El Microcrédito

A 90-minute, 4-round basic Express simulation on a micro-entrepreneur taking, using and repaying her first microloan through a lean season, for pre-incubation and incubation programmes, chamber-of-commerce and municipal entrepreneurship courses, microfinance client education and technical, technological and undergraduate entrepreneurship and financial-education courses.

Brisa y Sabor, a fictional food-and-drinks kiosk on the beach front of El Rodadero, Santa Marta, could sell twice what its owner can stock in the December-January season and already loses money in the lean months; over twelve months (September 2027 to August 2028) she borrows from a fictional microfinance institution and has to carry the loan through a lean season made worse by works on the beach front.

Round by round you choose how much to borrow and on what schedule, what to stock and where the kiosk's cash lives, what to do when the March instalment cannot be paid and where the lean months' income comes from, and the answer to a renewal offer and how to save for the next lean season.

Each period is scored on business profit, net worth, cash on hand, debt-service load and the credit record; borrowing from the paga-diario (gota a gota) caps the score. Spanish with English.

An introductory simulation that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, designed for undergraduate courses. It also works in vocational and high-school programmes and in onboarding sessions.