Elizabeth Ruiz Gonzales

Elizabeth sells meals every evening from her front porch, putting out four tables beginning around 6:00 pm. She offers her customers fried chicken, hot dogs, french fries, hamburgers, and soft drinks. She has an excellent location for her business, near the corner of a main road, and has a good customer base.

Elizabeth has been working with Manuela Ramos, a Kiva field partner, for two years and is a member of the "Amigas Por Siempre" (Friends Forever) communal bank . Elizabeth invested her first loan of 300 soles (about $100) in ingredients for cakes and other baked goods, which she sold at her father’s bakery. Although she was able to earn additional income by working at her father’s bakery, Elizabeth wanted to have her own independent business, so she decided to start her little home-based restaurant. Her business has been going quite well.

Elizabeth used her last loan of 1500 soles (about $500) from Manuela Ramos to purchase a special fryer for chicken. Elizabeth plans to use this loan of 2000 soles to purchase six more tables, better chairs, and food in bulk. Elizabeth’s business has grown a lot. On weekends, she now has more customers than she can accommodate at the four tables she has in her restaurant.

Elizabeth lives with her partner and their two children, ages 13 and 7. Her partner works as a supervisor at a company that repairs broken phone lines and downed phone systems.

Elizabeth is glad to be working with Manuela Ramos. She was unable to get loans from other banks because they had too many requirements. Elizabeth also appreciates the educational talks given by Manuela Ramos’s loan officers at every monthly meeting of her communal bank. These talks deal with business-related themes (e.g. how to promote and develop a business) as well as larger themes, such as making life goals, etc.

Elizabeth "thinks big" about her business and has many goals for the future. Eventually, she wants to buy an extra-large deep fryer for making french fries. She also wants to turn the front room of her home into a restaurant so she will have a larger and more comfortable space for her customers.

In this short video clip, Elizabeth talks about how she wants to expand and improve her business, and how she plans to take full advantage of her loans in order to do so.

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