Newsworthy

Our local partnership is making an impact in the city of Cuenca and is receiving increasing attention for its work. Through the coordination of one of our local team leaders, Gabriela Granda, and her publicity firm KreActiva, we've been able to share the story of Cuenca Partners in both of the major local newspapers. Here is a sample of the stories that were run back in April. (Yes, I'm a little behind on posting stories!)

Practice your Spanish by reading the print screen copies of the articles or scroll down for links to the English translation!

Cuenca Partners ayuda a iniciar emprendimientos from diario El Mercurio.
Read this article in English.

Se desarrolla seminario para microempresarios from diario El Tiempo.
Read this article in English.

Passion for Making Pizza Leads to Success

CUENCA, Ecuador --- Though he sells pizza in his Spanish-speaking country, Ecuadorian Patricio Hurtado retains a slice of Italy in his restaurant’s name: Pizza Nostra, which translates as “Our Pizza” in Italian. The name fits, because Patricio’s pride and joy belongs not only to him as the owner, but to the community, his growing number of employees, and to the God who led the restaurateur down this entrepreneurial path.

“Ever since I was about 16 or 17 years old, I have been involved in business,” said Patricio, the father of two grown sons. His wife, Emma, is a tradeswoman who sells clothing in an open air market. “As a teenager, I bought shoes in Gualaceo (a town famous for shoes) and sold them elsewhere." Decades later, his creative capacity for business prompted Patricio to pursue a new venture, one that would provide delicious fast food in a neighborhood with a shortage of restaurants (only one other eatery, a rotisserie chicken restaurant, existed). But first Patricio had to overcome fear of failure. “The doors opened and I could see my [pizzeria idea] was really from God,” he said. “Then I had confidence, faith, and peace.”

Linking arms with him on this journey are Carlos Serrano and Boris Ordóñez, both of Cuenca Partners, the local affiliate of Partners Worldwide, based in this city of half a million located in the highlands of Ecuador. Patricio took the Cuenca Partners business training course, and Carlos and Boris mentored him in everything from restaurant management to testing various dough and sauce recipes to achieve pizza perfection. After 6-7 months of planning, Pizza Nostra was born.

“[Opening a restaurant] was always something I found attractive,” Patricio said. “I like to work with my hands, being in the kitchen and cooking at my house. And I knew a pizza place could work well, according to people’s ability to pay. Food is a very practical business, not based on seller financing and credit; people pay immediately.”

Since opening a little over a year ago, Patricio has been able to create jobs for three employees―Juan, Nina, and Edward. Juan, whom Patricio knew from the Bible study group hosted in his home, works evenings, delivering pizzas on his motorcycle. Nina, a student, also works evenings. Edward, on the other hand, was the first employee, working shoulder to shoulder with Patricio from the start. They met by chance after Edward's previous employer closed his business and sold Patricio an industrial cheese shredder. While closing the sale, 
the former boss recommended Edward as an excellent worker. Unemployed at the time, Edward had valuable experience running three pizzerias in Ecuador and Columbia. Investing his passion in his work, Edward beams with joy as he kneads pizza crust, only a year after being unemployed with few prospects. In September, Edward will have saved enough money to open his own pizzeria once more, this time armed with what he’s learned about successful business management through Patricio. Edward’s goal? “To be able to open more businesses that can help other people and me as well.”

Though Patricio will lose a hardworking employee in Edward, it’s gratifying that the worker he’s taken under his wing now plans to open his own business. Patricio believes God is blessing his enterprise in a way that no other business venture of his has been blessed. While he worked in various industries in the past—selling fabric, producing powdered drinks and candy, and promoting good eye care—this is the first time Patricio has had a vision for growth. These prior attempts struggled within a changing Ecuadorian marketplace, but in God’s redemptive economy led to Patricio’s salvation years ago. Now, Pizza Nostra is different. Patricio plans to open a second location of his successful business in the coming year.

“Many people have said, ‘There is something special about the owner of this business,’” Patricio said. “By giving good customer service with a smile, people notice a difference, and in this way we have been able to sow seeds for Christ.”

Read this story on the Partners Worldwide website here. Original story appeared in the Partners Worldwide August eNews.

Well-Nurtured Business Cares for Babies

AZOGUES, Ecuador --- Inspired by the birth of his son Mateo―and the realization that running out of diapers is not an option―Pedro opened a baby supply store three-and-a-half years ago in the town of Azogues. With a vision to serve clients well, Pedro’s business has expanded from his original store to a second store in a close-by community. Like a well fed, well cared-for baby, his business is growing and thriving.

