Microcredit for young entrepreneurs in Ecuador
Creating opportunities, growing talent.
In the city of Guamote, in the heart of the Ecuadorian Andes, a Flemish–Ecuadorian organisation works every day to create better future prospects for children and young people.
In this region, many young people grow up without clear job opportunities.
Some leave the countryside, others get caught up in conflicts with local authorities, or become stuck in a sense of hopelessness.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Entrepreneurship as a lever for change
With support from De Wilde Ganzen (NL), Equator, and the 11.11.11 fund, an innovative project was launched:
Young people learn to process agricultural products in a drying facility — and sell their goods in a shop and cafeteria located in the organisation’s tourist guesthouse.
Equator contributed to equipping this sales space, creating a learning environment where young people can gain hands-on experience, step by step.
Learning to do business with microcredit
Each year, around fifteen young people follow a training programme in social entrepreneurship. They learn everything: from production to sales, from teamwork to developing their own plans.
Thanks to an annual microcredit, they can keep the project running themselves — and pass it on to the next group.
This creates a sustainable cycle of learning, experimenting, doing business — and passing it forward.
How you can support us
Transfer to BE97 5230 8119 6149
Reference: Microcredits
Your support will be put to use immediately where it is needed most.
