Astrid is one of the first participants of Friendship Bridge’s new Bridge to Success program. She employs eight people from her community in San Marcos, Guatemala, and prioritizes hiring single mothers. “I am so grateful to Friendship Bridge for giving me the opportunity to access an individual loan,” said Astrid. “The Bridge to Success program gave me the opportunity to buy industrial machinery to upgrade and speed up the processing of my meat and sausage business. I am surprised that, even as a single mother, 32 years old, and aware of the challenges we face in our communities, Friendship Bridge trusts my development and me.”

The Challenge

Poverty, violence, natural disasters, malnutrition, and corruption are just some of the tragic challenges our clients face on a regular basis. The compounded effects of COVID-19 have only exacerbated their burdens, leading some to send their loved ones away from Guatemala on a dangerous and costly journey North. Our new Bridge to Success program is part of our long-term efforts to provide holistic solutions that counter the root causes of migration.

The Solutions We're Proposing

Friendship Bridge is working harder than ever to increase economic opportunities for women in Guatemala and create opportunities that empower them to build a better life. Bridge to Success (Puente al Éxito) is the newest of Friendship Bridge’s Microcredit Plus programs and will focus on empowering more than 1,000 women entrepreneurs in rural Guatemala by 2023. 

This new program will allow us to directly serve a specific segment of clients we call Entrepreneurs by providing them with intensive business development training, individual microcredit loans, technical assistance, connections to peer networks, and access to new markets. These businesswomen, who manage what are known as “livelihood-sustaining enterprises,” are highly motivated, have an economically viable business model poised for growth, and are the drivers of economic development and new jobs in their communities. The program will grow significantly over the next few years, resulting in increased income for these entrepreneurs and job growth in Guatemala’s rural communities, where it is most needed.

 The Bridge to Success program will provide two major benefits to clients: 

• Financial Services: Women Entrepreneurs will be offered individual loans for working capital and purchasing fixed assets. 
• Business Training: Clients will participate in training focused on business strategy and development, planning and management, as well as leadership and community development.

The Impact of Your Giving

You can support our work by making a donation today that will help us grow and improve women-led businesses, reduce household vulnerability, and increase empowerment for thousands of women in Guatemala. 

• $15 pays for one educational kit for the training of one Entrepreneur client.
• $115 provides internet for three months for the virtual training of one Entrepreneur client.
• $300 provides one tablet for the virtual training of Entrepreneur clients.
• $775 pays for the market access services for one Entrepreneur client, which includes technical training, business formalization services, branding, and marketing development services, online store development, and/or online sales training. 
• $1,460 pays for the intensive training in business development for one Entrepreneur client.

Why Fund Us?

Our partners at Women’s WorldWide Web (W4) are supporting women in Guatemala by generously matching all donations to Friendship Bridge up to $20K for the month of July. That means your gift will DOUBLE in value if you make a donation before July 31, 2022.

Your donation helps make transformative changes in the lives of women in Guatemala. Friendship Bridge clients learn how to manage their businesses and invest in their families, thus securing better and healthier futures for themselves and their children. 

An important partner since 2012, W4 supports access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for Friendship Bridge’s clients. W4 is the first online collaborative platform worldwide dedicated to promoting girls' and women’s empowerment worldwide.

A gift for our first 10 donors!

As our thanks, we'll send the first 10 donors to this campaign a beautiful ‘Empower Women’ shopping tote from our online store at Handmade by Friendship Bridge®, created by Jacinta in Guatemala.

Thank you for your support!