Supporting Small Businesses in Nicaragua

By Payton Strong, BA Supply Chain Management

At the Spartan Global Development Fund, we are proud to see our impact grow as we continue to lend financial support to those wanting to start and sustain their small businesses in underserved communities around the world. In October alone, we provided a total of $2,325 in microloans to support a diverse range of enterprises in rural northwest Nicaragua. These funds have gone toward farming, poultry, retail, and used clothing businesses, helping local entrepreneurs be more financially independent and economically stable. These loans do more than fund businesses; they improve lives, support families, and strengthen communities.

In northwest Nicaragua, many people are left out of traditional financial systems and are vulnerable to usury because they don’t have collateral or access to big loans. However, they have great ideas and the drive to succeed. Microloans help fill this gap by offering small, affordable amounts, sometimes as little as $30 per person, to help them start or grow their businesses.

Our goal is to ensure that anyone with a passion or dream to start or grow a business has the financial means to make it a reality. Whether it's through farming, retail, or specialized services, we believe in the power of small businesses to drive sustainable growth.

As our list of supported businesses continues to grow, so does our commitment to providing for entrepreneurs worldwide. Together, we can create ripple effects of economic opportunity, one microloan at a time.

.

Supporting Entrepreneurs in Mexico and Recent Highlights

By Payton Strong, BA Supply Chain Management

One of the most exciting aspects of being involved with Spartan Global is the chance to learn from alumni who have gone on to achieve remarkable success. Recently, we hosted a panel featuring Himani Rajput, a former Spartan Global member and now Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank. Himani shared incredible stories about her time with Spartan Global and emphasized how microfinance remains crucial in addressing global economic challenges. She explained how her experience with microfinance has shaped her approach to venture capital, giving us insights into its broader applications in her career today. Hearing from Himani’s journey was an inspiring reminder of the real-world impact of our efforts.

At Spartan Global Development Fund, we continue to make a significant impact by supporting entrepreneurs around the world. In October alone, we donated $870 to three groups in Mexico, focusing on industries like floristry, shoe sales, and brick-making. Among these stories is Petunia, a florist in Mexico. With the loan we provided, she was able to purchase essential supplies for her floral arrangements. Her business not only generates income to support her household but also contributes to her community's economy. Petunia aspires to expand her shop and empower others around her by creating job opportunities.

By supporting entrepreneurs like Petunia, we continue to foster economic growth and inspire innovation worldwide. Stay tuned for more updates as we expand our efforts and build lasting connections across the globe!

Gateway into Africa: Ghana

By Aarya Mohey, BA Supply Chain Management

Since our founding in 2009, SGDF has lent out money to those in 72 countries, and that list is always growing at each of our Kivapalooza meetings. A few weeks ago, SGDF was able to add a new country to the list: Ghana. SGDF was able to contribute to a small business’ $2,900 loan which distributes fresh water throughout Ghana. We hope that with this microloan, more people in Ghana will have access to a freshwater source, which is already a resource which is limited in the country.

SGDF hopes that this loan in Ghana can serve as a gateway to our organization loaning even more money to the African Continent. The organization primarily loans money out to those in Central & South America, but we hope that this loan in Ghana can make way to the organization loaning money in even more African nations. At SGDF, we aim to provide microloans to those in every nation worldwide, and we are pleased to be able to add Ghana to that list. 

Broad Gala & End of Spring Semester

 By: Caiden Kippnick, BA in Accounting

On April 3rd, Spartan Global Development Fund attended the Broad Gala presented by the Broad Student Senate. Many of our members were present, and we had a wonderful evening celebrating the achievements of our fellow Broad organizations. 

We are so honored to have won Social Contributor of the Year, as it is a testament to our dedication to creating awareness around microfinance and improving social and financial equity around the world. SGDF received this award due to the commitment to using microfinance to promote financial equity that we have demonstrated in the past, as well our plans to continue and expand our microloans. In fact, we recently lent a substantial amount of money on the Kiva microfinance platform. Our most recent Kivapalooza on April 9th brought our total amount lent on Kiva for the academic year to $22,580. This is the largest amount of money we have ever lent in a given academic year since the organization’s founding. We are hoping to bring this total to over $30,000 by the end of the academic year in August. 

