A team led by Shri Chalapathi Rao, MD, NABARD visited Bolivia in August 2001 to study the regulatory and supervisory mechanism of microFinance Institutions [mFIs] there. Bolivia is a country of 8 million people, 8 people per KM and a GDP of US$ 8 billion. The local currency is Boliviano [6.6 Bs = 1 US $]. As in most of the Latin American countries, for all business and financial transactions, both the local currency and the US $ were freely used by the people.
When the team landed at El Alto airport, on the shiny morning of 12 August 2001, the air was thin and the atmosphere quite cool. El Alto is located at about 16,000 ft above Mean Sea Level [MSL]. Therefore, the Oxygen level was pretty low. Overlooking the beautiful ice-capped mountain Ili Mani, was the city of La Paz, the seat of the Government of Bolivia [though Sucre is the constitutional Capital], an enchanting place. La Paz is at a slightly lower altitude than El Alto and it is considered as the Highest Capital city in the world. Making any effort to move faster difficult for any new comer to this part of South America and for the NABARD team, it was a venture [also an adventure] when it landed at El Alto airport. Buildings located at elevated levels and roads, lanes and by-lanes having steep slopes reminded us of towns in Western ghats of India, particularly Kerala. There were occasions and events to be shared from the week long visit and here are some of them.
For most of us the day starts with a cup of tea. The team was not an exception. For keeping the body O2 level at a comfortable level, we were advised to take a local variety of tea called ‘Matadi-coca’ dipped in hot water. It is taken without adding milk to it. The tea was actually a powder made of processed leaves of matadi plants. Whether it helped in increasing the O2 level in us, it certainly worked on our mind and increased our confidence level to move around without much fear of getting breathlessness.
The study started with discussions with one of the Second Tier Financial Institutions called FONDESIF. This meeting was held in the premises of the Central Bank of Bolivia where the office of FONDESIF was also located. With GTZ staff to receive us at the entrance, we tried to enter the premises with great ease. But, it was not to be. The security arrangements at the entrance of the Central Bank were so tight, that every one of us was first asked to surrender our Pass Ports. No foreigner was also allowed inside the premises without prior information. Then, each one of us was asked to go through the metal detector gate, closely watched by the security staff. Then, each of our baggages was searched. We had our cameras with us. But, they did not allow us to carry them. As a rule, the Bank does not allow anyone to carry a camera inside the Bank’s premises. So, we surrendered our cameras to the security staff. With some amount of explanation and persuasion by the GTZ and FONDESIF with the Chief Security Officer, they retrieved our cameras later, so that we could take a few snaps of the meeting.
About use of camera and photography, yet another interesting experience we had. We visited a small town called Battalias near the Andes ranges and went to the local market. It was something similar to weekly markets we see in a number of rural areas in India. The market functioned from 6 00 am to 2 00 pm with hundreds of small vendors selling a variety of wares like stationery, snacks, soft drinks, cycle parts, agricultural implements, electrical parts and agricultural and non-agricultural products. A large number of them were women. We wanted to take a few snaps with some of the entrepreneurs selling goods there. Either they refused to be photographed with us or demanded some payment for allowing them to be photographed. Though strange, there was some sense of pride in their refusal to be photographed.
Incidentally, we observed that a large number of micro-enterprises –mainly vendors –were women. We could even see women well passed their 60’s selling a number of articles in the streets of La Paz. Most common reason offered for such a situation was the economic compulsion in running their families. Something similar to this situation is prevalent in the northeastern region of India, particularly Manipur.
Another interesting occasion to recall was when we visited the work place of a micro-entrepreneur supported by a Private Financial Fund [PFF]. The entrepreneur whom we visited was a lady manufacturing leather blazers and jackets. Her husband was also actively engaged in the business. In one work area, they had kept a very old computer [486 or so] with softwares of logos of prominent international brands loaded in it. She called one young boy working for her to show us the process of making a design. He looked quite rustic and simple. He sat before the PC, connected it to the stitching machine and drew a design with such great ease as though he had mastered the computer application. Appreciating his skills, we just asked him as to how he could pick up such skill and knowledge on PCs. The lady entrepreneur bowled a googley saying that he did not study beyond some middle school level and all his knowledge of computer was by his sheer steadfastness to learn by continuously working on various designs. He had just mastered the use of it. Kudos to him and the lady entrepreneur.
On another occasion, when we went to meet an entrepreneur, we were not allowed entry. Even the main gate was not opened with reply in negative given from inside. The reason for refusal for allowing entry was the sight of a few vehicles suddenly showing up at the gate and the fear that the tax officials had come to check- a situation much similar to India on some occasions. After satisfying about our bona fides, we were allowed entry to the premises. Again, it was yet another lady entrepreneur engaged in knitting garments for over three decades. She had taken US $1000 as loan from a PFF. She mentioned that everyday she used to go to the market place to sell the garments as a street vendor. She seemed to have come a long way from her thirty years of hard work.
Bolivian people look somewhat similar to those Indians living in Himalayan ranges- medium stature, very strong legs and tan in colour. Their main food comprises of rice, bakery products, meat and fish. Almost all the people were non-vegetarians. Peculiarly, the entire team from India with exception of Dr. Klein of GTZ, New Delhi was veggies. Therefore, searching for a vegetarian food was another adventure for the team. However, we were adequately equipped with some dry food like ‘Tehplas’, ‘Kakharas’, ‘Pohahs’ and other snacks. We had taken with us [in fact, Prakash had brought] pre-cooked side dishes like chenna masala, aloo curry and a few others, which helped to meet the dinner requirements partially. Natural yogurts available from the shops supplemented our dinner needs. One day, we were taken to a restaurant for lunch. Each of us was given a Menu card to peruse and choose items of our choice. It was surprising to see that pictures of animals with their parts identified and the names of dishes printed against each of them for ordering. Looked a novelty! May be an enterprising hotelier in India might like to adopt this technique. As a contrast, we went to a restaurant ‘Vegetariano Armonia’ that served only vegetarian food. It was one of the few places where exclusive veggie food was available in La Paz.
