase I had ever seen.  I had no idea she had bought so much while I wasn't looking.  It took 3 people to get the monster into the trunk of my little car.  I had to e-mail her husband to pick her up in the truck - leave the Toyota Corolla at home.  I can just imagine a repeat of that experience, but a la Miami. 

Of course we still had time to talk about business via phone.  She assured me that I would like the October 2006 figures.  Indeed they were good.  Thanks Orbelina.  Glad you had such a great vacation.