Sponsoring a loan is one of the most effective ways to empower a person to break free from poverty. Rather than creating dependence, it makes it possible for hardworking families to overcome obstacles, achieve their goals, and make lasting improvements to their quality of life.
Learn about the loans that are currently funding below:
Herlinda García Luna
Family Information:
Herlinda lives with her husband and two children in a small neighborhood, on the outskirts of Matagalpa. The family has operated a small store in their home for the past several years, but the political unrest in 2018 forced them to shut down, for reasons of safety. She was just getting the business back up and running this year when the pandemic hit. Herlinda is both persistent and resilient and has been working on a new business idea.
Business Plan:
Herlinda will use her loan to buy dry goods, which are always in high demand in her community. She will purchase bulk quantities of rice, beans, corn, sugar and cooking oil. This will allow her to rebuild her business and diversify her inventory, with minimal risks. By strengthening the store in their home, she will also be able to take care of her children while generating income.
Glenda Aráuz Miranda
Family Information:
Glenda lives with her husband and her two children in Barrio Nuevo Amanecer, on the outskirts of Matagalpa. Nuevo Amanecer is one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in the city. The family has struggled to meet basic needs recently, because Glenda’s husband lost his job. Nicaragua’s economy has been severely affected by the pandemic. But, Glenda is determined to start a small business that will provide a stable income for her family.
Business Plan:
Glenda has created a business plan to buy fruit in the local markets and sell fruit salad in a very heavily trafficked part of the city. She will rent a small stand that is close to a school, health center and is only a few blocks from the market. She will use her loan to invest in the necessary utensils and also to buy an initial supply of fruit.
Gilsia Espinales
Family Information:
Gilsia is a single mother that lives with her four children in a borrowed house in the Lucidia Mantilla neighborhood. Her children are 9, 7, 2 and 4 months, which makes it very difficult for her to look for work outside the home. She has depended on assistance from family members in recent months, but she knows that she must find a reliable way to earn an income. She is determined to provide the best life possible for her children.
Business Plan:
Gilsia has created a plan to sell tortillas and cooked beans from her home. Both are products that are in constant demand in her neighborhood. This will allow her to work from home, so she can generate income while also taking care of her children. She will use the loan to purchase a fuel-efficient stove, and enough beans, corn and firewood to get started.
Marbeliz del Carmen Martinez
Family Information:
Marbeliz is a single mother who lives with her three daughters on the outskirts of Matagalpa. She and her children constructed a makeshift house out of sheet metal on a small lot that belongs to her sister. She has worked very hard to provide for her family and her dream is to build a decent house on her own property some day, so that they can have a decent place to live.
Business Plan:
Marbeliz makes and sells snack foods, such as plantain chips, potato chips, yuca chips and fried tortillas. She packages them and sells them in her neighborhood and in other parts of the city. Marbeliz will use her loan to buy some much needed utensils for her business and also to invest in bulk quantities of basic supplies, in order to keep her costs lower.
Miriam Martinez
Family Information:
Miriam is a single mother who lives with her four children on the outskirts of Matagalpa. She and her children have worked hard to build a small house, though the conditions are not adequate for the whole family. Miriam dreams about saving money in order to build a larger house where she, her children and grandchildren can live more comfortably.
Business Plan:
Miriam and her children have created a small business selling friends plantains and other typical snacks. They package their products for sale in their neighborhood and in some of the most popular parks in Matagalpa. She will use the loan to buy cooking utensils, bulk supplies and also to make some urgent repairs to their makeshift cooking area.
Hilda Martinez
Family Information:
Hilda lives with her five children in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood on the outskirts of Matagalpa. The live in a small wooden house, with very basic conditions for the family. Hilda is very dedicated to providing the best conditions possible for her family and for that reason, she has been working hard for the past three years to create a family bakery, so that she can better provide for her family.
Business Plan:
Hilda will use the loan to invest in supplies for the bakery. She buys basic staples like flour, sugar, yeast, butter and other ingredients in bulk quantities in order to keep her costs down. She already has many loyal customers in her neighborhood and she also sells at a local fair every weekend.
