Tata Sidibe is the definition of an entrepreneur. Originally from Mali in northwestern Africa, Tata moved to Colorado to pursue a degree in business administration.
While still completing her classes, Tata decided to launch her own business: Ibiza African Market, providing African groceries, clothes, and other assorted goods. Launching this business would mean working seven days a week, 9 A.M. to 9 P.M., while finishing her degree. It would also mean raising capital to buy inventory.
Read More>>As a single mother and proud member of San Ildefonso Pueblo, Liana Sanchez wanted to build something for her family and her community
When reduced hours at her job made it tough for Liana Sanchez to support her children, she decided it was time to use her education, find her passion and make a change. With the help of her family and ACCION, Liana created Avanyu, LLC, a construction company that brings jobs to fellow tribal members at San Ildefonso and promotes environmentally friendly building techniques.
Read More>>Jerry Brown nearly lost everything before turning to his sheep herd as a lifeline to help his family and a rural tradition survive
In the space of a year, Jerry Brown lost almost everything when an accident left him unable to work and a random shooting nearly cost him his life. That’s when Jerry and his wife, Lyn, of La Plata, turned to their one remaining asset – the family sheep herd. By using the herd to build a wool business and turning to ACCION for help, Jerry has found a new passion.
Read More>>A business started a decade ago with hard work and $200 today serves as many as 3,000 customers in a single weekend
When the ACCION team met Saul and Carmen Manriquez, the immigrant couple was living in a cramped apartment with their two young daughters in one of Albuquerque’s toughest neighborhoods. Their small business journey started with a stall at a local flea market. Today, it’s a grocery and meat market business that posts more than $1.7 million in annual gross sales and was named the nation’s Best Community Business of the Year by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity.
Read More >>Baker Pratt Morales was at a crossroads and in need of credit to preserve his beloved corner bakery
Tucked away in a modest adobe in one of Albuquerque’s oldest neighborhoods is Pratt Morales’s labor of love – a corner bakery where he is teaching his son, Christopher, how to use yeast and flour to keep the community’s culinary traditions alive. When he needed to establish credit history to realize his dreams of purchasing and expanding his business, Pratt came to ACCION.
Read More >>Community leader Evangelina Moreno set out to bring life’s basic necessities closer to her family and neighbors
Evangelina Moreno’s close-knit neighborhood in southern New Mexico is a dusty patch of land and small homes in Chaparral. There, the mother of four is working hard to make sure her family and community get the resources they need.
Chaparral is among New Mexico’s colonias, rural communities located near the U.S.-Mexico border that often lack adequate electricity, water and housing.
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