Every November 19, the world commemorates the International Day of Women Entrepreneurs, a date established in 2014 by Wendy Diamond, founder of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO). Its purpose is to recognize the crucial role women play in the economy, highlight the challenges they face, and promote actions that strengthen their participation in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. This date was created in response to a persistent reality: although women sustain a significant share of the world’s economy, they still face major barriers to accessing financing, networks, investment, and growth opportunities. This is precisely the gap that Fundación Paraguaya has been working to close for more than four decades.
On this special day, Fundación Paraguaya reaffirms its commitment to the women entrepreneurs who transform realities every day through hard work, creativity, and determination. In 2025, the Microfranchising Program once again demonstrated its impact: nearly 7,000 turnkey “mini-businesses” were acquired by women—either paid upfront or through accessible 30-day interest-free loans. These kits—designed for selling ice cream, accessories, clothing, perfumes, eggs, cleaning products, and more—generate profits ranging from 45% to 100% of the initial investment, making them an effective tool for income diversification, one of the key indicators of the Poverty Stoplight.
Today, more than 100,000 women are part of Fundación Paraguaya’s committees, positively impacting over 100,000 families across the country. But this movement didn’t begin yesterday. Back in the 1980s, when no one was talking about microenterprise or financial inclusion, Fundación Paraguaya was already offering loans to street vendors, chiperas, herbal sellers, hairdressers, and cooks—brave women who sustained their households but lacked formal opportunities. Since then, the organization has recognized them not as beneficiaries, but as what they always were: entrepreneurs, heads of household, and essential pillars of the Paraguayan economy.
Over time, the model evolved with a clear focus: providing sustainable tools. Today, the kuña guapa—hardworking women—receive training in sales, financial education, savings strategies, and ongoing support through the Poverty Stoplight, a social innovation born in Paraguay and now inspiring the world.
A Paraguayan Methodology with Global Impact
The Poverty Stoplight has crossed borders and is now present in 59 countries, with more than 90 centers, 39 special projects, and over 1,080 organizations implementing it. Globally, more than 708,000 Stoplight surveys have been completed, making it one of the most replicated methodologies for measuring and reducing poverty from the perspective of families themselves.
This international leadership reflects a powerful truth: what began in Paraguay is now driving community transformation on every continent. In a country where 4 out of 10 households are led by women, their strength, resilience, and ability to take action set the pace of progress. They work, create, produce, and open paths every day.
That is why, on this International Day of Women Entrepreneurs, we proudly celebrate a remarkable reality: Fundación Paraguaya is the largest women’s organization in the country, and it continues to grow thanks to thousands of entrepreneurs who prove that development, too, has the face of a woman.