Martina Jirón
Family Information:
Martina lives with her husband and two sons in the Crecencio Rosales neighborhood, by the river that runs through Matagalpa. The neighborhood is in a very precarious location and is prone to flooding every year during the heaviest rains. Martina has been working hard, over the past three years, to build up a small sewing business so that she can better provide for her family.
Business Plan:
Martina received a sewing machine as a loan three years ago. She paid off the loan and has continued to work towards becoming an accomplished seamstress. She will use the money from the loan to invest in cloth and other supplies so that she can make articles to sell in the local market and also mend clothing for her neighbors.
Freddy Rostrán
Family Information:
Freddy lives with his wife and three children in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood on the outskirts of Matagalpa. It is a very precarious neighborhood, with limited access to basic social services. The family has worked together to create a small business, selling food in the local market, which has brought them together much closer as a family.
Business Plan:
The family works at home to prepare several typical dishes, which Freddy then takes to the market to sell. He has a tricycle that has been adapted to function as a small food stand. He will use the money from the loan to invest in bulk quantities of the basic food supplies, in order to keep their costs low.
Jenny de Jesús Granados
Family Information:
Jenny lives with her husband and four children in the neighborhood on the outskirts of Matagalpa. She and her family have worked hard to build their small house over the past several years. Jenny sells tortillas at home to generate income, but the family also takes advantage of the long rainy season to grow a small crop of beans.
Business Plan:
Jenny and her family will use the loan to grow two acres of beans on a piece of land that they have rented for the rainy season. They will invest in seed, fertilizer and labor costs to take care of their crop. They will sell the harvest in local markets once the price is favorable.
Iveth del Carmen Chavarría
Family Information:
Iveth lives in Barrio José Alfredo Urroz with her husband and their young daughter. The neighborhood is located on the outskirts of the city of Matagalpa and was created recently for families that did not have any place to live. Neither Iveth nor her husband has steady employment, so three months ago, we gave Iveth a small loan to start a business idea selling coffee in the local market.
Business Plan:
Iveth has established her small business in the market and is now ready to take it to the next level. Her plan is to purchase a tricycle which can carry a cooler and her thermoses with coffee, so she can cover more territory and reach more customers. There are other parts of the city where she can also offer her products, in order to increase her sales and income. She has already negotiated the price of the tricycle and is awaiting approval of her loan. She has faith that her business will continue to grow.
Mayra Palacios Pérez
Family Information:
Mayra lives with her husband and two children in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood on the outskirts of Matagalpa. The neighborhood is one of the most precarious in the city, with high poverty levels and limited access to social services. Neither Mayra or her husband have steady employment, but they have a business plan to begin making and selling tortillas from their home. |
Business Plan:
Mayra has experience making tortillas and is confident that she can turn that into a successful, family business. She and her husband are creating an area where they can make at least 200 tortillas per day, to sell in the surrounding neighborhoods. She will use her loan to buy bulk quantities of corn, firewood and other supplies, in order to reduce her costs. Her husband and children will help sell the tortillas twice a day. Mayra is hopeful that this small business will generate enough income to help her family break out of chronic poverty.
Tamara Mercedes Pineda
Family Information:
Tamara lives with her family in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood on the outskirts of Matagalpa. It is one of the most vulnerable areas in the city, with high crime rates and a majority of families living in conditions of chronic poverty. Social services are limited and there are few opportunities for formal employment. Tamara does not have formal employment, but she does have an entrepreneurial spirit.
Business Plan:
Tamara has created a business plan to purchase clothing and some household items (flashlights, batteries, cell phone chargers, cables, etc.) to sell in different parts of the city. She can sell to neighbors, to save them a trip to the market and will also visit surrounding neighborhoods and rural communities to sell her goods. Tamara is willing to work hard to build up her business, in the hopes that one day she will have enough capital to open a small store. She knows that her business will allow her to better provide for her children in the future.