Market

Intelligence
Report

Keychains for Women Artisans

Robby Konrath, Alex Matson, Nick Mordini, John
Slattery, Natasha Matis, Alex Kleeman
Part 1: Target Customer Market- Santa Clara University

Our team proposes to sell Santa Clara keychains as a way to bring in revenue to provide
zero-interest loans to entrepreneurs in Bolivia. The keychains will be metal and say “Santa
Clara University”. We will buy a quantity of 100 at $3.33— $333.00 in total. We plan on selling
them for $5.00 and making $500.00 in revenue and $167.00 in profit. The proceeds that
microfinance at earns at SCU will invest in female Bolivians’ ideas and companies that will
potentially lift them out of poverty. We believe that Bolivia is an intelligent investment since
microfinancing has been successful there in the past and because SCU Global Fellows already
has an established connection in Bolivia.

1.1. Demographics

Total Population/Population Growth Rate & Age/Gender Structure:

The target market for our keychain sales is the Santa Clara University community. We
will be able to reach out to faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and the rest of
the Santa Clara staff. For the 2018-2019 years, there are 9,015 students at Santa Clara, 5,438
of them being undergraduate and 3,296 graduate students. The population of undergraduates is
split evenly between male and female while the graduate population has about 3 percent more
women. During this year there are 530 full-time faculty members with 54 percent male and 46
percent being female.
For comparison, two years ago for the 2016-2017 year, there were 5,438 undergraduate
students on only 2,984 graduate students for a total of 8,422. From this 2016-2017 year until
now, there has been a 7.04 percent growth in student population.
Since the product is not targeted to a certain gender, anyone and everyone will be able
to fashionably chain it to their backpacks, lanyards, or anything else. The biggest challenge for
our sales will be the marketing of the product. The plan is to table outside of Benson and the
library but that will only attract a certain amount of people who walk by those places during the
day. Although there are plenty of students and faculty, not all of them walk by these areas and
will therefore not see our keychains.
The entirety of the on-campus population which is the entire freshman class and the
majority of the sophomore class, with few juniors and seniors remaining, are the target
customers because they will walk past sales booths the most. Out of the entire population at
Santa Clara, 56 percent live on campus or in University-owned establishments. Our estimation
says that about 5 percent of the on-campus population will buy keychains while our goal is to
make them a popular thing for everyone to have connected to their backpacks, lanyards, and
anything else. The off-campus population is not as much of a target because we do not believe
they will have as much exposure to the product.
We are not targeting the graduate students or staff as much either because we want this
to be a popular item on campus, and graduate students do not care as much about having what
is popular for younger adults. They are also less likely to be as involved in campus pride.
Poverty/Middle Class Size:
The tuition for the 2018-2019 year is very steep at $51,711 with even more fees
afterward. It can be concluded that most of the student body is upper-middle class. About 77
percent of the population has received some kind of financial aid in scholarships, loans, or
grants. A lot of students work on campus and make on average close to $3,000 which shows
that they do have the means to buy our product.
Students at Santa Clara almost always have disposable income which we are hoping
they spend on our product. Since they have a lot of options as to how to spend their extra
money, we are hoping as people buy these keychains and put them on their belongings, others
will see and also want them. This is also a perfect product to show school representation and
most younger students love showing off Santa Clara accessories.
At SCU they offer zero-interest loans and low-interest loans that help students pay for
their tuition at the time. Since they are able to take these loans, students can find jobs to help
support their living expenses outside tuition and even have some disposable income while
attending the University. This helps our project because it allows people to buy our product who
could not have before.

Urban/Rural Composition:
The Santa Clara campus gives access to both urban and rural areas. We are located
about a 5-minute drive from urban downtown San Jose but at the same time, the area
immediately around the campus is very suburban with many families living there. Knowing this,
we believe keychains are a great product because families around the campus love to support
the university and kids always love another piece of Santa Clara swag. As they become more
and more popular on campus, they will become more essential for people to have.

Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment:

A lot of students at Santa Clara are unemployed even though there are countless
options to work. This means it is a personal choice to not work and they have their own means
of supporting themselves. For those who do not already have the money to spend on products
like a keychain, Santa Clara has over 3,000 students working on campus jobs who collectively
make over six million dollars a year. This means even the students who would not typically be
able to buy our product are now able to because of university employment. The university itself
employs over 500 full-time teachers and even more common staff.

1.2. Socio-cultural Components of Culture

Language:
As an American university within Silicon Valley, the students at Santa Clara University
primarily speak English in classes and on campus with the exception of certain students
speaking additional languages. Additionally, the University Core requires undergraduate
students to take at least two-quarters of a foreign language, so most students on campus are
enrolled in some sort of elementary language course. Because the primary language is English,
we plan to have all our advertisements and marketing efforts to be written in English.
Religion:
Santa Clara is a Jesuit, Catholic university and is one of the twenty-eight Jesuit
universities of the Association of Jesuit Universities and Colleges. Half of the undergraduate
community is Catholic, with the other half being Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, agnostic,
students with no religious preference, and more. Most of these religions have a social justice
component that would approve of a project that gives back to the less fortunate.