“I’ve learned that my business belongs to God, that everything is his and I am a steward,” Pedro said.  “God is showing me that he is the true owner of everything and I am seeing his blessing.”

Born in a city near the Peruvian border, Pedro moved to Azogues and met his wife, Anita, a school teacher. Though the town of 34,000, located in an Andean valley northeast of Cuenca, has an economy based in agriculture, flour milling, and Panama hat weaving, unemployment is high, and Pedro found it very difficult to find a job. “People didn’t want to hire me because I’m not from here,” he said. “I had many ideas of starting different businesses.  But there was always this fear that the businesses wouldn't go well.  What if the people didn't like my products?”

After Mateo’s birth, Pedro and Anita realized there was a product they could sell that would always be in demand: diapers, not to mention wipes, formula, teething rings, and other baby essentials. Yet Pedro lacked solid training and access to the wider circles of exchange that would allow him to develop his strengths and talents. His business floundered at first, and he contemplated giving up and moving someplace with more jobs.
 
The turning point for Pedro was taking a business training course through Cuenca Partners, the local affiliate of Partners Worldwide in nearby Cuenca. The course “was a huge help for me because I didn't know anything about business,” said Pedro.  “I was taught how to manage the store, take it to the next level, do bookkeeping—all of it. There was an 80% transformation of the business after I took the course.”

One thing he learned was the principle of inventory control. “When we get down to three (items) of a product, we need to start ordering more,” he said. By quickly replenishing dwindling supplies, Pedro runs the kind of store his clients can rely on.

“Pedro has products in stock that at any point his competitors might not have,” said Carlos Serrano, who currently works part-time for Cuenca Partners and part-time for Verbo Church.  “His clients come to him because of that dependability.”

Along with dependability, there’s integrity and the desire “to be faithful to God in everything.” This means resisting the temptation to buy cheaper but stolen goods for his store. “I know it’s not right,” Pedro said. “I only buy things with receipts so that everything goes well.”

Today, the store is bustling; it’s not unusual for Pedro to serve ten customers in ten minutes. The demand is so high that Pedro opened a second location eight blocks away and hired an employee to run it. Both baby stores are flourishing, as Pedro works hard and dreams of building his business, providing for his family and meeting the needs of his community.

“Time will tell what else we can do in the business,” Pedro said. “God has great plans for my life—I am convinced.  Now my goal is to stay faithful to Him.”

Read the story on the Partners Worldwide website here. Original story appeared In Partners Worldwide's August eNews.

Pizza Nostra

After years working in a nonprofit organization, Patricio took a step of faith toward his dream of running his own business.  With constant guidance and mentoring from Carlos, a leader in the Cuenca affiliate of Partners Worldwide, Patricio learned business skills, evaluated the market for pizzerias, tried countless sauces, dough recipes, and ingredients, and finally open the doors of a pizzeria in a residential area that lacked restaurant options.  He had invested over five months of planning, and his business was already growing when we visited Pizza Nostra a mere two months after the restaurant's grand opening.

When we arrived, Carlos went back behind the counter to help Patricio, his wife, and their two workers finishing up appetizers of veggies and buffalo wings.  Pizza and lasagna soon followed, the latter being a new option Patricio is adding to the menu.  While the restaurant is still in its initial stages, Patricio has large plans for its growth.  Eventually he would like to make Pizza Nostra a franchise with locations all over Cuenca and beyond.  He is already training a nephew who hopes to eventually run a restaurant, and Patricio is taking steps to differentiate his product, such as offering a seafood pizza with shrimp, crab, and fish.  From talking with customers, Patricio knows that there are small improvements to make, but he is on the right track.  He already has many repeat customers, and with Carlos' continued mentoring he looks forward to implementing daily improvements in the business.

Gloria Rodriguez - Pharmaceuticals

One of my favorite parts of working in business development as "field staff" is getting to actually go out of the office and meet the amazing businesspeople we serve.  A large part of my time is spent more on "administrative" work - ensuring our local partners have the business training materials they need, helping to create a mentoring handbook, ensuring that finances are in order and that both Ecuadorian and North American partners are well informed about what their counterparts in another part of the world are doing.  But when I can meet with a businessperson like Gloria and hear how the work I do in the office to support our partner organizations like PCDE equips them to in turn empower Gloria, it brings an extra ounce of joy to the day.  So here is a story from a recent visit with Gloria and her husband.