One day, we went to a local market called- Sagarnaga in La Paz. It was full of small shops [5 feet by 5 feet shops – such typical shops are in Mumbai too] mainly selling handicraft items and the famous Alpaca woolen garments. The vendors were mainly women. They were very polite, soft spoken and patient for the tough bargaining made by the buyers. They were however, not aggressive sellers though similar goods were available with a number of shops. But, once a prospective buyer turned up, they showed all the interest in selling their wares to him or her. We did make some good purchases, of course after a bit of bargaining.
One day after a meeting with one institution we were waiting in the lobby of the office. It was past 1 p.m. The staff were returning after lunch. Just then, we observed that an official of the office entering after performing two functions. One, he whipped his identity card through a computerized system and two, he pressed his LHT [Left Hand Thumb] on an electronic instrument kept nearby. Then he entered the office. Sounding strange to an Indian, we enquired about the need for such a practice of marking the LHT also. The reply came silenced us. Anyone who is in possession of the card can wipe it and get the time recorded [proxying!]. But, marking the LHT will eliminate any chance of misuse as the personal identification of the person concerned is also verified by marking the thumb impression. A novel idea indeed!-[Any lessons for us?]. Similar LHT electronic system was introduced in PRODEM –PFF to enable the staff to identify the client who comes to withdraw and transact business with it. It has virtually dispensed with issuing of withdrawal slips to its depositor clients. The client will be required to identify by marking his/her LHT against the electronic instrument kept outside the teller counter. This alone will allow entry for the staff to open the folio of the client in the monitor in front of him. This is another area, which needs to be implemented in our banks particularly in RRBs and Coops. Whether Indian banks can adopt this practice depends on the presence of good electrical infrastructure also.
One day, we visited a lake called ‘Titicaca Lake’. It is a fresh water lake in the Andes ranges. It was a tourist spot normally crowded during the season beginning from September. A part of it is in Bolivia and the rest in Peru. We halted in a restaurant there for lunch. As veg food was to be prepared exclusively for us, it gave us some time to see the place around. Myself and Mr Bakshi tried our hands on Table Tennis. We just started to play pushing the ball from one side to the other and picking it up from the ground. It was just two to three minutes only since we started playing. Both of us found our palpitation raising and we gave up our efforts to try on TT. Such was the level of O2 as we could not stand and play beyond that time.
La Paz was a quiet place and the people were very hospitable. The language spoken was Spanish and so the hosts had arranged an interpreter for our use. She was Ms Martha, in her fifties. She was so professional that she had the entire kit for her job ready on hand wherever we went. She had also developed such a tremendous network among the bankers, FFPs and a host of other government people that she was well recognized. In the one week long association with her, she became quite friendly with the team and she helped us beyond her main job of providing interpretation in the meetings.
Another person who moved us visibly was the Hon’ble Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Mario Raquena Pinto. His letter to the Visa authorities in Bolivia greatly helped us in getting our Visa issued on the spot on arrival at the El Alto airport on 12 Aug. As per the programme, only one meeting was scheduled with him. When we went to his chamber on 14 Aug, he invited us with warm welcome and sat among us in a small round table and discussed a whole range of issues concerning microFinance. His knowledge and commitment for development of mF sector was visible and he encouraged us to come with suggestions to improve the sector. He showed keen willingness to learn from the Indian mF experience [though we had gone to study their systems]. The discussions with him created so much interest in him, he wanted to be present for the wrap up meeting fixed for 18 Aug. And he was there well before we reached the GTZ office to receive us again. So, we had yet another round of discussions and finally, it was past 9 pm and we were to catch our flight early morning next day. Then he volunteered to drop us in his car at the hotel and he himself drew it all the way and bid us bye. It was a touching moment for us and we felt more than honoured by his humility.
Before we landed in La Paz, we were cautioned about the low level of O2 there and advised to equip ourselves adequately. The nights were chilly and snowy also. The day times were just lukewarm and every day it required some amount of minimum woolen clothing to protect from chilly breeze. So, right from the time we landed, the GTZ team used to enquire about our health. From the second day onwards, it became almost a routine for the GTZ officers who came to pick us at the hotel, to ask us if we had any problem on account of lack of O2. We used to reply in negative saying we were comfortable and did not envisage any problem on this account. After a couple of days, they were surprised to see us robust, because their experience with visitors to La Paz was that every other new comer had faced difficulties needing administration of O2 to come back to normalcy. They asked whether our food habits –veggies- made us feel more comfortable in La Paz. We were not sure of any satisfactory answer to offer except repeating that we were okay. Just before we left, when they made their enquiry about our health with concern, Shri Chalapathi Rao, quipped saying “You see, none of the Indians will suffer from lack of Oxygen, particularly, the Mumbai residents, because we regularly inhale polluted air only containing Carbon mono oxide and less of O2. So, our body system is immuned to the environment where less oxygen is prevalent as in La Paz”. The hosts did not ask about the secret of our good health thereafter. Thus, we boarded our flight back home on 19 August to the surprise of all.
[1] Reproduced from the article published in the in-house journal NABARD Parivar in 2001
