Page 22 - 2019 Sustainability Report

Stories of Emprender Paga Participants
From Looking for Work to Creating Jobs
Restaurant owner Maria Teresa Mejía used to live in a wooden shack on the outskirts of San Martín. Like many women, she hoped to be hired by GTE for work in its Acordionero operations but was not able to find a job with the company because it was already fully staffed.
After hearing about Emprender Paga and participating
in an initial six-month training and facilitation process, her business plan was approved. She received seed capital to open a restaurant, and her family business quickly earned enough funding to complete construction. This family business employs her husband, sister, niece and her children.
“My family and I are very grateful for all that this program has helped us with, because when we started, we just had our little timber house, falling on top of us. The training was the most important thing because we realized we had the ability to progress and learned
how to improve.”
Maria Teresa Mejía,
Donde Tere restaurant
Katalei: Natural Health and Beauty Products
An effort to find natural solutions to solve health, aesthetic, skin and hair problems started in Maria Esperanza Quitian’s home in Mocoa. In just five years, she has produced a complete line of top quality, locally sourced, natural beauty and health products. Katalei’s products are meticulously manufactured and packaged in an immaculate space in Mocoa, a hilly city that sits at the intersection of the Andes mountain range and
the Amazon rainforest.
Katalei was made possible by Maria’s passion, the commitment of her extended family to advance the business and the Emprender Paga program, which helped the team organize the business, network and meet important new customers.
“Emprender Paga’s process helped me organize my mind, identify our customers and break the process into sequential steps. Looking back, this has really changed the lives of my family and I, and it’s really important to have them here with me on this journey.”
Maria Esperanza Quitian,
Katalei
2019 Sustainability Report
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