Gloria Rodriguez is no stranger to work in pharmaceuticals.  With over 30 years experience working for multinational pharmaceutical companies to develop formulas, Gloria learned every aspect of production.  However, within large companies any formula she developed belonged to someone else, and she was powerless to help underemployed coworkers find extra hours of work.

Using her work experience and a class taught by Partners Worldwide affiliate PCDE, Gloria wrote a business plan to expand the laboratory she had slowly built with small purchases over several years.  Her goals were to meet the needs of aquaculture and poultry farming contacts, provide employment, and develop new product lines based on her knowledge of biochemistry.  With a small loan, she finished the production areas in the laboratory next to her house and purchased the machines she lacked.

While growth is slow and requires many government permissions and patents, Gloria has already begun to expand her business and give weekend work to underemployed workers.  And with the growth of the business, she already has fulfilled one of her hopes--to provide employment that would allow her husband to return.  He had spend many months living in another city during the week in order to keep his job.  Now he is able to be with his family and put his energy into expanding a family business that they hope will create many more jobs in the coming years.

Maria's Chickens

Maria Iza grew up in an agricultural family on the outskirts of Quito, so it is no wonder that she currently raises chickens, as well as an assortment of ducks, turkeys, guinea pigs, and rabbits. However, her experiences leading up to this point were not quite as predictable. Maria’s parents helped her enter into work as a seamstress at the early age of 16. After the birth of her four children, Maria decided to return to agriculture, and was able to help provide for her family with the milk production of 14 dairy cows. When the country became unstable and several of her cows were stolen, Maria chose to sell the rest and start a small business with two sewing machines. As her children grew, she sent them to high school and then the university, but she did not have money to buy a computer, which her daughter needed to finish her thesis and graduate from the university. Maria made the difficult decision to sell her sewing machines and buy a computer.

Today it is quite obvious that this was the best decision that Maria could have made. Joy radiates from her face as Maria explains that all her children graduated from the university and are professionals. Maria, in turn, has also built up her current businesses. Without any experience with chickens, Maria decided one day to buy a box of 200 chicks. She had seen a man on the street selling newborn chicks, and it piqued her interest. There was a steep learning curve when Maria started. Of that first group of 200 chicks, she was only able to sell 100 full-grown chickens. However, she has grown and diversified the business over time, most recently adding the traditional Ecuadorian guinea pig as one of the animals she raises. With a loan from the local PW partner in Quito, Maria was able to renovate her chicken coops, adding ventilation and replacing the old, leaky roof. She also built separate nests for the ducks and “wild” hens. As her business continues to grow, Maria hopes to purchase more cages for guinea pigs and rabbits, and possibly buy a truck one day to help her bring the animals to the market. In all this work, Maria relies on God to give her strength for the present work and provide for whatever plans He has for the future.

Commodities Trader Invests his Talents in Ecuador

I have the immense blessing of working with 9 dedicated North American business people and farmers in addition to the 5 board members here in Ecuador.  Their commitment to service has been an inspiration to me. Here is the story of one of our North American team members, as it appears in the Partners Worldwide June Newsletter:  

Story by Jacqueline Klamer

 For Felix Hernandez, trading commodities in the New York Stock Exchange has always been an exhilarating career.  When he became a Christian, he decided he needed to build on those talents and serve others in his Christian walk.

Investing and expanding businesses comes naturally, says Felix--one company he launched grew from three employees to 300 within the eight years he managed it.  Yet, within his church in New Jersey, he had trouble finding any opportunity to use his strongest gifts to serve.  For years, he and his wife Sandy volunteered through a Samaritan's Purse program, helping out at local food shelters, and even building houses in Mexico.  "I started thinking that I'm not using my God-given abilities in business," he says.  "And, frankly I'm pretty bad at building houses."

In 2008, Felix searched online for ways to use his business knowledge to serve when he learned about the need for small and medium business loans in developing countries.  He heard about Partners Worldwide, attended a conferece, and soon got connected with business members of Partners for Christian Development - Ecuador (PCD-E).

