We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ryan Holland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school
In college, I spent every summer overseas. My longest stint was in Bolivia for a study abroad. I volunteered there working in a library. Living in La Paz and working with people from all walks of life opened my eyes to intricacies in the nonprofit world I had never seen before. I will never forget one chilly night, sitting in a downtown cafe. I watched as a group of wealthier women chatted outside. Another woman came up to ask for spare change. Without changing their gaze, I noticed the hands of the group of women graze their purses and fumble around in their bags. The enticing conversation pulled their attention back in and they quickly forgot the task at hand. Again, the woman requested change. The group ignored her. I realized that night in the downtown Bolivian café that human connection is a necessity in any type of nonprofit work. Looking people in the eye, asking them their names, inviting them to laugh, etc. remind us that we are all human and we have more in common than meets the eye. From that moment forward, I changed the way I viewed the seemingly small interactions I had with people. Connection became my most important goal, and I have learned so much from and with the people I have chosen to connect with.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Working on developing a program like LendHOPE worldwide has been a dream come true for me. While pursuing my Master’s in International Development, I became increasingly interested in entrepreneurship and its use as a tool for alleviating material poverty. I knew quickly that I wanted to work on a program for small business owners that promotes values such as community-led development, self-empowerment, and financial inclusion. While spending my nights dreaming up a microlending and entrepreneurial training program, I had no idea that there were others who shared this dream.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Dave Malutinok, HOPE worldwide’s President and CEO, also had a vision to bring entrepreneurial training and access to capital to those living in material poverty. He wanted to do this through a social giving App, which later we affectionately named LendHOPE worldwide. As he was considering the idea, he got a call from Colin Christenson, a successful entrepreneur and business coach. Colin believed that small business was the key to self-empowerment. Through my connections with HOPE worldwide, I heard that the wheels for the micro-funding program were in motion. Dave and Colin were dreaming, too, and we were all pulled together like magnets. I booked a flight to California to meet with the team and our ideas melded effortlessly.
In May of 2019, we all flew to Honduras to host a microfinance summit. Many of the Central American HOPE worldwide leaders were present to brainstorm and dream about a program that we believed would make a difference in the lives of the materially poor. We had all witnessed the cyclical nature of material poverty and wanted to help build bridges out of seemingly impossible circumstances. The micro-funding summit in 2019 was not just a new beginning for LendHOPE worldwide, it was the impetus of new beginnings for many individuals looking to launch and strengthen their own local businesses.
In starting this program, we not only collaborated with each other, but we also collaborated with those receiving funding and training. LendHOPE worldwide isn’t just a story about launching a global program, it is a story about lighting the spark that would become a game changer for many small businesses, families, and communities.
LendHOPE worldwide is a connector that facilitates self-paced and motivated progress. We work with entrepreneurs who are experiencing material poverty, have faced natural disasters, lack access to capital, or are living in under-resourced communities. These business associates meet us through HOPE worldwide’s other social programs. Many have been beneficiaries of programs that address issues such as food insecurity or lack of access to medical care. One amazing example of this is Sonia Quispe.
Sonia is a young single mother of two daughters. She works as a maid and often went without meals to ensure her daughters were fed. Her long hours prevented her from spending the quality time that she desired with her children.
When Sonia heard about LendHOPE worldwide, she immediately saw the opportunity that the program could provide for her and her girls. Sonia is a skilled baker. She knew with the right resources and training, she could turn her talent into a business. She went through the LendHOPE worldwide entrepreneu
Prior to connecting with LendHOPE worldwide, Sonia sold some of her cakes to friends and family. But after going through her training and buying her new supplies, Sonia increased her sales by 57%. She started selling a wider variety of products and expanded her reach. The increase in her sales not only improved her business, but it improved her life and the lives of her daughters.
As her baking business grew, she was able to apply for a traditional loan from a bank. They approved her loan and Sonia moved her family out of the 9×12 ft single room and into an apartment where Sonia and her girls had bedrooms and she had a separate space in the kitchen to work on her business. Her success allowed her to cut back on some of her hours as a maid and spend more time with her daughters. Additionally, Sonia has recently applied for a scholarship at the American Embassy in Bolivia focused on entrepreneurs in gastronomy. She is now training to improve her technique and learn new recipes.
Sonia is just one example of the many entrepreneurs helped by LendHOPE worldwide. She had a meaningful business idea, but lack of access to capital and the need to provide for her family kept her from being able to fully pursue her dreams. LendHOPE worldwide alleviated some of that tension by creating access to resources. And with this accessibility, Sonia put in all of the hard work necessary to grow her business and saw her life improve greatly. We cannot wait to see how Sonia continues to thrive and excel. She dreams of growing her business enough to hire other single mothers and women in need. Sonia’s story is the embodiment of the impact that we had always dreamed could be achieved through a program like LendHOPE worldwide.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
LendHOPE worldwide officially launched our pilot program in Honduras in 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as the reality of the pandemic set in, I was concerned for our dozens of entrepreneurs. They had just gone through our training, received their funding, and then the world shut down.
The closings in Honduras would prove to be a major obstacle for small businesses. However, the challenges did not stop there. Honduras was subsequently hit by two hurricanes with major flooding. I wondered how our small business owners would survive, let alone thrive. Would they be able to continue running their businesses while participating in our reciprocal donation cycle?
In January of 2021, I flew to Honduras again to meet up with the participants of our pilot program. Incredibly, every single one of them was faithfully fulfilling their duties to our micro-funding program. The pandemic was merely a stepping stone for these resilient entrepreneurs. They worked together to augment their businesses, hired employees who were in need of jobs, and pivoted to find success.
For example, one of our small business owners had an event planning business. The pandemic would normally have been a death sentence for her business, as all events were prohibited by the government. However, she used the funding from LendHOPE worldwide to pivot her business model and started selling a variety of products that enabled her to grow throughout 2020.
LendHOPE worldwide works with people who have suffered from natural disasters, lived in material poverty, or are traditionally excluded from financial institutions and their services, such as receiving loans. For people who have had to live life resiliently, pivoting in business seems to come naturally. I have been completely amazed that every single one of our pilot program entrepreneurs was able to find a way to make their business succeed and overcome the numerous challenges they faced. It is amazing to see what can happen when so many unique individuals come together to share resources and overcome obstacles. We take pride in our community and in the fact that anyone can become a part of success stories like these by simply downloading the LendHOPE worldwide App.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hopeww.org/lendhopeww
- Instagram: hope_worldwide
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HOPEworldwide/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hope-worldwide/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HOPEworldwide
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HOPEworldwide
Image Credits
Sayma Waleh (Personal Headshot) Ryan Holland (App phone photos)