Dayana Raquel Mercado Martinez

Dayana and her grandmother

At 18 and in her final year of high school, Dayana is currently the youngest participant in the microloan program. She was born in El Sauce and raised by her mother and grandparents. Dayana’s mother would often travel to find work to support her two daughters, so Dayana’s grandparents played a big role in her life growing up.  Sadly, her grandfather just recently passed away.

Since she is almost done with high school, Dayana is already making plans to go to college next year. She is hoping to study medicine at UNAN in León, but if she does not qualify for the program she plans to study nursing or dentistry instead. 

Dayana considers herself to be very independent; she has paid for her education thus far on her own, and plans to continue to do so for college. Last year, she worked in a popular clothing store in El Sauce trying to earn some money to support herself. She enjoyed this job very much, so she had the idea to start her own business doing the same.

Dayana’s loan of U$200 helped her to start her own business selling clothes and shoes from her home. With this capital she was able to buy her initial supply of shirts, shorts, jeans and sandals. To sell her products, Dayana uses her cell phone to communicate with her clients, and then travels to them with what they have ordered.  

She is grateful to Enlace for providing her with the necessary capital to run her own business. Dayana also enjoyed her training from Enlace, where she learned that in order to run her business well, she needs to purchase only what is necessary. Due to a recent surgery, Dayana has been forced to put her business on hold. She is unsure if she will be able to continue running her business full time while also attending college next year. However, she is proud to be able to work on her own and support herself.

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser