Women's Stories

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WE Supports The Women of Fundación Adelante

WE is supporting poor rural women starting businesses in Honduras.

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In Intibucá, Adelante is the only MFI that offers small business loans to women like Maria Mendez who don't have collateral or business experience.

Maria Mendez involves her family in her tortilla business.

Maria Marta Dominguez Mendez wakes at 4:30 a.m. to make tortillas for her business before starting breakfast for her family of five. With her loans from Adelante, Maria has bought corn, wood for the stove and kitchen utensils to expand her business.

Adelante provided capital that was otherwise unavailable to her. “The banks all require collateral, so we can never get those loans because we don't have many assets to offer. I wanted to get a loan for myself to work so I could invest in my tortilla-making business, and push ahead.”

With the money she makes selling tortillas, Maria is able to pay for school supplies for one of her four children.

Her tortilla business is a family affair: “We have three small pieces of land by our house where we grow corn for our own consumption and the business. My children help with the planting and harvesting. We just finished planting the corn in May - it takes six months to grow. Here, there is only one corn crop per year, but corn stores well and can last a long time.”

Adelante, Maria says, “has really helped me as I work to make a better life for my family.”