Music loans?

[Guest]

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[Mona]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=147969&_tpos=14&_tpg=1


Elshan was born in 1971. He is married and has one child. His family lives in the Fuzuli region. Elshan plays an accordion at weddings. He has been in this business for 5 years. Now he needs a loan of 2000 AZN to improve his business.

20 months loan from Komak Credit Union, Azerbaijan (4*), $2250 still needed, currency risk possible

[Mona]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=149316&_tpos=20&_tpg=2


This young man has been in this business for 3 years. He teaches students to play the accordion. He lives in the Fuzuli region. Rashad was born in 1989, and he is single. Now he needs a loan of 2,000 AZN to improve his business.

20 months loan from Komak Credit Union, Azerbaijan (4*), currency risk possible, irregular repayment terms

[Eli]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=149316&_tpos=20&_tpg=2


This young man has been in this business for 3 years. He teaches students to play the accordion. He lives in the Fuzuli region. Rashad was born in 1989, and he is single. Now he needs a loan of 2,000 AZN to improve his business.

20 months loan from Komak Credit Union, Azerbaijan (4*), currency risk possible, irregular repayment terms

That is about the oddest repayment schedule that I've ever seen, he doesn't even start repaying on the loan until September 2010!  Wonder what the logic is with such a long delay then only having 10 payments?

[tdcheetah]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=149316

That is about the oddest repayment schedule that I've ever seen, he doesn't even start repaying on the loan until September 2010!  Wonder what the logic is with such a long delay then only having 10 payments?

Yeah, I've seen a number of these weird repayment schedules starting 10-12 months from now. While most of them have been for agricultural loans -- which I can understand given that it takes time to grow crops/livestock -- at least two other music-related loans from Komak have done the same thing recently:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=147969
[Azerbaijani accordion player]
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=147602
[Azerbaijani clarinetist]

The description uses the highly generic "to improve his business" text (gee, how sexy a write-up...), so I haven't a clue if they're growing replacement instruments from scratch or what.  Or maybe they want to band together to buy a hall to guarantee they'll always have performance space.



I know a lot of musicians and part of me wants to lend to them, but at present I don't quite feel like I can commit an entire loan amount that far out...

But they *are* getting funded, which is what matters, right?   


Lee

[Kay]

A few musicians from Bulgaria were listed on Kiva a couple of years back, and as I recall, they were said to make most of their money during the summer, entertaining for tourists at Black Sea resorts.  Hence, they paid back most of their loans after the summer season.  (I think they needed their loans to pay for travel, among other things, to the Black Sea resorts.)  Whether something like this is true for these Azerbaijani musicians, I have no idea.

[RichardF]

Jeffers Engelhardt
Assistant Professor
Anthropology of Music
Department of Music
Amherst College

Music and Microfinance

The Sights and Sounds of Microfinance: Action Now: Kenya

[Mona]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=150019&_tpos=2&_tpg=1


Carlos is 24 years old and lives with his parents. His wife Karol is 23 years old and the love of his life. The couple has an energetic little boy who is also named Carlos, who just turned one year old.

Carlos has managed to succeed by pursuing his passion – music. This has allowed him to support his family and provide peace of mind. As a little boy, his interest started by banging on a small drum. Music has been an unavoidable part of his life since then. Carlos now engages in his music every day and has been performing professionally for 3 years at various events, artistic shows, and family reunions.

Sometimes he performs with his group “Los Cómplices del Sabor” (The Accomplices of Flavor), which consists of four young members. They add excitement to any occasion and also provide some spice to weekend events attended by large numbers of people looking to have a good time. Carlos has great aspirations for his musical career. He knows that he can continue to grow and eventually become famous in the musical world. First he wants to trademark the name of his group and modernize his sound equipment sometime in the future.

Carlos is taking his sixth loan with MFP. He says that he will continue to be punctual, as always, because he wants to succeed and making a living from his music. He plays a number of instruments very well and can produce melodies for just about any dance. Carlos will use the money to fulfill his aspirations by buying new speakers, mixers, and amplifiers to improve his sound quality.

10 months loan from Microfinanzas Prisma (5*), $1050 still needed, currency risk possible

[tdcheetah]

A few musicians from Bulgaria were listed on Kiva a couple of years back, and as I recall, they were said to make most of their money during the summer, entertaining for tourists at Black Sea resorts.  Hence, they paid back most of their loans after the summer season.  (I think they needed their loans to pay for travel, among other things, to the Black Sea resorts.)  Whether something like this is true for these Azerbaijani musicians, I have no idea.

Thanks to Kay for a possible explanation of the seasonality of work for musicians.  I luckily live in an area where live music is ubiquitous, but even then there is more work during certain times of the year (June for weddings, December for parties). 

However, these "delayed repayment" seems to be specific -- and pandemic -- in Komak loans.  See my additional comments posted in this thread if you're also concerned about the repayment schedule on loans which have currency risk possible: http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,3310.msg71087.html#msg71087

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread and to do that, here is a nice lady whose loan was labelled rather abstrusely by Kiva as "Spare Parts".


http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=145052

Sadly, Nelly's loan is not translated, but I think you know exactly what she's doing in this store.

Peru, 8 mo, currency risk possible but only 5 payments total -- and you get a double payment next month!  Nelly still needs $1000 by the end of *this* month, so keep her in mind when credits roll in (if not before).


Lee

[Mona]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=152731&_tpos=1&_tpg=1


Alberto is 28 years old and single. He lives with his parents and five siblings in the village of La Pava. This community is in the District of Mochumi, Lambayeque Province, located one hour away from the city of Chiclayo.

Alberto has been pursuing music for more than 6 years. He studied at an institute in Chiclayo and learned how to play the trombone. He currently works with a few bands and orchestras in the region who hire him as needed. Alberto uses his earnings to contribute toward the household and cover his personal expenses. He says that he is proud that his family recently formed a band called “Union and Progress”. For now they are working hard to buy all the instruments they need to become official and start booking engagements.

Since the family band is in need of capital and his earnings are not enough to cover the start-up costs, Alberto decided to start a business selling clothing. He plans to buy the merchandise in Chiclayo and sell his products to residents of the surrounding villages since public transportation is not available. For this reason, he is requesting his first loan from Edpyme Alternativa in the amount of 1000 soles.

His greatest hope is that his band will be successful and become recognized nationally. This young man is hardworking, determined, and very responsible.

14 months loan from Edpyme Alternativa, Peru (4*), $275 still needed, currency risk possible

[Patricia SF]

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=155109&_tpos=7&_tpg=1

Mongolia
20 month loan
shared currency risk


Serikbol is a talented craftsman, following in the footsteps of his father, who was also once a well-known craftsman in the town. Serikbol makes many kinds of items, such as various accessories for horse riding, traditional music instruments, and traditional home furniture. His wife sometimes visits the local market and sells his crafts. She usually offers the instruments and accessories in exchange for livestock and other basic goods that the family needs.

One can see the horse fiddles hanging in the back.