National Culture:
There is a campus-wide culture that promotes the core mission and beliefs of the Jesuit
mission. These core values are (1) academic excellence, (2) search for truth, goodness, and
beauty, (3) engaged learning, (4) commitment to learning, (5) service to others, (6) community
and diversity, and (7) Jesuit distinctiveness. Among these, our product exemplifies a service to
others. According to the SCU vision statement, the university promotes “service not only to
those who study and work at Santa Clara but also to society in general and to its most
disadvantaged members as we work with and for others to build a more humane, just, faith-
filled, and sustainable world” (SCU). We are working with a program that believes the
production of garments and accessories should not “involve maltreatment or unfairness to either
people or the Earth” (AHA). In partnering with this organization, we are helping to create a more
humane and eco-friendly world.

A Culture’s Sense of Beauty and Good Taste:

Many college students have keys of all types whether that be car keys or dorm keys. It is
also very popular for college students to own apparel or accessory items that represent the
college they go to. Keychains provide a functional component to their daily lives by keeping their
keys organized in one place as well as providing the student with a sense of collegiate pride.

Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Time, Achievement and Work:

SCU students struggle between managing their time and balancing their workload. Many
students are involved with sports, extracurricular activities as well as rigorous courses. The fast-
paced nature of the quarter system also makes prioritizing productivity and efficiency a crucial
component of the student’s lives. The busy schedules of the students make it hard to contribute
to a greater cause. Buying the keychains would provide a fast and efficient way to act upon
Jesuit values. We would be providing our loans to an organization that emphasizes ethical
manufacturing as well as environmental sustainability. To buy the key chain would be a small
act in contributing to the Jesuit mission for social justice as well as the mission of the
organization.

Societal Organization:
There are many organizations on campus that could facilitate the process of promoting
the product we plan to sell. The first would be marketing to Greek organizations that we could
promote to as it is a simple way to get the word out to a large number of students at once.
There are also many registered student organizations that promote social justice such as
SCAAP. Partnering with these groups would allow us to gain the help of their members whose
mission is to also promote a more just world. Using social organizations allows us to utilize
personal relationships as well as shared interests to appeal to a large number of students who
would be willing to buy the product.

1.3. Government System and Stability

Type of government:
Government, in this case, refers not to a nation’s political infrastructure, but rather to
American Universities policies and practices when it comes to the sale of various products on
campus. Obviously, as an institution operating within the United States of America, Santa Clara
University must always act in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. With that said SCU
does enforce its own regulations when it comes to the selling of goods on campus. In order to
sell your merchandise on the grounds of Benson Memorial Center, one must be partnered with
a registered student organization. This would ensure the greatest product exposure and
guarantee the maximum efficiency in sales.

Openness:
As a Jesuit University, Santa Clara takes the responsibility to positively affect the world
through our work and education very seriously. For this reason, this institution is always
supportive of initiatives that can work toward this goal. This is exemplified through the
Universities support of the Miller Center whose mission statement is as follows “The mission of
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is to accelerate entrepreneurship to end global poverty
and protect the planet. We envision a world where all people are architects of their own futures”
(SCU). As long as our production is done in a sustainable fashion the University would
encourage and be completely open to our proposal to provide microfinance loans to those who
may be struggling to acquire them.

Economic Freedom/Corruption:
Sitting at a hefty 76.8 the United States of America’s economic freedom score makes it
the 12th freest economy in the world. As one of the world’s wealthiest and most diversified
economies businesses in The U.S. typically have nothing to fear when it comes to economic
freedom. So, for obvious reasons, when you look at a University within the U.S. economy you
are bound to see similar economic behavior. Like in most if not all of the United States,
consumers/students at SCU are free to spend their money how they please and one can point
to very few restrictions on this principle.
Similarly, when looking at corruption in the United States we see that when compared to
other countries around the world, the risk corruption proposes to businesses operating here is
minimal. With bureaucracy comes some forms of corruption but at least in the United States, the
competitive market and abundant business opportunities outweigh this risk. Just as at SCU
corruption does not represent a large enough factor to affect business decisions and operations.

Legal System:
The Legal system for Santa Clara University consists of committees, special task forces
and a student code of conduct. Combined these provide a system for which rules and
regulations are made, implemented, and are carried out/followed on a daily basis. When
referring to SCU’s committees, I am talking about the 6 policy committees and two standing
committees on campus. The special task forces refer to those formed to target specific
problems or situations that may arise. The Student Code of Conduct provides the guidelines to
students as to what is proper and acceptable behavior. If violated this may result in a hearing in
front of the peer conduct board which aims to keep students involved in the judicial process of
the school. For selling our keychains, we have to get permission to table outside of Benson if we
decide to sell them that way.

