The CPP is Namaste’s signature accelerator, designed specifically for economically vulnerable Guatemalan women entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Running in nine-month cycles, the CPP combines individual business advising, financial literacy training, and customized microloans to help women entrepreneurs formalize their business models, manage their finances, and significantly increase their cash flow.
On average, our CPP graduates have doubled their profits and established positive business and financial habits that benefit them throughout their lives.
Transformative Impact
On average, our CPP graduates have doubled their profits and established positive business and financial habits that support them in earning more money throughout their lives.
BUSINESS ADVISING
MICROLOANS
Our clients receive critical financial training and WEE education throughout the cycle. Our practical curriculum covers essential topics such as cash flow analysis, budgeting, and product pricing, which are reinforced during their business advising sessions.
Our Approach to Business Advising in the CPP
Namaste business advisors meet with clients individually each month to discuss business details, focusing on cash-flow analysis, detailed record-keeping, and strategic planning. Business advisors become trusted allies to clients, equipping them with practical skills and encouragement to achieve their unique goals.
Our advisors’ deep understanding of the local economy, indigenous cultures, and languages ensures that the advice is culturally relevant and effective. When challenges arise beyond Namaste’s expertise, such as gender-based violence or reproductive health issues, we refer clients to trusted local agencies and NGOs for support.
Financial Literacy Training in the CPP
The women entrepreneurs in our program have completed an average of just six years of education, with little exposure to finance or business training. Namaste’s culturally-sensitive financial literacy curriculum empowers women to master essential cash management practices.
In 2023, determined to make our financial literacy training widely accessible, we distilled our curriculum into a Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) video library. We currently have 30 five-minute videos that cover essential themes like budgeting, reinvesting in their business, paying themselves a salary, and competitive analysis, to support women to grow sustainable businesses.
Each month, women in the CPP watch these videos with their business advisors, who facilitate interactive exercises to help integrate these lessons into daily routines.
Our Approach to Microloans in the CPP
Women’s economic security is the guiding principle of our micro-loans and all our work at Namaste. We fully recognize both the positive impacts and the unintended consequences that lending can have on low-income women. Unfortunately, the microfinance sector has seen a rise in predatory practices that exploit the economic vulnerabilities of borrowers. However, for many women entrepreneurs in the informal sector, access to fair and responsible loans is crucial for business growth and economic advancement.
Namaste’s Creating Prosperity Program (CPP) responds to this need with a commitment to integrity and empowerment. Unlike many other microfinance institutions, we do not require collateral, we offer one of the most competitive interest rates in Guatemala, and we carefully screen applicants to ensure they are prepared for success. Our loans are tailored to each woman’s business capacity and goals, ensuring they are manageable and effective. Paired with our individualized business coaching and financial literacy training, these loans become powerful tools that not only fuel business growth but also pave the way for our clients to transition out of poverty.
Our focus is not on profits but on the long-term economic empowerment of women. By providing loans that are fair, accessible, and accompanied by robust support, we help women build sustainable businesses, contribute to their communities, and secure a brighter future for themselves and their families.