The incoming e-board of the RSO looks forward to making more ambitious goals for lending and fundraising for the next year. They cannot wait to see what we will accomplish as an organization! As this academic school year comes to an end, we would like to thank our co-presidents Zoe Linko and Kyleen Hall for their hard work and dedication to our organization throughout this year. It was due to their leadership that we were able to win Social Contributor of the year and lend out as much as we were able to. Furthermore, we would like to extend our gratitude to our faculty advisor, Professor Stenzel, for continuously supporting the organization since its inception in 2009. Finally, we would like to acknowledge all of our RSO members for their contributions, as they also played a vital role in our organization's operation. We all look forward to accomplishing even more in the coming years!

Dust Off The Keyboard: Update Time!

By: Daniel Sukhavitski, BA in Supply Chain Management 

Welcome back! Since the Fall semester of 2023, SGDF has been working hard on fundraising and making microloans through Kiva aspects of the organization. On January 23rd, SGDF partnered with Raising Canes for a fundraiser where a percentage of purchased meals went directly toward the club. From this partnership, we raised $60. Although it may not seem like a lot of money, this fundraiser allowed SGDF to reach out to the Spartan Community further and even attract interest from potential new members. 

For all current and new donors, thank you for the support and financial ability you've given us to change lives across the globe. Since November of 2023, we have received over $700 from donors. We are continuously working to improve and maintain relations with all donors as SGDF expands its outreach. As many of you know, a large portion of our funds for loans are distributed through Kiva. In that aspect, we've been reaching record-breaking numbers! From August 2023 to March 2024, SGDF loaned $19,565.00 through 74 partial loans. And the academic year is not yet over! For comparison, in the 2022-2023 academic year, we loaned $9,190 through a total of 66 partial loans. From all members, we want to thank everyone who donated and supported our efforts this year and years prior, and for helping make this year our most active year on Kiva to date. This could not have been done without you all! 

In addition, we have been in discussions with the Lansing Rotary Club throughout the months as we applied for a grant to expand our financial abilities. Although we did not end up receiving the grant for this fiscal year, we are optimistic that upon revision we will be more likely to secure the Rotary Grant next year! To further boast some of our accomplishments, for the first time in SGDF history, the club has been recognized by the larger Broad community. The organization is now present on the front page of the Broad College Department of Finance website.

As for the future, we are increasing outreach to donors, MSU alumni & faculty, preparing new fundraising ideas, and getting ready to pass the torch to our new Eboard members in the upcoming election. We also have many events coming soon such as the Broad Gala where Spartan Global is nominated for the Social Contributor of the Year. Stay tuned for the forthcoming results! Finally, we have started a SGDF March Madness fundraiser that is gaining traction within the community. Although our dear Spartans have been knocked out of the tournament, our networking abilities to fund the bracket have led to a contribution of $126 to SGDF upon bracket completion. A lot of exciting events are coming up and we cannot wait to share the results of our efforts with you guys soon. Stay tuned and GO GREEN!

SGDF's second Thanksgiving dinner with Vilma

By Marianna Coelho Uchoa, BA in International Relations

On November 21st, 2023, the Spartan Global Development Fund members had dinner with Professor Stenzel at her house with Tom, Vilma Garcia - one of our field partners, her two sons, and Carol & Paul - her host parents. Vilma Garcia is from Guatemala and comes to Michigan several times a year. She works three jobs and has received loans from us before. At this time, we had new members in the organization, so it was an excellent opportunity for the students and Vilma to get to know each other.

When everyone arrived, we took the opportunity to get to know one another. We started by introducing ourselves, our major, and the SGDF team we were in. Professor Stenzel mentioned how this year has the most diverse majors, with people coming from different backgrounds, all with one purpose – to help people. 

In addition, Tom, Professor Stenzel’s friend, who works and lives in Guatemala, was there to get to know the students with the intention of reviving the study abroad program in Guatemala along with Professor Stenzel. He raised an important question: “Why did we join Spartan Global?”. Answers varied from joining because of a friend to being part of different groups and feeling we are helping the organization to getting experience in the field. Being able to reflect on why we are part of SGDF makes us remember the organization’s mission – being a support to communities most in need. Moreover, Carol and Paul shared their work with us. The main project they are currently working on is gathering Spanish books and taking them to public libraries and schools in Guatemala to increase the accessibility of Spanish books there.