1.4. Economic Development:

GDP Growth Rate/Per Capita GDP:

In Santa Clara County, real GDP per capita is at $128,128 making it one of the richest
counties in the country in terms of per capita. The national average is at $53,128.54 as of 2017.
Total GDP is at $275,293 million. In 2002, this number was only at $119,950 million. Total GDP
has more than doubled over this time. The population is also just over 2 million people now,
creating a large community of people. The annual growth rate for GDP for the US is around 3.2
percent T. Since 2001, the average growth rate for GDP is 4.59% beating out the United States
GDP as a whole. This information should be similar to that of the student body considering
59.3% of students attending Santa Clara University come from within California. This long term
growth suggests that this market is strong and stable. Considering how well it is doing outside of
our university, we could also expand our market to the outside community in the future.

Trade as a Share of GDP:

Data doesn’t seem to exist for Santa Clara County’s trade as a share of GDP. However,
as a country, the United States is at 27% as of 2017. The world’s ratio is at 58%. The US isn’t
as open to trade as other countries and may be getting less open with select countries under
the Trump administration. However, we are selling locally and this shouldn’t impact us that
much in terms of making a profit.

Product Markets:
Keychains have a unisex appeal so demographics play less of a role when targeting
groups to sell our product to. Selling keychains would be fairly simple. We would have to just get
permission to table outside of Benson. The bookstore, right next to where we would be selling,
also sells keychains. According to their website, their keychains range from $9.98 to $12.98,
which is significantly higher than what we would be selling. We have tentatively priced ours at
$5.00. This is a 50% reduction. Keychains are something many students need, especially those
that need keys for their dorm room/bathroom. Only some of the dorms use these, but every
student living in them may benefit from having a keychain. Considering many students living on
campus come from California as addressed above and considering the median income of
California residents is $57,673, individuals should have enough disposable income to buy our
product.
Labor Markets:
The labor market in California is quite strong. The labor participation rate is at 67.4% and
unemployment is at 5.7%. Education is also quite strong. 87.54% of residents have obtained a
high school diploma. Just over 50% of people have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Santa Clara
County clearly has a strong labor market where people will have money to be able to buy our
product. The median age for Santa Clara County is 37, but most of our market will be college
students. Our product is low cost at only $5, which means that our labor market should have
enough purchasing power to buy our product. In terms of labor costs, the only real expense
would be in marketing and salespeople. Our group would most likely be able to cover all of that
without incurring additional expenses.

Capital Markets:
The US is a very pro-business country allowing businesses of all types to achieve
success. If we need to receive a loan for materials, we could go that route. However, because
our business is so small, we won’t really need one. Any initial money may come from money
from local University grants. We could partner with Santa Clara University’s Microfinance Club.
We could also possibly look at other loan organizations to partner with or get possible advice
from.

1.5 Technological Infrastructure:

The technological infrastructure of our target market, Santa Clara University, is
extremely advanced. Almost all of the students own a personal laptop and a mobile cellular
device. In a study conducted by our group, we found that out of the twenty students surveyed,
twenty had a smartphone, and twenty had a personal laptop (one student technically didn’t as
his laptop was at the store being repaired). Likewise, all students at Santa Clara University have
access to the library, where nearly 150 desktops are available for use.
When trying to determine what the students of Santa Clara University use their mobile
devices for, 65% of students surveyed claimed they used it mostly for communication with
friends and family, and 25% claimed they used it mostly for social media communication (95%
said they had downloaded or used social media on their mobile devices). A study conducted by
UCLA found that social media usage among college students has increased by almost 1000%
since 2006 for students between 18 and 29 years old (UCLA). Likewise, a study conducted by
the Pew Research Center found that more than 98% of college-aged students use social media
(Pew Research Center). Given that these statistics can be inferred as attributable to students at
Santa Clara University, our group has a major opportunity to utilize social media communication
as a means of advertising our product.
Given that the strong majority Santa Clara University students use social media and
have access to the internet on their mobile devices, our group will look to advertise our product
on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, especially Facebook, as we could
potentially connect them with people receiving the loans in Bolivia.
Part 2: Borrower Side- Aha Bolivia
Women particularly struggle in Bolivia in nearly every category such as education level
and income. We are planning to partner with AHA Bolivia to provide loans to local women
artisans to allow them to make a living. Due to low educational rates for women, many of them
do not have employable skills. However, artisanry is a skill that is passed down in many
indigenous households. This means that there is some untapped potential in this area that
would allow women to make a living. We can offer these women zero interest microfinance
loans in order to begin starting their own business. Women have trouble securing loans from
organizations due to corruption and certain regulations that are discussed in more depth in this
section. We hope to provide these women with a way to receive funding for their skill in
artisanry.

