From the Field: Andrea Cabrera

Grameen America Branch Manager, Andrea Cabrera, previously worked on the ground as a Relationship Manager for over nine years. She has seen first-hand how powerful small loans are for the women in our program as she supported the MDRC study in Union City.

What I enjoy about my work is being with women and seeing their businesses grow.

One member, Francisca, has been with the Union City branch since it opened. When I rstmet her, she was selling tamales on a street corner with her two kids. I gave her information about Grameen America. She was interested because she wanted to grow her business. Francisca joined a group of women that has now grown into a center of more than 35 women.

Francisca bought a new cart with her rst loanand began expanding her food options with her second. After a few loans, Francisca was able to rent a storefront to house a Mexican restaurant — the location is on the exact street corner that she used to have her tamale cart.

I have seen Francisca grow so much. She is a single mother and with this opportunity she was able to better her and her kids’ lives because of Grameen America. As a result, she was able to send her daughter to college.

What makes Grameen America so unique is it’s a little bit of everything, from loans to credit building. A lot of women come into the program and they have never had a loan or credit card. Now, they are building a credit score because of Grameen America. They have their capital and they are learning how to invest their money.

Women care deeply about their communities and their families. They want to see everyone grow. When you invest in a woman, you are also investing in their families and communities.

With the impact of COVID-19, when we were given orders to lock down, the women in mybranch came up with di erent ways to continueto earn money. Some women were designing masks and some of them were selling food ando ering delivery.

We had a lot of members whose businesses slowed down, but it’s amazing to see the imagination these women have to keep supporting their families. Being in a group,
the women support each other. If something happens in their business they go to their group for advice and they know someone will help them.

I loved being a Relationship Manager at Grameen America, and I look forward to bringing the same opportunities to women entrepreneurs in Southern New Jersey with the opening our new branch location reaching Trenton and Camden.