Imagine starting a business with the mandate of having 20,000 customers within the first week. Sounds incredible, right?

Customer bases build over time through advertising, word of mouth, new partnerships, and sometimes expansion into new product lines or geographies. It makes good business sense to start small, test a business model, and improve it as you expand.

MEDA approaches business development the same way.

She is half the height of the plantain trees, but her ambition is immeasurable.

We are in Nicaragua, the land of the dragon fruit and the passion flower. Maria walks with us through groves of leafy green plantain trees offering welcome respite from the late-morning sun. Her sun-scorched farm is just a few too many kilometers east to catch a cool ocean breeze.

She doesn’t seem to mind. The 26-year-old leads us through field and pasture with long strides and a farmer’s cap. She has no time to bother with sun or sweat.

Did you know that 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development? According to the World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, tourism has the highest impact on poverty reduction when the poor benefits directly through employment in tourism enterprises or through establishing their own tourism-related businesses.

Last week I had the opportunity to help MiCrédito welcome a MEDA Field Experience team to Nicaragua. As a MEDA intern, this was a chance to meet MEDA supporters from Canada and the United States, most of whom had never been to Nicaragua before. As I helped to interpret the management team’s presentation to our visitors, I felt proud to be involved in an institution that has had such an important impact on the lives of Nicaraguan micro-entrepreneurs. For me, MiCrédito’s work encapsulates the idea of MEDA’s “Business to the Power of 2” strategy. When the institution sees a need in the community, it uses enlightened business practices and entrepreneurial thinking to help people achieve their personal goals, thus building bridges out of poverty.

One of the projects that I am currently working on here in Nicaragua is a case study of MiCrédito’s social products. In the world of microfinance, these include products that are designed to meet the needs of clients belonging to specific social groups. MiCrédito targets women, youth, and rural communities through three innovative products: Women Entrepreneurship Loans, MiCrédiEstudios (Student Loans), and Sanitation Loans. Women Entrepreneurship loans support women who have a business idea, but not the capital, to build their first business. The MiCrédiEstudios product offers financing for the final two years of university education as well as funding options for youth entrepreneurship, equipment purchase, language courses, and further education through Masters and PhD programs. Finally, through its Sanitation product, MiCrédito provides low-interest loans designed to allow families to replace latrines with high-efficiency toilets, improving family health and hygiene. You can learn more about MiCrédito’s social products here.

I am exactly one month into my internship with MEDA partner MiCrédito in Nicaragua and I have fallen in love with this country and its people! My first four weeks have been a whirlwind, but I am grateful for the diverse experiences, both personal and professional, that I have gained already. My days have been filled with everything from touring churches in colonial cities to visiting MiCrédito clients at their farms and businesses.

One Month…Wow! It is hard to believe that I have already been here that long. I arrived at the end of May and started my six-month internship with MEDA where I am working with one of their partner organizations MiCredito, a microfinance institution. I am inspired by the way that MiCredito develops working relationships with small scale entrepreneurs to provide financial services and a more promising future. I am very grateful and blessed to have this experience. I feel blessed to experience a different culture and to learn how micro-finance initiatives are empowering individuals and businesses.