1.1. Demographics

Total Population/Population Growth Rate & Age/Gender Structure:

Bolivia is a country in Central South America with all types of terrain including the Andes
Mountains, Atacama Desert, and the Amazon Basin. The capital is La Paz and is located
Altiplano Plateau. There is a population of 11.05 million and has been experiencing a 1.5
percent growth rate since 2017. The average age is 24.6 years old. The age structure can be
seen in the figure below. Our organization, AHA Bolivia is located in Cochabamba, Bolivia which
has a population of 900,014. The ethnic breakdown of Bolivia is 70 percent, Mestizo, 20 percent
indigenous Bolivian, 5 percent white Bolivian, 1 percent black Bolivian, and the other 4 percent
is made up of Asian, Japanese, or Korean.
Specifically, the population in rural areas, 79.15 percent of all rural dwellers have access
to electricity and 100 percent are said to have access to “improved water and sanitation
sources.” Out of the total population, 15.1 percent of rural livers are female and 16.39 percent
are male. The rural population has grown by .2348 percent. For ages 25-29 in rural populations,
they make up .3533 percent of the working class.
In terms of gender disparity, Bolivia scored a .75 gender gap index which means women
there are 25 percent less likely than men to have equal opportunities. Women in Bolivia have a
gender wage gap of 37 percent which means they get paid 37 percent lower than men. Along
these same lines, an urban woman is half as likely to complete secondary school than an urban
male. Rural women, on the other hand, are five times less likely to complete secondary school
than an urban male. The reasons for women hardships when it comes to completing school in
Bolivia include early pregnancy, need for income, and domestic care work. Even when a woman
has the opportunity to go to more school, 1 in 5 of them ages 15 to 24 report discrimination.
Age and Gender Structure of Bolivia
Age: 0-14 31.34% of population Male 1,805,765 / Female
1,737,647

Age: 15-24 19.37% of population Male 1,109,388 / Female

1,080,662

Age: 25-54 37.9% of population Male 2,098,847 / Female

2,185,890

Age: 55-64 5.96% of population Male 310,250 / Female

363,403

Age: 65 and over 5.43% of population Male 270,435 / Female

344,054

Poverty/Middle Class Size:

Based on the international poverty standard of anyone living off of less than $2 per day, Bolivia
has a 38.6 percent rate below the poverty line. The middle class is said to have increased to
slightly over 50 percent of the population in 2017.
For specifically the rural community, 57.6 percent are said to be in poverty. For young
adults, they are stressing the importance of better education, which our organization is helping.
They are also stressing the need for elderly care before they get too old to continue working.
There is no information about the difference in needs for female versus male young adult needs
in Bolivia but females age 25-29 makeup .3988 percent of the total working population and
males of that age makeup .3847 percent.
 The standard of living is very different for women. They are forced to quit their education
sooner than men because they have “duties” to birth, take care of the family, and earn an
income. This creates a problem for women to help out their family. Considering they have
children at very young ages and that many are poor, we want to provide these women with a
way to provide for themselves and their children. AHA Bolivia specifically caters to this type of
women.

Urban/Rural Composition:
From the geographic makeup of Bolivia, 34.3 percent is agricultural land, 52.5 percent is
forest, and 13.2 percent is marked as other. The amount of people living in rural areas is now
31.08 percent while the rest on in urban/suburban areas. With a 10 percent chance of women
finishing secondary school in rural areas and 31.08 of the total population living in these rural
areas, women are put to even more of a disadvantage. This shows how much women in rural
places of Bolivia need loans to start their own businesses when they do not have access to
education or even the time to even go. Some of the women that AHA Bolivia caters to are from
both rural and urban areas. 70% of the women artisans do not own any land and thus have
trouble making ends meet.

Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment:

The unemployment rate for ages 15-24 is 6.9 percent while the total unemployment rate
is predicted to be 3.6 percent by the end of this quarter. The labor is split up mainly between
agricultural at 29.4 percent, industry at 22 percent, and services at 48.6 percent. Within each
industry, women make up 28.4 percent of the workforce in agriculture while men have 28
percent even. Within industry, women hold 10 percent of the jobs while men hold 29.9 percent.
Lastly, within services women hold 61.6 percent of the industry and men have 42 percent. The
unemployment for women is a full percent higher at 3.8 percent than for men. From this data, it
is easy to see that women are struggling more than men with finding jobs. This is especially true
for younger women. We can use our microfinance loans to help those in artisanry get funding to
be making products for profit.

1.2. Socio-cultural Components of Culture

Language:
In Bolivia, Spanish and 36 other indigenous languages are official per the 2009
Constitution. The organization that we would potentially be loaning is able to use the local
language to communicate with the local artisan. Some of them also speak English so
communicating with the organization itself won’t be an issue. From there, they can use the local
language if there are any language barrier issues regarding the individual women artisans.
Through this, we can assume that the people who volunteer or manage AHA Bolivia are
proficient in English, thus allowing us to do business with them and provide them loans.