(Continue Story Here)

Meat Queen - Now Open

Street sign outside the business

  Last Tuesday I had the privilege of getting a sneak peak and serving as a taste-tester for the fast food restaurant Meat Queen.  For months I have been listening as Maria Sol detailed all the progress-from designing the logo, to finding the perfect location, to buying all the equipment, to specifying the exact recipe for each sauce.  On Tuesday I saw a glimpse of the fruit of all her labor in the three months since she graduated from the Quito business training course.  Here are some pictures from the visit, and I ask for your prayers over Maria Sol, her family, and her employees as they start this restaurant, which had its Grand Opening on Saturday.  It's amazing to see the results of all her hard work, and I look forward to sharing more of her story soon once I visit the restaurant now that it's open for business.

Starting Again

On my bus rides from Cumbayá up to Quito, I've recently been memorizing a poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled, "If." It is written as advice from father to son on how to have "the Earth and everything in it" and to "be a man," but even more than that, it teaches what it means to have true strength of character. There is one part of the poem that reminds me of a businessperson with whom I have been working. The poem says,

"If you can...watch the things you've given your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch--and toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss."

This mark of character is one that I have seen in Luis, a dinnerware salesman who spends each day riding the buses of Quito from one hotel to the next restaurant to another military establishment. All the while, he is carrying with him catalogues of plates and cups and buffet food warmers. From what my coworker told me, this was not where Luis was a couple years ago. Of course, he had to start in the same way long before, but over the years he had built a large business with major clients including the best 5-star hotels in Quito and international chain restaurants as well. The business was going well until family issues led Luis to give up his business. Without his management, the business failed, and not only did Luis have nothing, but the person to whom he gave the business also lost everything.

And so Luis started again at his beginning. He still had his contacts at those hotel and restaurants even if he had lost his working capital and the warehouse he had filled with inventories of dinnerware and other merchandise. Luis began reestablishing his business little by little first with one small client and then with a few major hotels. Without a car, it takes time for Luis to reach the businesses, and when they ask him to bring physical samples of plates or water pitchers, he loads up his wares in an old black suitcase. But he is persistent, and during a recent visit, he told me that he has regained clients among the international chain restaurants. He now represents a linens manufacturer and a laundry service, offering their products and services to each hotel he visits. Through diversification, persistence, and strength of character, Luis is slowly rebuilding his business from the beginning. And something else--he was not the one who told me about his loss. His focus is on doing his best in his present work and achieving his goals for the future.

While we like to hear the stories of continual progress and business growth, the hard fact is that each business and each person faces trials at one time or another.  Being able to pick up the pieces and start over and succeed show the strength of character of a business owner and the power to endure of a business.

Competiton in Yatzaputzan

Clouds come in over patchwork fields in Yatzaputzan

My coworker Edwin and I recently went to Ambato, the fourth largest city in Ecuador.  And then we caught a bus to a community up in the mountains above Ambato where the cold wind blows clouds across the dirt road and a girl from Michigan expects snow to start falling from the gray sky at any moment.  This little community has nothing more than an old blue sign along the country road that reads "Yatzaputzan" to demark the wood houses and dirt road that form a community, but years ago someone from this area contacted PCD (Partners for Christian Development) about training in agriculture.  Eventually they started a savings and loan program, a bakery, and a cheese factory.  The last of these three was the motive for our visit to the community.  To help with start the cheese factory, PCD gave a loan for the sanitary registry and the initial milk purchases.  With the loan, PCD also made a long-term commitment to the development of that factory and the surrounding community.

Community members at the cheese factory

At its start, the cheese factory met a large need in Yatzaputzan, Tamboloma, and surrounding communities of the indigenous Kichwa people.  With many dairy cattle on the mountains, the farmers of the community had no other option but to sell their milk at the market price to buyers from outside the community.  By starting a cheese factory, the farmers continued to sell their milk at that price, but they got back the whey, which could be used to feed their livestock.  At the same time, the cheese factory added value to the milk by producing a white cheese and yogurt that were then sold for higher prices in Ambato.  With the proceeds, the community association was able to support the needs of its members while also providing work for four people.

Straining cheese in green netting and placing it in molds

In the past year, though, things have changed dramatically.  Where they once was a monopoly on the purchase of milk, the cheese factory now has to compete with the a large dairy company that set up an outpost for purchasing milk in the same community.  Buying milk at a higher price, the dairy company has convinced many farmers to switch their loyalty, but the milk company does not give back to the community like the cheese factory did.  Two employees at the cheese factory had to find other work, and neither whey nor funds are returning to the community as they once did.  The cheese factory is at an important juncture in which it must adapt to the demands of market competition, and PCD is committed to supporting it in this venture.  Maybe it will mean the community's savings and loan program will need to lend to farmers to buy more cows and sell more milk to the cheese factory, and maybe it means selling the cheese directly in Ambato to raise income and be able to pay higher prices to the milk farmers.  whatever route the cheese factory takes, PCD will continue to walk alongside them and give support and advice.

