Austin Women Entrepreneurs Help Women in Latin America 
Build Businesses as Path out of Poverty

By Chasity Larios

This month, DiscoverHope, an international development nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, is highlighting the work of Austin women entrepreneurs helping women in developing countries start fair trade businesses as a path out of poverty.

After starting their own businesses, many Austin women entrepreneurs now donate their time and funding to help women in developing countries do the same. These Austin entrepreneurs donate through a local non-profit, DiscoverHope Fund. Founded by social entrepreneur Maggie Miller, DiscoverHope now has many entrepreneurial women that support DiscoverHope to provide microloans and business training classes for women in Latin America living on less than $2 a day.

”Being a woman entrepreneur myself, it is such a worthwhile cause to promote women, in any business capacity, to ensure their success through microloans and training,” said Joni Stoughton, owner of Austin catering company CoJo Unlimited Catering. Stoughton explains that empowering women through entrepreneurship is a sound investment in any community. “With the nurturing, hard working, and compassionate qualities that most women possess, I believe that is a recipe for success and fulfillment that can be passed on to new generations of young women.”

Funding from Austin entrepreneurs supports loans to women like Rita Sangay Cueva, a 36-year old mother of one in Cajamarca, Peru.  Cueva received a $100 loan to start her jewelry business to support her family after her husband passed away.  Cueva attends DiscoverHope’s artisan workshops as well as business and leadership trainings.  She learns how to improve her product and how to manage money, reach more customers, grow her business, and build her savings.

“I would like to attend even more classes and to learn new and different things,” said Cueva about the entrepreneurial trainings she attends.  “Every time we learn something new and different we can have a better business.”

“In many parts of the world, women do not get the opportunity to use their smarts and capabilities.  This is such a shame for so many reasons,” said Abigail Mahnke, host of Inner Views, and another Austin entrepreneur supporting microloans for women in developing countries.  “DiscoverHope has shown that you can rely on women to use microloans wisely to create and grow viable businesses, and to pay them back without fail!  These are businesses that enable them to feed their families and send their children to school, and also provide valuable services to the community.  It’s a beautiful thing all around.”

Microlending has gained popularity worldwide as an effective tool to provide a path from poverty to sustainable income.  DiscoverHope’s unique and successful “Microcredit Plus” model implements a dual approach to poverty alleviation—providing microloans and entrepreneurial training to help loan recipients build their businesses.  DiscoverHope promotes fair trade by creating opportunities for many of the women they serve to sell their products in the form of jewelry, handbags, and blankets.

Amy Bryant, co-founder of the multimedia educational company Thinkwell, is also supporting DiscoverHope to make a change. “The women that DiscoverHope is working with just want a chance–a chance to better themselves and earn for their families. DiscoverHope makes that happen. They are the safety net that would otherwise be missing in that community. By providing a means (through microloans) and a way (through community support and education) DiscoverHope is single-handedly changing the lives of women and children that would otherwise live as victims of poverty.”

Designer Conni Reed, creator of the Consuela products, has also been a strong supporter of empowering women in Latin America to become entrepreneurs. “As a very young person, traveling through interior Mexico, I was inspired by the amazing beauty in the vivid colors and intricate handwork the women used in their clothing and home textiles, as well as the pottery, ceramics, and other living art pieces they created. DiscoverHope gives the wonderful women who repeatedly awe and inspire me an opportunity to turn their craftsmanship, artistry, and strong work ethic into a business that can provide for their family. It provides very deserving individuals with a helping hand, fosters their sense of self-worth, and enables them to thrive in a very tough economic environment.”

Maggie Miller, Executive Director of DiscoverHope, said, “Our organization is lucky to have the support of amazing women in this community who want to help provide an opportunity for women living in poverty to create their own prosperity through microcredit, entrepreneurship, and training.”

Since 2008, DiscoverHope has funded 325 loans with an average loan of $200 and a 100% payback success rate. More than 1,900 participants have completed over 800 trainings. Loan recipients have reported more than $9,000 in new income generation directly related to skills and knowledge obtained in the trainings, which cycles directly back into their families and community.

DiscoverHope Fund is an international non-profit whose mission is to provide opportunities for women in poverty to create their own prosperity through microcredit, entrepreneurship, and training.  Their work serves women living on $2 a day in developing nations so they can shape their own destinies through creation of entrepreneurial businesses.

About Jason Myers

Jason Myers is the editor-in-chief of the Texas Entrepreneur Network and can be reached at jason@txenetworks.com