Despite her early success, she had to rely on her husband for loans to expand her business, as she was denied formal loans in her own name.
Along the way, Violeta became involved in CARE’s Ignite Program and is now in the Strive Women program, both supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. This program provided training in business and finance, while providing marketing opportunities and paving the way to the next step.
Four months ago, after 18 years in a growing business, she finally got a loan in her own name to expand.
“Today, it is me, Violeta Pacheco, who can access a loan from the bank,” she says proudly.
According to the UN, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises account for 90 percent of businesses, 60 to 70 percent of jobs and 50 percent of gross domestic product worldwide.
However, the total financial gap of micro, small and medium enterprises for women is estimated at $ Billions 1.7, according to a study by the World Economic Forum. However, women entrepreneurs have 22 percent of micro-enterprises and 32 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Clearly, initiatives like savings groups and the Strive Women program are important, but need to be scaled up to reach the 2.4 billion women around the world who do not have the same economic rights as men.
Success versus old-fashioned attitudes
Hildred Calle Barrientos in Marangani, Peru, is not only a small business owner, but the third generation of her business. Hildred, 32, has now taken over Margaritas de Maranganí, her mother and grandmother’s textile business, which uses ancient methods of weaving textiles with alpaca to create designs representative of their region, in the Andes.
2024-02-11 00:06:43
#York #Fashion #Week #approaches #female #fashion #entrepreneurs #fighting #equality #respect #CARE