After having amazing conversations, we ate dinner and heard more from Vilma. She brought goods from Guatemala from the “Cooperativa de las mujeres indígenas,” a group of Mayan women who make handmade wallets, backpacks, purses, and other items. Vilma and her host parents bring these items to the US to sell in a craft show to help these women reach new markets. Meeting Vilma and listening to her story is essential to maintaining these connections with field partners and different communities. 

Looking into a Loan: Sayohat

By Aarya Mohey, BA in Supply Chain Management

Generally, Spartan Global Development Fund provides microloans to people in Latin America, in countries such as Columbia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. With these microloans, small business owners in these developing nations are able to put money towards their small business in order to increase their income and help provide and support their families and or communities. Recently, SGDF was able to lend to a woman living in Tajikistan, a country in central Asia. 

Normally, SGDF loans to those who are in the agricultural, goods, and service sectors. But recently, in Tajikistan, SGDF was able to lend to a woman, Soyohat, who is trying to pay for her son's tuition at a university in their country. Living in the city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Soyohat is a mother of three children who has been a farmer for over 11 years. With the help of IMON International, a micro-deposit organization in Tajikistan, SGDF was able to contribute through KIVA to Sayohat’s $550 goal to pay her son's tuition. This loan is incredibly important because it allows low-income students to access higher education, which increases the amount of opportunities which they will be able to have. The money that SGDF lent will hopefully allow Sayohat to continue paying her son's tuition, and provide him with a degree which he can use in his future career.

With this unique loan, SGDF is able to expand the types of sectors which we loan to on KIVA. Although a majority of our loans are made to those in the Agricultural, Goods, and Services sectors, we hope that this loan will serve as one of the first for a future where we lend even more money out to the Education sector in foreign nations. 

Looking into a Loan: Walter Mejia

By Zoe Linko, BS in Chemical Engineering 

Spartan Global Development Fund extends many microloans through services, such as KIVA, throughout the year. However, there are some larger loans that take more time that SGDF develops with the help of our field partner, Vilma Garcia. In a previous blog, -- which can be read here-- we discussed the necessity of Vilma’s role in our organization; her role is one of high importance in terms of relationships with loan recipients, recommendations for who to loan to, and communication between us and potential loan recipients. From Vilma’s recommendation, we are able to choose potential loan recipients, who then go through a process, including meeting with SGDF’s board of directors, in order to receive a loan. The loan recipient we most recently lent to is Walter Mejia.  

Walter owns a small business in Antigua, Guatemala called Cafede Antigua, where he buys, processes, and sells coffee. He has had this business for about two years, and started it during the pandemic. Walter is now looking to grow his business with the help of a loan from Spartan Global Development Fund. The loan we extended to Walter will give him the opportunity to not only buy 400 pounds of coffee, but also the money to roast, grind, and package the coffee purchased. In total, the loan amounts to $1,500, much more than the average KIVA loan.  

With this opportunity, Walter hopes to gain international buyers, which would greatly expand his business. The loan was extended in November of last year and has a duration of 12 months. By the end of the loan period, Walter will hopefully have a more robust and expansive business in which he can provide coffee not only across Guatemala, but the Unites States as well. 

When given this loan, Walter said he would get samples of his coffee here to us in Michigan. Through the help of Vilma, on her trip to the United States as talked about in our most recently posted blog, she was able to bring us Walters coffee. Having gotten to try it first-hand, I can indeed say with confidence that our loan to Walter Mejia was worth investing in, and I cannot wait to see how his business is able to expand in the future.  

A Thanksgiving with Vilma

By Bryan Jurado, BS in Data Science

When I first joined Spartan Global Development Fund this semester one of the things I was most excited about was getting to help small businesses. I was also hoping that one day we would be able to meet our field partner, Vilma Garcia, whether it be in Guatemala or in the United States. Luckily, the latter came true.  It was in November when we got notice that Vilma would be visiting the United States for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a group and with the help of Professor Stenzel, we arranged a time to set up a dinner with Vilma to welcome her. We soon began preparing questions to ask Vilma to get to know her better.