Factory where cheese is produced on ground floor

Like the story of any business, this story is not over, and there are many uncertainties about what the next chapter might hold.  As the cheese factory meets challenges, PCD has committed to playing an active role in the story of meeting and overcoming those challenges.

Onions on a Mountainside

Cayambe Volcano peaking thru the clouds

Ecuador is beautiful.  And that becomes even more evident when one escapes the concrete jungle of Quito and ventures a few hours by bus through the mountain passes overshadowed by sleeping volcanoes to rural communities like Cangahua.  A couple weeks ago my coworker and I left our computers behind and spent most of the day on buses snaking through the mountains and in an ancient pickup truck bouncing along rock studded roads.  The ultimate goal was to reach José’s plot of land in the Andes highlands.  When the pickup finally stopped beside the evangelical church of Lote 4, we had a gorgeous view of the valley below and the communal field on the opposite mountain.

View from above a rural Evangelical Church

Edwin and Jose at the edge of Jose's onion field

We first went to José’s house, but his daughter informed us that he was at his onion field halfway up the mountain.  The only way up that mountain is to cross a footbridge over the stream, walk past a dilapidated house, and climb…climb…climb.  A half hour later we reached the plateau on which José and his wife were harvesting onions.  Standing against a strong wind, we talked with him about the onion harvest, the local association, the construction on the church, and how his loan payment was going.  Ending in prayer, we said farewell and headed back down the mountain to the awaiting pickup for a bumpy ride back to the town of Cangahua.  From there we caught a ride to the city of Cayambe to purchase some of its famous cheese and then returned to the concrete jungle of Quito.

Photo break on the way down the mountain. My left hand is blocking Jose's house where we started.

Waiting for the bus in the Cangahua town square

Walking Alongside

What makes a business development NGO any different from any other microfinance lending organization?

It’s the story, just like this one, behind each loan payment.  Whereas a lending organization focuses on collecting loans within the given time period, business development implies a long-term investment and a commitment to walk beside each businessperson, whether a loan is involved or not.  That commitment involves visits, phone calls, light conversations about family and the tough questions about what is really happening in the business.  It’s an enriching and fulfilling relationship, but at the same time requires a strong connection in order to honestly discuss what is best for the business and the owner.

A week ago I had the privilege of visiting Roger, a jewelry maker who participated in business training with our local partner PCD-Ecuador, received a loan, and formally started his jewelry business fulltime in November.  Roger comes from a family of jewelers and previously worked for a major jewelry manufacturer, but he wanted to have his own business to work with his wife and brother to carry on the family tradition.  With a loan from Partners Worldwide, Roger purchased the necessary machinery and now spends his days creating his own jewelry instead of simply following the designs created by his employer. 

Starting his business has been a joy for Roger, but it comes with many questions.  “Should I invest in additional machinery now or wait until a later point?  How can I increase sales?  Should I purchase an island in a mall to sell my products or continue selling through intermediaries?”  These are questions that Roger must answer, but he is not alone in searching for the best response.  Every month, Roger calls his business mentor in the US to share his questions and evaluate options with an experienced Christian businessman.  At the same time, local representatives visit Roger and review his financial statements. 

Through this ongoing communication, Roger is not alone as he takes the first strides in his business but has other Christian businesspeople walking alongside him every step of the way.  That is what makes Partners Worldwide and our local partner, PCD-Ecuador, business development NGOs—the constant commitment to the businessperson.

Check out an earlier story on Roger’s business on the Partners Worldwide website.

And look for more stories on businesses and a bike trail in Ecuador later this week.