Religion:
The proportion of Roman Catholics has decreased slowly but still accounts for almost
four-fifths of the population. 76.8% of Bolivia’s population identifies as Roman Catholic where
are the other 8.1% are Protestant (Evangelical Methodist). Because our school operates upon
the Jesuit mission, it aligns with the high population of Catholics in Bolivia, meaning it poses
potential for a higher likelihood of successful integration. The similar religious background
between us and the population of Bolivia allow would allow us to better understand how they
think about the world. This will help us identify better with these individuals.

National Culture:
Bolivian society is a very mixed one due to its mixture of descendants of the Spanish
colonizers, indigenous Bolivians, and ‘mestizos’ as well as other small minorities of immigrants
and descendants of African slaves from the colonial period. This great diversity means there are
varying Bolivian customs and traditions, depending on which part of the country you are in and
the social class you are surrounded by. Bolivia also has a relatively young society, with around
60% of its population under the age of 25, and the culture of the country is definitely changing
with its young population. These indigenous Bolivians are the group we are serving and the
make disproportionately less money than non-indigenous Bolivians.
Bolivia has an overwhelmingly and disproportionately young populace. More than 4
million of the country's 10 million–strong population was 19 or younger in 2010, according to the
National Institute of Statistics (INE). With so many young people in the population, many of
which are not educated. Only one-third of first graders completed the fifth grade, 20 percent
started secondary school, 5 percent began their postsecondary studies, and just 1 percent
received a university degree. The result is that many people cannot afford high paying jobs and
must resort to certain skills like artisanry to make money. Considering many indigenous women
possess this skill, our aim is to help these people become self-employed so that they can
provide for themselves and their families. The average mother’s mean age at birth is 21.2 years
meaning that there are many uneducated women that must take care of their child or children
According to Hofstede dimensions, the power distance index of Bolivia is 64, whereas
the United States is a low 40. This shows that wealth is more unequally distributed in Bolivia,
compared to the US. This would add to the need for women and younger individuals that must
provide for their family.
Consequently, there is also a big discrepancy between Bolivia and the US in regards to
an individualistic vs. collectivist society. Bolivia ranks at 12 as an individualistic society whereas
the United States ranks at 91. This illustrates that Bolivia is a collectivistic country, meaning
people belong to “in groups” that take care of them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. In
reaching out to people from Bolivia, we will have to offer our loans to groups rather than to
singular people due to the large sense of community. Luckily, our partner organization, AHA
Bolivia, has the artisans come in once the product is made for shipping. Many artisans meet
each other and help support each other at the organization when they are done making their
items.

A Culture’s Sense of Beauty and Good Taste:

Due to the diversity of Bolivia as a country, everyday life is colorful. Their distinctive style
can be separated into three time periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican. There are at
least thirty different typical Bolivian dress styles among the native Bolivian indigenous cultures.
Indigenous clothing of the Andean women includes the 19th-century European bowler hat and a
pleated skirt that was a Spanish dress that colonial authorities forced people to wear. Bolivian
clothing styles also differ by religion, climate and income levels. Bolivian clothing reflects a
symbol of pride for the multi-indigenous people that inhabit the country.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art. Through the years, local
indigenous and mestizo builders and artisans developed the art into a rich and distinctive style
of architecture, literature, and sculpture known as "Mestizo Baroque." From this, we can see
that Bolivians all have a different sense of culture and taste due to the heterogeneous nature of
the large country.
Sense of beauty and good taste could be one of partnership through the collective
nature of the Bolivians. We would be able to provide zero-interest loans in which the borrowers
can secure second and third loans from us; our zero interest loans at SCU is not to exploit
people but to truly serve and provide microfinance loans that meet the needs of these women
artisans. Additionally, the organization we are working with resides in a country full of natural
beauty. They believe in manufacturing that “look to decrease our environmental footprint in the
interest of both our natural surroundings and the health of our community” (AHA).

Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Time, Achievement and Work:

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. This poverty affects the
population groups in different ways such as their access to jobs and people’s everyday lives.
This includes excluding people from opportunities that would develop one's capacities to fulfill a
productive and creative role in society. The principal social problem in the country is inequality
in the distribution of income and benefits.
As a result of this lack of employment and human rights, many Bolivians work labor-
intensive jobs that have long hours and little pay. Bolivians need to work for survival because
they didn’t have the opportunities to get a good education job and not work in agricultural
sectors or the informal economy. The organization that we plan to provide our loan will work to
improve the quality of life among women artisans. The artisans live in a place where the “culture
in the country is still quite traditional and the economy quite informal” (AHA). The organization
gives the artisans the opportunity for employment while still allowing them to comply with their
domestic responsibilities.

