Micro-credits for Baru Island young entrepreneurs

Dear Donors,

Our eight report will consist on Juan’s story, one of our credit beneficiaries. We would like to tell you about him, his life, how and why he started his business, how the project you have supported has impacted his life and his business and what are his plans going forward.

About Juan

Juan was born in Santa Ana; he is now 25 years old. He is the third of 4 children.

When he was still a little boy his parents left him with his grandmother with whom he has lived most of his life.

Juan went to elementary school in Santa Ana but graduated from a school in Cartagena.

He has great memories from his childhood. Even though his parents separated when he was very young and he has lived with his grandmother, he has always counted on them.

When Juan graduated from school, he studied to be a bar tender and he worked with his father in a mechanics shop.

Afterwards, he decided to go back to Santa Ana in Baru Island and worked helping his uncle and cousins who worked at Playa Blanca (the local beach).

Then we worked in a hotel for a while.

¿When, how and why did the business started?

After working in the hotel, Juan wanted to go back to Playa Blanca (the local beach) to start his own business.

A friend told him that the snorkel gear rental was a profitable business and gave him some ideas on how to start.

This is how he decided to rent snorkel gear and to offer guided tours “for the tourists to explore Playa Blanca’s beautiful seafloor”.

He started his business 5 years ago with 400 thousand pesos (approximately 200 USD) that his mom lent him.

With this money he bought 3 snorkels and 6 vests. He saved some money from the profits and bought 3 more snorkels and 6 more vests.

Soon he had so many clients, that he needed more money to invest in his business, but he did not have enough capital.

Growing his business was his dream.

One day he heard about the project “Micro credits for Baru Island Young Entrepreneurs” and decided to go to the meeting the Foundation was inviting to get more information.

He asked his mother to be his cosigner, prepared everything for the Foundation’s visit, went to the advisories meetings to prepare his business plan and presented it to the credits committee.

The Project’s impact

Juan has received his second loan now, because of his good performance. First he received $1.000.000 and after he paid for it, he received $2.000.000.

He is working in team with a friend that has a boat so that together they offer to the tourists guided tours to “La Playita” to do snorkeling. They show them the coral reefs as well as a variety of fish and other species you can find in Baru Island.

He owns 16 snorkeling gears and 25 vests and bought a motorcycle to get everyday to the beach.

Juan is very motivated because his business is growing and because he has been able to help others through it. A few days ago, he gave some of his old vests to a friend so that he could start his own business too.

What are his plans going forward

Juan wants now to buy 2 water bikes because is something they don’t have in Playa Blanca and he thinks it would be innovative and attractive to tourists.

Thanks to all of you, to your constant support, the project has really impacted Juan’s life.

For us in the Hernan Echavarria Foundation, it has been a great opportunity to learn from him. His desire to succeed is an incentive for us to keep working.

We invite you to continue to work with us in order to achieve our total funding goal of $10,490.

With gratitude,

Ana Milena Ordosgoitia M. and the Hernán Echavarría Olózaga Foundation team

Links:

• The Hernan Echavarria Foundation webpage