Women in Small Enterprise Semiannual Report: July - December 2016
Through WISE, Oxfam serves in its convening role to support collaboration between financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and academia working together to advance women’s economic rights in Guatemala. WISE works alongside a suite of Oxfam initiatives in Guatemala that contribute to the overall vision of achieving greater economic independence and empowerment of women.
WISE is designed for women emerging from microfinance-lending programs with businesses that show potential for further
growth. These women often are not able to access growth capital as they fall into the “missing middle financing gap”: the gap for loans larger than those offered by microfinance institutions and smaller than what would be considered by mainstream banking institutions. Core components of the initiative include the WISE Fund, which supports loans to women entrepreneurs in partnership with local financial institutions, training programs for women designed to increase their economic leadership and efforts to strengthen the image of women entrepreneurs as role models and leaders in their communities. We are delighted to share developments from the beginning of 2016 with you in this report.