Latin America & Caribbean Affiliates
Regional Overview
In a region rich with natural resources, culture, and history, Latin American and Caribbean businesspeople in the 21st century are finding abundant opportunities to fulfill their calling as Christians.
Today, Partners Worldwide walks alongside business people in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti, providing over 4,000 members of many different sectors with access to capital, training, mentoring, and advocacy. Small and medium business owners utilize loans to enhance value-added production and agribusinesses. Entrepreneurs and business people learn about effective and ethical business practices based on a biblical worldview and peer mentoring relationships. People also share the tool of training and networking to learn from one another, and to grow as individuals, communities, and nations.
Honduras - Diaconia Nacional
Tegucigalpa
Diaconia Nacional (DN) provides capital, business training, and mentoring to nearly 700 micro and small business owners and members in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, and Olancho. As the social outreach arm of the Christian Reformed Church of Honduras, DN has established a culture of savings by requiring peer accountability within each credit union by facilitating cell groups. Members also participate in business training offered by local mentors and staff in accounting and finance, productive leadership, and business planning. Since 2005, North American partners have built upon the micro-credit program by by raising funds for the SME loan portfolio and by actively mentoring many of thesmall and medium entrepreneurs of DN who have the capacity to compete in the larger marketplace and thereby create more jobs as they grow.
Stories
Building an association opens unexpected doors in Honduras
Friday December 30, 2011
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Despite his craftsmanship and experience as a business owner, the biggest challenge Miguel Javier Zuniga faced was finding wholesale mahogany wood. See how his US mentors’ advice led to success.
The Multiplier Effect in Action
Friday April 29, 2011
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By Debbie Velis, Partners Worldwide intern
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras—- For the past four years, I’ve learned through my economics classes the key concept of the “multiplier effect.” Simply put, this is when your outcome is greater than your initial investment. Take this basic economics example: money spent in a restaurant helps to create jobs directly in the restaurant, but it also generates jobs indirectly to farmers, food suppliers, textile manufacturers, and other businesses throughout the community.
Honduran mentee pays it forward
Sunday July 25, 2010
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On Sunday afternoons, thousands of Hondurans and foreigners visit El Picacho National Park. Beautifully-designed gardens, open spaces for families, and playgrounds dot the crestline road to the park’s most famous feature, a statue of Christ that rises above the capital city, Tegucigalpa.
After taking in the sights from the base of the monument, the constant stream of consumers ducks into a nearby souvenir shop owned and operated by a woman name Elizabeth Discua, to find the memorable work of local artisans. A few years ago, Elizabeth expanded this business through a loan from Diaconia Nacional, a local business affiliate of Partners Worldwide.
Today that loan has been repaid, the business has grown to five employees, and Elizabeth’s shop is thriving. But Elizabeth is thinking about more than just her own enterprise.
Volunteer Opportunities
Small loans and business training for micro and SME business owners. Professionals needed to engage in mentoring relationships, and join current groups to expand business training opportunities.
For more information, contact Bob Vryhof.