Leonardo, a determined entrepreneur and beneficiary of our Ahmsa’s microcredit program

Leonardo’s home and workshop contains a jumbled collection of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and small glass containers. In his kitchen sits a massive bottle-sealing machine, which he bought thanks to a micro-credit loan from Ahmsa and the Rotary Club of Bogotá. Leonardo produces and sells soaps, cleaning materials, perfumes, and colognes to communities all over Colombia.

Leonardo and his bottle-sealing machine

As a boy, Leonardo and his family were displaced from their home by the armed conflict, and he wasn’t able to go to school. He taught himself how to read by watching movies on an old TV set and matching the subtitles with the dialogue.

Now, he supports his wife and child with his new business in La Florida, just outside of Bogotá. “The business is doing so well that I have run out of materials,” he admits. He will use another loan to purchase more raw materials so he can keep expanding his sales. He wants to thank all the supporters and donors of Ahmsa for making his new business possible.