Societal Organization:
The most relevant aspect of Bolivian society to our project is the lack of employment that
people have access to. Our targeted borrows is an organization that “believes garment and
accessories manufacturing can be done ethically” (AHA). The artisans of AHA Bolivia treated
with dignity and fairness. Our loan would provide a way for these women artisans to make
money in a country with high economic inequality. SCU has an internship program with this
organization that sends students there that would work hands-on with this socially responsible
business. This would help promote our zero-interest loan as we would have a personal
connection to the organization and students from SCU would be able to manage the loan in
person.
1.3. Government System and Stability

Type of government:
Bolivia is a South American country bordered by Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and
Paraguay. It carries out its government via a presidential representative democratic republic.
Under this form of government, the President is both the Head of State and the Head of
Government. Under this form, citizens act by electing individuals to represent their interests in
government. Much like the United States, Bolivia has 3 branches of government, the Executive,
Judicial, and Legislative. Within this system, voting is mandatory between the ages of 21 to 70
years old. Those between the ages of 18 and 21 are only obligated to vote if they are married.
While this information is nice to have the more relevant information answers the question: does
Bolivia treat our target group of women?
Well, interestingly enough women’s rights and political voice have advanced extremely
fast in Bolivia, whose Congress now seats 50% women. This has resulted in many laws being
passed that enforce gender equality at lower levels as well. With that said it’s important to note
that women’s rise in Bolivia has also put them face to face with much discrimination,
manipulation, and violence. Jumping from women holding only 4 percent of posts in municipal
assemblies to now 50% has resulted in men, fearful of losing job opportunities, to lash out in
violence against these women.

Openness:
Generally speaking, Bolivia has remained relatively open to foreign direct investment
over the years. A 2014 investment promotion law guarantees equal treatment for national and
foreign firms however it also contends that any public investment will receive priority treatment
over any private investment. Gross foreign direct investment into Bolivia was approximately
$1.22 billion in 2017. Up from 120 million just a year before in 2016, and primarily resulting from
the hydrocarbons and mining sectors. Overall, Bolivia’s investment climate has remained
relatively steady over the past several years. Impeding on Bolivia’s potential as a foreign
investment hotspot are things such as a lack of legal security, corruption, and unclear arbitration
measures. At the moment, there is no significant foreign direct investment from the United
States in Bolivia, and there are no initiatives designed specifically to encourage U.S.
investment.
When you look at specifically the role of microfinance in Bolivia the numbers are quite
staggering. Bolivia’s “microfinance industry gross portfolio was reported at $5.39 billion. Taking
into account that Bolivia’s GDP in 2014 was $35,38 billion, the microfinance industry represents
about 15.2% of the GDP” (ScholarWorks). This shows that Bolivia is not only open to the
microfinance industry but their national economy is in a way dependent on it. However, new
rules have capped interest rates, which creates less profit for lenders. As a result, almost all
microfinance organizations have dropped lower earning individuals. Women artisans would fall
into this group and thus need help with securing loans because many aren’t offered them.

Economic Freedom/Corruption:
With an economic freedom score of 42.3, Bolivia’s ranked 173rd on the 2019 freest
economies list. Contributing to this unflattering ranking are things such as a steep drop in fiscal
health, as well as lower scores for tax burden, government integrity, and trade freedom.
Corruption also remains very prevalent in Bolivia with the bribery of foreign officials, extortion,
and abuse of office. Needless to say, this compromises a business’s ability to not only do
business in Bolivia but to perform business ethically. Bribery is widespread into most sectors of
Bolivia’s economy with anti-corruption laws failing to be enforced with any kind of consistency.
Particularly exposed to this corruption of Bolivia’s judiciary, police, and public administration.
Bribery is a crime in Bolivia, yet a 2011 survey found that one out of every three Bolivians had to
pay a bribe that very year. The worst offenders were the judiciary, police and customs service.
Because of all the corruption, a majority of Bolivia’s economy falls under an informal
one, which means data is not very accurate in showing the full picture of the poverty that many
individuals face. Women in the informal economy are disproportionately lower earners than men
by a few hundred dollars. Women typically only make $97 in this economy and thus struggle to
survive. Credit then is not much of an option due to local views of government and corruption.
Women especially then struggle to secure loans.
For women in particular economic freedom can be challenging to ascertain for
themselves. Although the Constitution of Bolivia is in place supposedly offering equal rights to
both men and women, we know how this usually goes. Bolivia like many countries around the
world is still very masculine. This results in men often receiving greater education, healthcare,
and opportunity to create greater income with less work. Thus, we see that in Bolivia women
struggle to ascertain this economic freedom and therefore make for excellent candidates for
microfinance loans.

