Part 2 of 2: MBA study tour in Peru – Machu Picchu, microfinance, stocks, adventure
Guest post by Oliver Huslid, Evening MBA student
Machu Picchu
We took a bus, a train, and then a bus again to reach the top of Machu Picchu Mountain where the ruins are. My headache left me, which is fortunate since the first thing I did upon arrival is sprint across the ruins to get my name on the list for the Huaynu Pichu hike. Only 300 visitors are allowed at a time and I wanted to catch up with my classmates who had taken earlier buses than I. The climb forces me to do a solid hour of stair-stepping but rewards me with a majestic view of the Machu Picchu ruins.
Microfinance and women entrepreneurs
Our first company visit is with Credivision, a WorldVision-owned microfinance company focused on lending to women in Peru. They have medium-sized operations, having fewer than 200 active accounts but always expanding. A stringent application process ensures high-quality borrowers on their portfolio and a high repayment rate. A minimum of 10 women are required to apply for a loan together as a group—this is to encourage the borrowers to help each other out with their businesses, whether it’s giving advice or pooling funds. Because they’re on the hook together, they will often cover for each other’s payments should one borrower’s business fail and peer pressure the delinquent individual into solvency.
Peru stock exchange
We visit the stock exchange, a nondescript commercial building in one of the business districts of town. The presenter is regrettably too incoherent for me to learn anything, though I do recall from an earlier presentation that Peru’s stock market is over half mining capitalization. Their goal is to merge with Colombia’s stock exchange, which is dominated by textiles, and Argentina’s stock exchange, which is dominated by services, to create a unified and diversified stock market.
Paragliding over Peru
On my last day, I go paragliding off the cliffs of Lima by the shoreline. For the first time, I’m able to see across the endless city of Lima, home to 8 million, and I immediately forget all that’s on my mind. I look down the coast until the beach meets the horizon and begin to feel very relaxed. The paragliders and I head back to the hotel and meet up with our classmates, all of whom venture into the city for one last shopping adventure. Feeling tranquil, I instead opt to lay by the waterfall pool, dozing off to the sunset, waiting for the hour that I must board the plane to whisk me away from my Peruvian dream.
Oliver is one of many University of Washington Foster School of Business MBA students who studied abroad in 2011. Learn more about MBA study and work abroad opportunities.
