By: Matthew Feighner, BS Horticulture 2022
Spartan Global is excited to announce our new field partner in Guatemala, Vilma Garcia. Our relationship with Vilma began because one of our student team members had known Vilma for a long time through mutual family-friends. Vilma spent a portion of her childhood in the United States, and, as a result, she is bilingual and is well-acquainted with American culture. When revisiting the U.S., Vilma raises money for children’s school supplies and helps market products, like textiles, made by people forced to live in the Guatemala City landfills. In her home country, Vilma has deep roots and loves to help her community. We are excited to further both Spartan Global’s and Vilma’s mission and enable sustainable development and empowerment for those living in poverty.
Our first loan with Vilma is to a businesswomen named Johanna. For the last year, Johanna has run her own tortilla shop. She has been quite successful and has built up a solid customer base in her community. As such, Johanna decided to expand her business into a restaurant. The restaurant will serve pizza because there are no local pizzerias in the community, as well as local favorites, including hilachas, estofado, buche, and caldos.
The expansion requires Johanna to purchase a pizza oven as well as tables, chairs, and tableware to accommodate guests. Thus, Spartan Global has partnered with Vilma to loan Johanna $1,039, with a repayment period of one-year, to make Johanna’s business plan a reality. Given her previous business success and her plans to market through existing social networks, we are confident that Johanna will be successful in her business expansion endeavors, and we are excited to watch as Johanna implements her plans and grows her business!
Spartan Global has always prided itself in being a relationship- and trust-based organization. We are very excited to continue this tradition with Vilma as our new field partner and friend in Guatemala. Vilma’s existing relationships and passion for community and economic empowerment in her community will be long-standing assets to our continuing relationship and her community. We look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with Vilma in the months and years to come and hearing about the progress Johanna makes in expanding her business with the support of this microloan!