Agriculture

Benjamin Ruiz is an ambitious, hardworking farmer from Leon, Nicaragua. After farming with his father for 20 years, Benjamin decided to start his own farm. He worked hard for many years to grow his business. But without the needed capital, he simply could not find a way to expand.

The future started looking up when Benjamin heard about MiCredito. He soon received a microfinance loan and purchased sesame seed. His crops began to flourish and when he paid the first loan off he received another loan to build his herd of dairy cattle. Today, with the help of MiCredito, Benjamin owns 50 cows, two bulls and 28 calves, while growing successful crops.

Benjamin is proud of what he has accomplished. His four sons and three daughters all have received an education and he speaks of them with great pride - especially the fact that they know how to do manual labor. One of his sons became a lawyer, and he still enjoys working on his father's farm in his spare time.

Thanks to determination, work ethic and loans from MiCredito, Benjamin sees a bright future. "I'm really thankful for MiCredito," he says. "They are very excellent people!"