Friendship Bridge partners with Poverty Stoplight to improve clients’ lives

In 2022, Friendship Bridge implemented the Poverty Stoplight, with the poverty elimination methodology of Fundación Paraguaya. It’s designed to help our clients holistically assess their living conditions and quality of life in order for them to identify concrete actions for improvement.

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A lot has happened in the world since 2009—both in the U.S. and Guatemala—but one thing has remained the same: Friendship Bridge’s mission to create opportunities that empower Guatemalan women to build a better life. With your help, we are changing how women in Guatemala see, respond to, and overcome the issues of poverty for themselves, their families, and their communities.

2009 is also when our CEO, Karen Larson, joined the organization. At a time of transition, Karen focused on three specific areas in her early years to ensure the successes of the past could continue: building a sustainable foundation for our clients and organization, improving operations, and investing in employees. Your support has been an essential part of her journey. Back then, we served 11,000 women with microloans, with 75 employees—now, with your help, we empower over 26,000 women and employ 260 staff members across 15 offices throughout Guatemala.

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After a thorough global search, the Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of Tracie Cordeiro, CFO, as the new President and CEO of Friendship Bridge. Cordeiro will officially assume the position on January 23, 2023, working closely with the current President and CEO, Karen Larson, until that time to ensure a smooth transition.

Cordeiro joined Friendship Bridge more than four years ago and has become a trusted advisor to Larson and the leadership team ever since. Throughout these years, she has had the opportunity to work in Guatemala and travel around the country visiting staff and clients.

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Great Place To Work® Recognizes Friendship Bridge’s Gender Inclusive Culture

Friendship Bridge ranks as the #1 Best Place to Work® for Women 2022 in Central America and the Caribbean, (multinationals category) as identified by Great Place to Work®, by surveying hundreds of employees of multinational companies in the Caribbean and Central America region. The organization asks employees about key factors that they believe create “excellent workplaces,” and analyzes the programs that allow for the development and growth of women. 

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Handmade by Friendship Bridge® Receives Registered Trademark Status

“Having an official trademark is something we’ve been wanting for quite some time now. This is definitely a brand milestone for Handmade by Friendship Bridge® and we’re extremely thankful to everyone who made this possible.”
– Maya Colop-Morales, Manager, Handmade by Friendship Bridge®

You may have noticed the “®” next to our name and logo at Handmade by Friendship Bridge®. Although it may seem like a small change, the “R” inside the circle stands for “registered,” and is, in fact, a very BIG deal for Friendship Bridge and the operations of our social enterprise. The federal trademark registration symbol shows that we now officially own our trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, and has major benefits as we continue to develop the brand of our artisan program and online store.

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World’s First Microfinance Index Report shows Friendship Bridge Ranks #3 MFI in Latin America

Friendship Bridge is proud to be included in the world’s first microfinance social performance index, based directly on client interviews and customer outcomes. The newly released report, conducted by 60 Decibels, was developed in order to set a benchmark for what good, better, and best performance looks like within microfinance institutions*. Did our clients’ lives actually improve because of their involvement with Friendship Bridge, and in what ways? And, how does our performance compare to other organizations?

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2021 Report from 60 Decibels

Friendship Bridge strives to be a learning organization that responds quickly to the evolving needs of the women we serve in Guatemala. In an effort to constantly improve and diversify our offerings and ensure we provide the most appropriate loan products and services to our clients, we continuously collect social performance data, which informs our strategic decisions. Our partnership with 60 Decibels, a global impact measurement company that quantifies social impact as well as provides benchmarks of impact performance, is an integral part of this process.

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