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Small business

June 25, 2026

 

Building opportunity across borders

Fabiola arrived in Lima searching for stability — and created a future through persistence, instinct and hard-earned experience.

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Fabiola with one of her employees, Angie, in charge of sewing support, at her sportswear shop in Lima. (Courtesy of CARE Peru)

Andrea Durán

CARE

Venezuelan native Fabiola arrived in Peru eight years ago, looking for stability and a future for her daughter. She found work in Gamarra, Lima's largest textile and garment district, and worked her way up from saleswoman to store manager. Those years became an informal education in how the apparel market actually worked: how to read demand, manage inventory and earn customer trust.

At the same time, she and her partner began selling products at local markets during their free hours, starting before sunrise and finishing late at night. They invested roughly USD $100 in inventory, with income from every sale going back into the business. She also sought capital to grow. But as a migrant entrepreneur, Fabiola lacked the credit history that formal lenders required, despite running a legitimate business with strong repayment capacity. 

 

That first loan was small, but for me it meant trust. Someone finally believed in my business.

Fabiola

 

The system had no place for her, until Emprendiendo Mujer did. It’s a credit product developed for women business owners by Financiera Confianza in partnership with Strive Women, a Mastercard Strive program led by CARE. It extends small loans – Fabiola first was about USD $80 – and with quick repayment, these entrepreneurs can establish credit history and become eligible for progressively larger amounts.

"That first loan was small, but for me it meant trust,” Fabiola says. “Someone finally believed in my business."

Alongside the credit access, Fabiola participated in Strive Women business workshops that helped her sharpen her financial management and marketing skills and approach her business with a more deliberate strategy for growth and investment. Now her business, Fashion & Sport, has its own store, employees and customers across Peru.

The ambition that brought her to Peru has not diminished. She hopes to open additional locations, expand into Gamarra, develop new product lines, and eventually reach international markets throughout Latin America, including one day supplying customers in Venezuela from a production base in Peru.

But her greatest dream remains the same as the day she arrived: building a future where her daughter can thrive independently and confidently, knowing that opportunity is something you create through hard work, courage, and determination.

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