Clara’s story: How Oikocredit partner Génesis Empresarial helps Guatemalans launch successful businesses

Going into business can transform lives, especially in regions where access to resources is limited. In Guatemala, Fundación Génesis Empresarial (Génesis) has enabled this transformation for three decades. The Oikocredit partner focuses on empowering underserved individuals and communities, and provides crucial support to small business owners through microloans and training programmes. 

For Clara Archila, 48, entrepreneurship has helped her establish a regular income stream to support her family and raise her children. She now operates several businesses, but 15 years ago, she says, she had no idea about making money, and how a loan could help her become financially independent. 

Working capital financing has been instrumental in helping her establish a regular income stream to improve her quality of life and provide a better future for her children.  

“Maybe you'll think I'm a little sentimental, but before I had nothing. Absolutely nothing,” she says.  

Creating opportunities for self-development 

With small loans from Génesis, she was able to begin selling tortillas. Now she also has businesses selling garments, stationery and groceries. “Genesis gave me an opportunity and I developed myself. I started a business and another business and another business,” she says, adding that she now employs three people.  

Clara began with a group loan of GTQ 1,000 (EUR 118.17), which she used to buy sheets. Since then, she has taken individual loans, first one for her business and then a housing loan.  “That's how I'm moving forward,” she says. She now has a loan of GTQ 50,000. 

“When the business was still small, I worked myself because I couldn't afford to spend the money. Now I have workers. So, I have given more people the opportunity in the businesses. And they have a job and an income for their family,” she adds. 

As one of the largest microfinance institutions in Latin America, Génesis lends to people with low incomes, as well as to micro and small enterprises.  

“Our commitment is to support Guatemalans in accessing a development path through financial inclusion, training, and technical guidance. With technological and digital access, we accompany them to increase their productive and commercial opportunities, generating greater incomes to improve the living conditions of families," says Edgardo Pérez, General Manager of Fundación Génesis Empresarial. 

With 156 branches across Guatemala, Génesis also offers business development and courses for women entrepreneurs, as well as health education and financial literacy training. In total, Génesis has 32 training courses. 

The foundation placed top among organisations in Latin America for its positive social impact in microfinance, as evaluated by the 2023 edition of the 60 Decibels Microfinance Index. The index assesses financial service providers' social performance across 21 indicators and six impact themes. 

In addition, risk ratings agency MicroRate gives Génesis five stars in social performance with an ‘A+ Stable’ ranking. 

Improving livelihoods through finance and training 

Oikocredit renewed its partnership with Génesis in 2021, with a four-year loan of EUR 9.6 million, following a previous financial relationship between 2008 and 2018. The loan matures in August 2025. 

“In Guatemala, our strategy is to strengthen relationships with loyal and prestigious partners,” says Josué Perez, Senior Investment Officer at Oikocredit. “We are pleased to support Génesis’ work of promoting social and environmental development through ethical practices. Over the years, the foundation has significantly improved the livelihoods for a significant percentage of Guatemalan citizens through both financial and non-financial services.” 

Oikocredit’s new financing supports the foundation’s work with more than 414,000 clients across the country. More than 40% of these live below the poverty line.  

“Oikocredit's financial support has made it possible to reach more Guatemalans, expanding coverage mainly in the rural areas of the country and accompanying more women, mostly indigenous women, to strengthen their productive activities – whether commercial, artisanal, service-based, agricultural or livestock – generating greater income,” says Edgardo Pérez, General Manager of Fundación Génesis Empresarial. 

Women comprise the majority (72%) of Génesis’ clients. More than two-thirds of its clients (80%) live in rural areas. 

In 2023, Génesis also facilitated business and financial training for 581,960 people through different channels. 

Checking how the loan is used 

Clara explains how the courses have helped her learn about financial management. “I had no idea what it was like to apply for a loan and generate income to pay the loan and obtain profits to invest and grow. The trainings guided me a lot in investing in different businesses and having greater control to know how to invest and obtain greater profits,” she says. 

She says the that the organisation’s development promoters (advisors) have trained her and have kept track of how loans are used. “They check if the money really is used to serve the business or if it was invested in the home, depending on which loan we applied for. And that has helped us to know how to handle a loan and to be able to pay the loan,” she says.  

“There are other institutions that just give you the money. [In those cases], if someone spent it on something else, they don't know what happened and the clients can’t pay the loan,” she adds. 

Although Clara still depends on her son to handle her accounts, she now understands she should reinvest a portion of her income back into the business.  

“Every day there is income and sometimes it is little, but there is always something and sometimes it is high. But since we work in a business, if I get GTQ 10,000, I have to take out GTQ 1,000 and invest it. And this I do every day,” she says. 

Organisations such as Génesis demonstrate how investing in small businesses can drive economic growth and social change. It’s a powerful reminder that with the right resources and support, individuals can transform their lives and we can build a more equitable society.