More Trainings Please

The plan was always to hold two business courses a year, each comprised of twelve classes on topics such as marketing, production, and accounting.  That was the plan, until Juan Carlos showed up at the very first class.  A street vendor who had not completed high school, Juan Carlos was motivated to take the lessons he learned each Saturday and apply them to his business during the rest of the week.  Instead of persisting as a street vendor, weathering storms, avoiding the authorities, and pushing his cart through crowded sidewalks, Juan Carlos took steps to formalize his business.  His typical location had been on a street corner across from a school, but half a block down the road there was an empty storefront.  Using his own savings instead of taking on a loan, Juan Carlos rented the space and purchased tables, benches, and an awning that announces "The Authentic Cevichochos."  From this space, he now sells cevichochos, a healthy Ecuadorian snack comprised of white chocho beans, ceviche shrimp, toasted corn kernels, plantain chips, and an onion-tomato sauce.

While he was improving his own business, Juan Carlos had a desire to help his fellow cevichocho vendors.  Together with 45 peers he formed an association complete with a uniform and plans to petition the government to allow cevichocho vendors to sell on the streets.  Knowing that his business training had helped him set goals and improve his work, Juan Carlos also began teaching the lessons he received through classes at Partners for Christian Development (PCD) to the rest of the association.  After three classes, he asked the PCD administrative assistant, Edwin, to help him lead the classes.  In this way, the impact of business training is being multiplied, and once-isolated cevichocho vendors are now united, seeking to improve their services, legalize their informal businesses, and save enough to also establish their own storefront restaurants.

On a Wednesday afternoon, Edwin and I stopped in to check on Juan Carlos, plan the last class of the business course, and enjoy some authentic cevichochos.  Just inside the doorway stands the street cart that used to be the entirety of Juan Carlos' business.  Now the cart is accompanied by a stove where his assistant prepares typical fried pork and a display case filled with beverages and tuna, which can turn a roadside snack of cevichochos into a sit-down meal.  As we conversed with Juan Carlos, he shared that the association had started a savings fund and already was giving out its first loan to improve another cevichocho business.  Not only has he improved his own business, but Juan Carlos is also inspiring others to do the same.  Furthermore, he is not finished receiving training.  Juan Carlos recently enrolled in night classes so that he can finally achieve his high school diploma.

Monica's Restaurant

Crossing a busy avenue in the industrial sector of Quito, Ecuador, I ducked into a blue-green building where the rattle of dishes above the gentle melody of Spanish music announced the preparation of meals for the lunchtime rush.  Monica called out her greeting as she carried a tray of soup to patrons in the upper dining area, and a waitress soon brought me a sweet yellow fruit drink called naranjilla.  When business slowed down and Monica could join me to talk, she explained that in the five weeks since she opened this restaurant, sales had grown from fifteen lunches per day to around eighty on the day I visited.  Motioning with her hand like a rocked in takeoff, she beamed with delight at the growth in the business but also recognized the challenges ahead of her.

Located near many factories, Monica has a large lunchtime customer base, but she also has many competitors.  With seven other restaurants within a few blocks, the price of a lunch is fixed, but Monica distinguishes her restaurant by the high quality and exceptional flavor of her cooking along with the inclusion of a small dessert in the price of a meal.  As business grows, she hopes to contract another worker to work in the evenings so that she can stay open late and offer empanadas, a cheese- or plantain-filled bread that is a popular snack as people return home from work.

These aspirations to grow and improve her very own restaurant are the fruit of many yeas of preparation for Monica.  Only a few years ago, Monica lived in the eastern jungle region of Ecuador and was a teacher with no intentions of working in the food industry.  However, a series of events forced her and her husband to move to Quito.  As they started off with nothing, she found that her cooking could be a source of income to help provide for her two young daughters.  Monica had grown up around her mother's restaurant in the eastern jungle, so she turned her knowledge of food preparation into an informal business, catering for events and serving lunch to nearby construction workers in her home.  Nonetheless, Monica had bigger dreams.  Through business training from Partners Worldwide's local affiliate, Partners for Christian Development, Monica learned the management skills needed to complement her cooking and open a restaurant.  A loan from Partners Worldwide was the final step to fulfill this goal, allowing Monica to purchase an existing restaurant and make it her own.

Although it has only been a few weeks since the business opened, the impact in Monica's life is obvious as soon as one meets her.  "I feel strong." Monica says, lifting her arms and smiling broadly.  "This is my very own business and I make the decisions.  It makes me feel useful and fulfilled, and it is going to have a great impact on my family and community."

Monica is one of four businesspeople who received loans in July after completing a 12-week business training class and writing a business plan.  I look forward to following the progress of their businesses and seeing them achieve the goals they have set out.


Coming soon: The Economic Context of Ecuador: Why we do what we do.