We put the ESCALA Business School online, allowing us to provide our curriculum and scale at an accelerated rate in spite of the pandemic and economic climate.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, it has left the world's poorest and most vulnerable people at greatest risk - including many of the entrepreneurs trained by SPI in Peru, Tanzania, Bulgaria, and Guatemala. However, thanks to your tremendous support for SPI’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, entrepreneurs and artisans now have the resources to step up as local leaders, keeping their families and communities safe.
Meet Filomena Pingo Tejada, one of the traditional weavers involved in SPI’s Chotuna-Chornancap project in Peru. Together with the Chotuna-Chornancap Site Museum and the Brüning National Museum, SPI is helping the artisans like Filomena develop their experience as weavers into a sustainable and profitable business which offers a real income and preserves the site in doing so.
We couldn’t have done any of it without you! With 2020 around the corner, we ask for your support once again so SPI can continue to elevate women and other marginalized entrepreneurs globally. If you make a gift by January 10th, your donation will be matched!
For these vulnerable small business owners, new government restrictions to curb the pandemic mean less or no income at all in the coming weeks. Although these entrepreneurs are doing everything to adapt to this evolving situation, most do not have the resources to do so. Your support could be their lifeline.
A recent study highlighted that only 1.6% of all charitable giving goes to supporting women and girls. Women face countless social and economic barriers that bar them from financial agency and self-sufficiency. Our business school model tackles those barriers directly by building women-owned businesses that provide dignified income opportunities where people can earn living wages.
In Tanzania, our WAUMAKI Kisiwani women’s group is kick-starting their business near the ruins of one of East Africa’s greatest empires. In Peru, SPI hosted a launch event for our long-awaited ESCALA Business School. Local entrepreneurs and their families are enjoying a holiday season filled with joy thanks to new opportunities and sustainable income made possible by SPI projects and your support.
We are setting up mini-business schools all over Peru and Tanzania for small scale artisans and entrepreneurs. The first two will be at Pachacamac, Peru and Bagamoyo, Tanzania, sites of existing successful SPI projects. And that is only the beginning!