Legal System:
Bolivia practices a civil law system with influences from Spanish, who previously
colonized Bolivia and French Napoleonic code. Under this system, the Bolivian Judicial System
is divided into two groups, the upper and lower level. The supreme court of Justice maintaining
the most power to act and affect the laws of the country. Within this group, there is a President
along with eleven ministros or justices. These Justices are appointed by Bolivia’s Congress and
serve a 10-year term. Legal decisions and rulings are made in a number of courts, including the
departmental and lower courts, the Agrarian and Environmental Tribune, the Judiciary Council,
the Constitutional Tribunal, and the Supreme Court.
The court system is also generally corrupt. It usually favors the President. Two-thirds of
the prison population still wait for trials that have been backed up due to inefficiency. Pay for
judges is also low meaning that good ones may leave. There is a law in place that says if
charges are brought before a judge, they would be suspended from office. The President has
used this law to oust opponents and weaken the legal system. With this corruption going on,
any particular legal issues that we may face or women artisans may face may not be handled
efficiently nor correctly. Women are already facing backlash for being in the government by
men. There have been dozens of complaints by women officials in the government about being
harassed or attacked. These developments could make it harder to help the local artisan
women if women are being harassed out of government positions by opposition groups.

Currency Convertibility:
 The Bolivian Bolíviano is the currency of Bolivia. One Bolivian Bolíviano is equal to
.14480 U.S. Dollars. Or inversely 1 U.S. dollar is equal to 6.9 Bolivian Bolivianos. Due to
political and social instability, the Bolivian economy tends to fluctuate somewhat frequently. As a
result of the currency also tends to fluctuate in value depending on the current state of the
economy. This is threatening to businesses making investments in the country and as a result,
many investments are agreed to be paid back in U.S. dollars instead of Bolívianos.

1.4. Economic Development

GDP Growth Rate/Per Capita GDP:

The GDP/capita of Bolivia is $3,200 and the total GDP is at $43.69 billion as of April
2019. This is a record high for GDP for Bolivia. GDP growth for 2018 was at 8.91%. From 2010
to 2019 total GDP has increased from $19.65 billion to $43.69 billion, doubling within just 9
years. This data means that Bolivia is ripe for economic expansion and shows that Bolivia is on
the uptrend. However, Bolivia is still one of Latin America’s poorest countries and has a large
income inequality issue. Due to the increasing and record high GDP, investing in Bolivia seems
to be less risky as compared to the past. There are still income inequality issues and we hope to
invest in bridging that gap by using the money to provide materials to help educate
underprivileged children.
It is important to note that these statistics apply to Bolivia’s formal economy. Bolivia has
the world’s largest informal economy ranging from 60-80% of its entire economy. This means
that a large percentage of these statistics do not apply to the majority of the population of
Bolivia. Many people do not have sustainable jobs and the pay gap in the informal economy is
quite large. Indigenous women in the informal economy earn an average of $87 a month, while
men in the informal economy earn $395 per month. Our microfinance loans are able to address
this large wage gap by providing loans to aspiring women artisans through AHA Bolivia.

Trade as a Share of GDP:

Bolivia’s trade as a share of GDP is at 57%, which is right at the average for the world.
Bolivia is definitely open to trade as it is a developing country. This suggests that Bolivia is
continuing to develop as a country. However, over the past few years trade as a share of GDP
has dropped. It was a high as 85.26% in 2014, which indicates a large decline in this metric.
This could be concerning although they are still at the world average and it has hovered around
57% for the past few years. The government has also signed laws stating that foreign firms and
investment will be treated as equal to domestic. However, whether this has occurred or is
enforced has yet to be seen.

Product Markets:
Our product won’t be sold in Bolivia, so it isn’t necessary to examine the product market
from a seller standpoint. However, it is important to examine the microfinance openness and
ease within the country. Bolivia has had a successful microfinance community within the past 10
years or so. Interest rates are already generally low at 18%. However, regulations have stated
that 60% of all bank portfolios must go to the productive sector. This sector includes areas like
mining, manufacturing, and forestry. Artisanship is not included in this so there is a limit to
helping out individuals in this area. Local banks also may have to take on more risk to maintain
profitability because interest rates for the productive sector are capped at 11.5%. These local
developments in new regulations could hurt the existing strong microfinance community and
mean fewer funds go to areas like women artisanship. We plan to use our zero interest rates to
help out this needy area.
We are planning to give out our loans in coordination with AHA Bolivia to provide women
artisans the ability to be paid for their work. 100% of these artisans are indigenous to Bolivia
and this is the group that struggles the most in terms of pay and ability to receive loans. Many
are too poor, where local lenders don’t want to take a chance on profit especially because of the
changing laws regarding loaning in Bolivia.

Labor Markets:
The labor participation rate in Bolivia is 68.645% as of 2017, which is up from the past
two years. The male participation rate is at 78.415%, while the female participation rate is only
at 59.345%. The unemployment rate is at 3.258%, which is pretty low. It is comparable to other
countries and close to the United States’ unemployment rate. As mentioned earlier, most of
Bolivia’s economy is informal and women make much less than men. There is also a large
disparity in education level between men and women and especially non-indigenous and
indigenous. AHA Bolivia serves only indigenous women. Only 51% of them have primary school
education and 29% have secondary school education. Non-indigenous men have much higher
completion levels at 81% in primary and 56% in secondary school. Because many women are
not able to become as educated, special skills like artisanry can allow them to become
entrepreneurs and care for their families. 50% of AHA Bolivia’s artisans are single female heads
of household meaning that they need to provide for their families and this occupation helps them
take care of their children because they can work from home.