Eventually the day came and  a group of us were able to attend dinner with Vilma at Professor Stenzel’s house. When we arrived we were greeted by Vilma and her host mom, Carol. Accompanying them were Vilma’s two sons, Diego and Santiago. After greeting one another, we started off by thanking Vilma for her hard work. Additionally, Vilma gave each of us some coffee from Walter, one of our borrowers in Antigua. As the night progressed we were able to learn more about Guatemalan culture, Antigua, and Vilma’s time in the US. Vilma originally came to the United States with a program called Doctors Without Borders. She was only in her early teens when she needed to get surgery on her foot. She was received in America by Carol and her family, where they would continue to host her until she was able to fully recover. Vilma was able to learn English fluently during her three years in the US. I remember asking Vilma if she had ever considered staying in the US, to which she replied that she has such a strong love for Guatemala and its culture, that she could not see her living anywhere else. We also learned more about Guatemalan culture, and were shown many of the crafts that the women weave and sell. Vilma is very involved in Antigua’s community and she goes out of her way to help others. As the night came to an end, we shared some laughs, ate some cake, and took some pictures together.

After this, I had thought that I would not see Vilma again. However, a couple of days before Thanksgiving I was met with a phone call from Carol and Vilma inviting me to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. When I first met Vilma, we exchanged a lot about our own cultures and some similarities. I grew up in Wyoming with both of my parents being immigrants from Mexico and with MSU being so far from Wyoming, I wasn’t able to go home for Thanksgiving. So when Vilma invited me, I was ecstatic to attend and eat a lovely dinner. Carol and Vilma took me into their home where I was able to get to know Carol, Vilma, and her two sons better. Vilma’s boys were excited to play in snow for the first time, as they had never seen it in person before. I learned more about Antigua, which has volcanoes where you can hike and roast Marshmallows, or as they say in Guatemala, Angelitos (“little angels”). We also exchanged the differences between our languages and words that are different in Mexico compared to Guatemala. I also got to learn about Carol and her husband’s trip to Guatemala where they visited Vilma. I was grateful to get the chance to learn more about their lives and am happy that we have such a great field partner working with us. At the end of my visit, I thanked Vilma and Carol and said goodbye to Vilma’s sons. Hopefully in the future we can visit Guatemala!

Our Field Partner: Who is She?

By Zoe Linko, BS in Chemical Engineering and Kyleen Hall, BS in Microbiology 

As a collegiate organization based out of the US, one might wonder how Spartan Global Development Fund makes connections with our potential loan candidates. The answer is simple: Vilma Garcia. 

We met Vilma roughly two years ago through an alum of SGDF and MSU. Vilma lives in the city of Antigua; it is located in southern Guatemala and is surrounded by volcanoes. Vilma spends her time in Guatemala seeking out potential candidates for SGDF. She visits the local community in Antigua, and surrounding areas, talking to business owners and entrepreneurs. After speaking with the potential candidates, she uses her judgment to determine who would be a good choice to grant a loan to. She bases her choices off of potential risks, potential mitigation routes, and the borrower’s background. Vilma then submits her recommendations to our board for consideration, after which follows a series of meetings and voting, to determine if Spartan Global Development Fund will move forward with the candidate. During these meetings, Vilma is present to support the candidate and listen as the board weighs in about potential concerns. This puts the potential loanee at ease and provides the board with a better understanding of the situation. 

Though Vilma’s role on paper seems to be pretty important for SGDF, it is even more significant than just this. She also serves as the bridge between SGDF and our loan recipients, helping us foster our relationship. She brings skills to the table, such as being bilingual, that alleviate the language barrier and serve to make the process easier and more comfortable. 

Vilma traveled to Michigan last month to meet new members of Spartan Global Development Fund, get acquainted with the US side of the operation, and review the progress of the organization. We enjoyed providing Vilma with a warm, Spartan welcome, and hope she was just as impressed with us as we are with her.