Joaquin Lopez is a shy and soft spoken older gentleman. But his modesty masks the story of a man who has worked hard his entire life to provide for his family. Joaquin never went to school, and can barely right his own name. But thirty years ago he opened a small store in the mountains outside of his village, and through hard work and perseverance it has managed to flourish.
Last year Joaquin decided he wanted to open another store in the village itself, and in October of 2013 he obtained his first loan from FINCA. He used this money to open his second store, Pulpería Selenia, in which he sells various items including basic foods, tools, toys, etc. Now Joaquin is in his second cycle with FINCA, and has received a total of L 105,000. Through hard work and help from his family, Joaquin’s second store is successfully flourishing.
Joaquin is thankful that his new store has helped improve life for his entire family. Two of his five children live with him and work in the store. His plan in the future is to continue improving his two stores, but he doesn´t have plans to open a third. Two is enough, he says. He does hope to have the opportunity to open a savings account with FINCA so that he can begin to save some of his earnings.