Capital Markets:
Investing in Bolivia is difficult for a number of reasons. The government prioritizes
Bolivian investment over foreign, but it does have a law created in 2014 that guarantees equal
treatment for national and foreign firms. Another issue is the legal system if disagreements arise
in foreign matters. Article 320 of the 2009 Constitution states that Bolivia no longer recognizes
international arbitration forums. This means that any dispute cannot be settled in an
international court. This provides more risk and slower decisions for disputes. As a result,
Bolivia is ranked 157 of 189 on “Ease of Doing Business” metric created by the world bank.
Private investment rates have slowed in the past years averaging 7.5% of GDP. The investment
rate as percentage of GDP is only at 16%. This is slightly lower than in other South American
countries. The average overall is 20%. Two-thirds of FDI is concentrated in natural resources.
Our group aims to bring more money into struggling communities to better educate the public.
In regards to loan access, Bolivia has made progress. New laws mandate credit quotas
and interest rate caps to encourage lending. Banks must then try to give out loans at affordable
rates. This advancement has spurred progress and total credit reached about 46% of GDP in
2015 from 35% in the early 2000s. Further groundwork has been laid. However, these caps can
limit access to credit for certain groups and hurt the lending bank’s profitability. Credit has also
been extended disproportionately to certain sectors. Because of these reforms, every
microfinance lender in Bolivia expects BancoSol opted to drop their lower earning clients. Many
of the women artisans fall into these groups because they aren’t as profitable or important to
companies as the productive sector mentioned in the product market section.
Women, particularly in Bolivia, have struggled. As mentioned in the labor market, female
participation rate is much lower than men and they typically must play the role of mother and
wife instead of becoming entrepreneurs. Women when given access, have higher repayment
rates and are poorer than males. Providing loans to them should be secured in terms of
repayment.

2.5 Technological Infrastructure:

The technological infrastructure in Bolivia may pose as an obstacle for our microfinance
group. Many areas of the country are poor and undeveloped, especially those outside of
prominent cities like La Paz, Santa Cruz, Potosi, and Cochabamba. As a result of such
underdeveloped infrastructure, a sizeable portion of the population living outside the major cities
have almost no internet access nor any telecom infrastructure. Thus, our group will aim to focus
on the major, developed cities in Bolivia.
In the major cities where internet access and telecom infrastructure exist, about eight out
of one-hundred inhabitants have telephones with fixed lines, significantly less than those with
mobile devices which is about ninety-one out of one-hundred inhabitants (The World Factbook:
Bolivia). Most of these telephones, both mobile and landlines, are connected in La Paz, Santa
Cruz, and other capital cities (Potosi and Cochabamba). Mobile-cellular telephone usage has
increased rapidly over the years, up from the eighty per one-hundred users in 2011 (The World
Factbook: Bolivia). Because of this, an opportunity for our group to potentially incorporate AHA
Bolivia and Anna Hosbein (and her company AHA Bolivia) into a group on Facebook where
those who purchase our product can be connected to AHA Bolivia and see the positive effects
of their purchase, as well those interacting with Facebook in Bolivia.
Internet services, on the other hand, are entirely under-accessed and under-utilized. The
cost of internet in Bolivia is the highest in the region (Siete). Likewise, those outside of major
cities may not even have the opportunity to access the internet. Those that do utilize internet
access, though, use it for entertainment purposes like social networking and gaming (many use
it for Facebook). This is a big problem as Bolivia needs improvements in education and public
services, both of which may be improved with the help of internet services. Despite this, the
dominant “use” of internet services poses as an opportunity for our group, given that we can
advertise to those using their internet access for entertainment purposes to grab their attention.
This also presents a challenge to our group because it’s clear that we will not be able to
communicate with the people of Bolivia through this medium on social networking sites like
Facebook.
Despite Bolivia’s lack of effective technological infrastructure, Bolivians can make
purchases by means of PayPal. PayPal is an online payment system that allows people to
transfer money over the internet safely. The fact that PayPal is accessible in Bolivia presents
our group with a great opportunity to actually implement such loans; however, due to the lack of
productive internet usage, it may be difficult for our group to use, especially in areas where
internet access isn’t readily available. Despite this, nearly 44% of the population in Bolivia use
the internet, up from 1.4% of the population in 2000 (Internet World Stats). Likewise, over 10
million people have mobile cellular devices. However, this number is deceiving as not all of
these mobile devices are smartphones, of which is necessary to access PayPal on mobile
devices (The World Factbook).
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