Angela, Ricarda /joc Reynoso / Baez

Angela Maria Reynoso and her sister, Ricarda, were born in the town of Nagua, about 80 miles north of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. They ran a beauty parlor there for several months before relocating to Santo Domingo with their families. Their shop has been in its new location for 8 months and is doing very well. Angela Maria has four children and Ricarda has one child (seen here in photo). They all live together in the same house with their mother, and the salon is located in an extension of the house. Even though the shop is small, they can work on at least two customers at the same time.

Angela and Ricarda have applied for a loan in part to buy a small power generator so that their shop can continue to operate during the eight to ten hours a day when the electricity is out in their neighborhood.

They are also interested in opening up a new business with their partner, Jocelyn Baez, to sell natural and herbal remedies produced by a company called Natura International. To make this possible, Angela and Ricarda have applied for loans of $350 each, and Jocelyn for a loan of $200, for a total of $900.

Sale of natural and herbal remedies is a recent development in this area, but the activity sounds very promising. Until this business has proved itself, however, securing loans will be difficult. But we believe the fact that these three women are working together to make it happen is a good sign that bodes well for repayment of the loan. Also, the beauty parlor is profitable and can help them withstand early losses from the newer herbal business. That's one reason why, for purposes of this loan, we are considering these women as part of one team.

Subscribe