Pueblos en Acción Comunitaria (PAC)

Mission: “To find realistic and sustainable responses to poverty.”

PAC’s (People in Community Action) model of intervention focuses on the final goal of “socially responsible development,” through the offering of two sets of services:

1. Entrepreneurial services: PAC provides financing to their members, facilitates the integration of value chains for commodities such as coffee, cocoa, taro, purple taro, yuca, chiles, etc, and produces commodities reports for the benefit of their members.

2. Development services, such as training of young leaders, strengthening of local entrepreneurs and promotion of private investment.

Both sets of services are permeated by three principles: environmental stewardship, security and quality of agricultural products, and family and community self-management.

Specialty: Medium to large agribusiness loans.

Organization Profile:  PAC was created in 1996 as an association of World Relief, to help the communities of the northern and central regions of Nicaragua establish integrated agricultural development projects, allowing them to strengthen their food security and social well-being though agribusiness initiatives.   In 2004, World Relief transferred all assets and liabilities to PAC making PAC self-sustainable and in charge of the lending portfolio and valuable agribusiness facilities to process and sell coffee, taro and basic grains.

Currently, PAC is a Christian inspired non-profit NGO that combines microfinance with agribusiness, technical assistance and entrepreneurial development in order to bolster individual and collective well-being in rural Nicaraguan communities.  PAC maintains strong ties with two Christian organizations: World Relief (a US organization) and Word and Deed from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

PAC’s main office is situated in Managua with regional offices in Ocotal, Matagalpa and Nueva Guinea; all of which help PAC serve around 600 rural communities in the northern, southeastern and western regions of Nicaragua.   

From 2004 to 2007 PAC facilitated alliances between it and local entrepreneurs.  The local entrepreneurs, organized as LPBs (local business platforms), work with PAC to develop smart and sustainable ways of growing, harvesting, processing, and exporting commodities. 

Agricultural producers organize themselves and obtain financing, technical assistance and marketing channels from PAC who in turn provide short-term and long-term loans to complement the financing provided by export companies and wholesalers.  Additionally, PAC allocates long-term loans toward improving the technological and infrastructural capacities of small farms as well as encouraging agricultural experimentation among small farmers. 

WCCN Partner Since: 2009

Borrowers: PAC issued loans to 1,865 clients, 17% of whom are women and 83% of whom are men (as of 2010).

Lending Portfolio: PAC’s average loan size is $3,006 with a total lending portfolio of $5,605,507.  Of this portfolio, 84% is used for agriculture and livestock, 13% for commerce, small enterprise and industry, and 2% for housing (as of 2010).

Website: http://www.apac.org.ni/