Our Model & Why it Works

Our Model

 
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Interview

Each Resol applicant is interviewed by an in-country coordinator. Our coordinators assess each applicant based off of educational history, business background, financial situation, need, and other relevant criteria. The in-country coordinator also reviews each applicant’s business idea and determines whether or not the applicant is a good fit for the program.

 
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Entrepreneurship Course

All entrepreneurs are then enrolled in The Master of Business in the Streets Program. The MBS is a business training/self-reliance program that allows participants to start and grow their own businesses, improve their home life, and better their communities. They attend classes twice a week for six weeks at our local office space in Cuenca, Ecuador (online during COVID-19). These classes are facilitated and taught by our local coordinator and a team of bilingual mentors in the United States. Each week, entrepreneurs are accountable to their class in fulfilling and reporting on personal and business goals. The completion of this course acts as a prerequisite for entrepreneurs in receiving their startup equipment, as well as helps them be better prepared to start and sustain a successful microenterprise.


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Donor Matching

Once the entrepreneur completes her coursework, she is eligible to receive her micro-loan to use for her startup equipment. Each loan comes from donors that have chosen to contribute to that entrepreneur’s business fund. Loans range from $500 - $1500 based on need. Each donor is able to choose which entrepreneur they would like to fund, and each entrepreneur is able to see the face of their donor family.

 
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Equipment Purchase

Once the loan donation is acquired, the entrepreneur is able to purchase the equipment she needs with the help of an in-country coordinator. With the equipment they need, the entrepreneur is now ready to launch her business using the principles and practices she learned in the entrepreneurship course.

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Payback Period

Over the next 18 months, the entrepreneur is required to make monthly payments on her loan. She is also able to make larger payments to avoid interest and pay off her loan in a shorter amount of time.

 
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Donor Updates

During these 18 months, we gather updates from each entrepreneur regarding their successes, failures, and progress as a business. These updates are sent to their donors as a way for them to stay connected to the cause. Entrepreneurs also have access to business mentors during this time which help them overcome hurdles they might face while starting and growing their business in their new home.

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Regenerative Donation

Once an entrepreneur pays back her loan in full, 100% of that loan goes directly towards another applicant. In this way, each donee has the opportunity to become a donor herself. She, like all donors, receives updates on the business she funded. This way, each donation made to a refugee startup is regenerative and has more impact than imaginable.

Why it Works: