Investing in women entrepreneurs, particularly small businesses, is a powerful driver of economic mobility. Empowering women economically helps alleviate poverty and improves the quality of life for entire households, as women’s success directly impacts their families.
However, one significant hurdle for women-owned businesses is unequal access to capital. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, women start their businesses with only half the capital of their male counterparts and receive only 4% of all small business loans. To address this challenge, Grameen America works to level the financial playing field by providing entrepreneurial women with access to affordable business capital through microloans. In addition to financial support, their program offers financial education, peer support, and opportunities for participants to build credit.
Recognizing the critical need for such resources, Austin Community Foundation (ACF) has supported Grameen America through FundATX, the Foundation’s impact investing program aimed at improving the economic mobility of Central Texans. FundATX is a philanthropic tool for donor-advised fundholders to increase their charitable impact in addition to traditional grantmaking.
In 2017, FundATX made a significant commitment by investing $250,000 in the first Grameen America Social Business Fund to help launch an Austin branch. After witnessing remarkable success from the initial investment, which matured in 2022, FundATX made an additional loan of $500,000 in 2024 to help further develop the Austin branch, offering terms that include a 3% interest rate for 5 years.
The impact of Grameen America’s work is evident in its growth over the past 15 years. The organization has expanded to 39 branches in 29 cities and invested over $4.9 billion in more than 210,000 women entrepreneurs. Here in Austin, Grameen America has disbursed over 29,000 microloans, totaling $116.6 million, to more than 5,385 women with an impressive average loan size of $7,000 and a repayment rate of 99 percent.
Meet Maria
A shining example of this empowering work is Maria, the owner of Pepe’s Fruit Cup, a popular chain of juice cafes in Austin. Maria’s business sells juices, snow cones, tortas, and the eponymous fruit cups throughout the city, and her operations have expanded to five locations.
Despite her current success, Maria faced challenges in accessing capital to grow her business. Thanks to the support from Grameen America, she is now on her seventh loan. Her first loan allowed her to purchase new equipment and make improvements to the original Pepe’s store, setting the foundation for her success.
Reflecting on her journey, Maria said, “With this program and my first loan, I was able to start my business.” This initial support enabled her to expand into more locations, strategically using the additional capital for new equipment and inventory for her growing juice chain. Her diligence and organizational skills have been critical to her achievements as a true entrepreneur.
Maria has become a role model not only for her family but also for the women she employs. She dreams of expanding Pepe’s Fruit Cup throughout the state and providing a better future for her six daughters. “These loans helped me realize my dreams,” she says.
In this story of economic empowerment, we see how investing in women entrepreneurs like Maria transforms individual lives and uplifts entire communities.
Learn more about FundATX and how to get involved.