EntreTodos. Savings and Entrepreneurship for Indigenous Youth
CODESPA
Region:
Guatemala, Central America
Area of expertise:
Youth Entrepreneurship, Rural Development
Type:
Project
CODESPA is an international NGO focused on promoting the alleviation of poverty through the creation of opportunities. In Guatemala, the organisation has focused on implementing innovative access to finance and entrepreneurship models for rural youth living in the Dry Corridor. “EntreTodos” is a programme that promotes the creation of community-led savings groups, improving financial education as well as entrepreneurial skills. Collective work creates social fibre and means by which members of a community can support each other in their endeavours and hardships. In this project,The EntreTodos methodology has been adapted to the needs of rural indigenous youth.
To contribute to the full exercise of the rights and inclusive development of young people from rural areas of the Guatemalan Dry Corridor. The specific objective is to improve access, diversity and stability of income for young people belonging to the rural area and their families, with emphasis on the generation of rural enterprises and to enhance youth’s leading role as change agents in their communities. To achieve both objectives, the project includes two main components:
Improved savings and investment capacity of young people through the implementation of the EntreTodos methodology – including training in financial literacy, investments and leadership to facilitate community lending and increase the ability to save.
Creation and/or strengthening of rural microenterprises for the promotion of self-employment – including vocational training, entrepreneurial, investment, business management and technical skills to increase the rate of entrepreneurship and income among young people.
SCF has provided a grant and local shadow management to ensure the successful execution of the project.
Emergency Fund
The impacts caused by COVID19 pandemic and the ETA / IOTA tropical storms have exacerbated the economic and financial crisis for the young population, threatening their already delicate livelihood strategies and degrading the food security status of their communities and families.
Discussions reaffirmed the urgent need for further credit and investment capacity. Likewise, the forecast of an increase in the need for consumer spending and emerging needs highlights them need to ensure the achievement of the activities planned in year 2 of the Project, year 2021, focused on promoting, strengthening and consolidating various micro-enterprises that the participants will work on as a result of their technical, financial, management and marketing training through specialized technical training workshops. SCF is doing it’s very best to maintain this project and improve livelihoods.
