Mrs. Dang Thi Tinh, who buys and sells areca nuts in the small Vietnamese village of Hoa Phong, knows how important good amenities are for business. Mrs. Dang’s sales increased after her community used a grant to improve a local road and upgrade the market. "Before, during the rains, the road was very dirty," she says. "Now it is cleaner, more pleasant to work around, and there are more customers."
Don Ricardo does not grow coca anymore
After 10 years, the violence associated with an illegal crop and an underground economy far outweighed the financial rewards of coca growing for small farmers Don Ricardo Diaz and his son Ernesto.
A partnership pays off
Solele, who works for Timpac, a local microfinance institution (MFI), arranged for a loan equivalent to $50 so that the three partners could expand their business. The result: these hardworking women were able to increase their incomes and provide for their families. And they paid back the loan within five months.
