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Marcel & Jeanne

Not every small business owner aspires to build a small business empire, but Marcel Sinayobye and his wife, Jeanne Nyirangendahimana, are entrepreneurial to the core. While raising eight children, they have built more than 10 businesses throughout their community of Rusizi, Rwanda, and beyond.

And while we know this transformation won’t happen to every man or woman who receives a $48 loan, we marvel when it does.


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Giving Tuesday

On Giving Tuesday, we want to elevate other organizations doing life-changing work across our country and around the world. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization predicted that 1.6 billion jobs on the margins of the world economy—representing half the world’s workforce—were in immediate danger. Lower-wage workers and minorities, as well as members of the informal economy, are particularly at risk—but these five organizations are stepping in, and they have our wholehearted endorsement. Continue Reading…

Mauvalyn Bowen - Wedding

A passion for entrepreneurship can be kindled in a number of different ways.

For some, it’s the classic childhood lemonade stand that initially piques interest; others point to a formative internship or mentor; and for others, it’s building upon an earlier innovation. For Mauvalyn Bowen, a member of HOPE’s local board in Minnesota, it was riding on the back of a donkey as she and her mother (pictured above, along with Mauvlyn’s father and husband) made their weekly trek to market. Continue Reading…

Each year, HOPE celebrates clients who demonstrate our values of perseverance, compassion, character, and creativity by announcing the Thurman Award winner. Established in honor of HOPE’s first CEO, the Thurman Award celebrates clients who have not only experienced change in their own lives but have also extended that transformation to others in their community. We’re excited to share the story of Peter, this year’s runner up for microfinance institutions!

After a severe case of measles left him blind at age 8, Peter felt he had limited options for his future. In a culture where blindness is highly stigmatized, many blind people are vulnerable to living as beggars. To support their three children, Peter and his wife, Mukanziza—who also lost her sight due to measles as a child—decided to start a business building rental properties.

Prejudiced by his disability, every bank he and Mukaniza approached for a loan turned them down. And that’s when Peter learned of Urwego Bank, HOPE’s microfinance bank in Rwanda.

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Each year, HOPE celebrates a client who demonstrates HOPE’s values of perseverance, compassion, character, and creativity with the Thurman Award. Established in honor of HOPE’s first CEO and his wife, the Thurman celebrates clients who have not only experienced change in their own lives but have also extended that transformation to others in their community. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be posting the stories of this year’s winner and four honorable mentions to the blog. Today we celebrate Evangelista Osoria, honorable mention from the Dominican Republic. Evangelista Osoria rises well before the sun in Los Alcarrizos, Dominican Republic. The 52-year-old dreams of someday sleeping past 4 a.m., but for now, her elderly mother, three children, three grandchildren, and five employees are counting on her and her business, Yenis Empanada. Evangelista sells popular Dominican dishes directly to customers and sells flour and prepared dough to local vendors who rely on these products to run their own shops. Continue Reading...