Tito’s Story
We believe that investing in people and developing rural entrepreneurs has the power to end the cycle of poverty for individuals, families, and communities as a whole. Tito is proof that.
Tito graduated from our program in 2020, equipped with the skills and resources to improve his coffee farm after years of growing coffee without ever receiving proper training. He also emerged from the Fellowship with a newly formed passion for entrepreneurship. Through the Fellowship, he developed a business plan for a taxi business, but ultimately wasn’t awarded the Kula Business Plan Competition grant at the end of the program. Despite this, Tito’s passion wasn’t deterred. Instead, he went back to the drawing board – assessing what was needed in his community and brainstorming different ways of how he could create a business to fill that need.
Today, you will find Tito operating a bustling store in the heart of his village, providing food and household necessities to his neighbors while also being able to care for his wife, Colette, and their three-year-old son, Edison. His thriving business has allowed him to expand his coffee farm, purchase livestock, pay back the loans for his house and store in full, and continually reinvest in the growth of his businesses.
