Bosco Nsabimana, a father of eight children and the owner of a wholesale crop business in Rwanda, had big dreams.
He dreamed of expanding his business while empowering his community financially, spiritually, and emotionally, but there was a problem. The only microfinance institutions he was familiar with didn’t align with his ambitions.
Jean Claude Kubwayo knew that goats would be a wise investment.
In rural Burundian communities like Jean Claude’s, goats and other livestock can provide a regular supply of meat, milk, and manure for crops. Animal products add nutritional and caloric value to a family’s diet, so simply owning livestock can improve a family’s overall health. Continue Reading…
A self-described “serial entrepreneur,” Anthony Barton has always had a keen eye for unmet needs. As a child, he trudged up and down sandy beaches in Malibu selling ice cream to hungry surfers. In college, he noticed the mess generated by fraternity parties on campus and started a business cleaning up the trash left behind. After graduation, he noticed that a lot of bars and restaurants could also use a good cleaning. Knowing he had the experience to do something about it, Anthony launched his first wildly successful cleaning business—the A Specialist.
Several years ago, Anthony and his wife, Yolanda, sold the A Specialist and together launched a new cleaning business called SAFE Kitchens, with the goal of “creating a culture within commercial kitchens that is as risk and worry-free as humanly possible.”
Then COVID-19 struck, and 95% of their business evaporated as their clients in food services, aviation, and film shut their doors. Continue Reading…
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re more aware than ever of the critical role that essential businesses—and the entrepreneurs running them—play. Across the HOPE network, men and women use their businesses to provide necessary goods and services, and as they do, they not only provide for their own families but often become known as leaders in their church and community. Continue Reading…
Tuning her radio each morning to the local Christian station, Yissel Mateo Vasquez places her stereo on the porch so neighbors have the opportunity to hear the Word of God on their way to work. This is just one way she is sharing the Good News in her community in the Dominican Republic. Continue Reading…
by Elizabeth Dewes, Field Journalism Fellow (Zambia)
Like women around the world, Dorothy wears many hats. A wife and mother to seven biological children and two adopted, she’s also an entrepreneur who’s grown her business in Lusaka, Zambia, from a small popcorn stand into a shop that sells blankets, grain, oil, and salt. Here’s a glimpse into a day in Dorothy’s life. Continue Reading…
