“My God, if I tell you the life I had compared to the one I can give to my children now thanks to my businesses… the difference is very big.”

Before finding out about FINCA, Marcelina Concepión Vásquez worked as a seamstress and struggled to support her family. With all the financial stress weighing on her shoulders, Marcelina knew it was time for an additional source of income and began thinking about possible business ideas.

Thanks to a loan from FINCA Guatemala, Marcelina was able to open a home goods business out of her home and turned the space into a fully stocked store. Due to the lack of home goods stores in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala, it wasn’t long before neighbors began frequenting Marcelina’s store and her business grew.

Marcelina later returned to her first business as a seamstress and used a FINCA loan to purchase a second sewing machine to fulfill more clients’ orders.

With two businesses under her belt, Marcelina was able to cover existing debts, put food on the table, buy a house, and put her children through school, a luxury she didn’t really have when she was young.

Through Marcelina’s determination and a FINCA loan, Marcelina was able to build a path out of poverty and provide a better future for herself and her family, a future she never thought possible.