Inspired by each other, three members of the Cortes family have used Kiva loans to turn their passions into growing businesses.
Grassroots entrepreneurship goes back generations in the Cortes family, and Maria attributes her innate desire to start her own business to formative experiences from her childhood. Growing up, together with her sister Maria-Ines, she would attend artisan events, fairs and markets with their mother, Josefina, who started her own handmade jewelry business back in 2006.
The Cortes family had recently immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, and Josefina was determined to support her family financially. Despite demands associated with maintaining the household and raising four children at once, Josefina found a way to do just that. She sold homemade pastries to save enough money to start a small jewelry business, JC Jewels. Maria reflects on fond childhood memories and the values her mother instilled in her: “From the start, my mother taught me to be independent, responsible, and to always have a growth mindset.”
Maria sold her products in markets and in other stores before opening her own.
Fast forward about two decades and Maria epitomizes those values. Since mid-2020, she has been the founder and CEO of Tucson-based, Latina-woman-owned brand, Di Luna Candles. Maria turned to candle-making at the start of the pandemic; as an essential worker at a bank, she was isolated and looking for ways to manage stress. One day, she came across a video of someone making a candle in a wine bottle and was instantly intrigued. She replicated the steps, did a ton of additional research, and slowly but surely, her hobby-turned-business idea started to take shape. In order to move that idea forward and pursue her vision, however, Maria would need capital, which is usually challenging to come by for small startups.
And that’s where Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Growth Partners Arizona (GPA) came in. Growth Partners Arizona is a member of Kiva’s Hub network in the U.S., and a highly impactful, mission-aligned partner in the financial inclusion ecosystem. They provide accessible, fair, and responsible loans as well as tailored advisory services to small businesses in Arizona that are considered economically underserved. Capital Access Manager and primary liaison between Kiva and Growth Partners Arizona, Alexa Rodriguez, introduced Maria to Kiva’s zero percent interest loans.
To prepare applicants for the Kiva U.S. loan process, Alexa meets with them multiple times.
“I see the impact in making sure that they feel confident. I say to them, ‘My job is to make your campaign strong and to help you feel strong about your campaign, because you’re going to be leading the campaign, but we’re going to do it together.’” - Alexa, Capital Access Manager at Growth Partners Arizona, a Kiva Hub
This balance of both a sense of ownership and supportive collaboration is instilled in the entrepreneurs applying for a Kiva loan, and this aligns with Growth Partners Arizona’s commitment to intentionally connecting these individuals with knowledge, resources, and technical assistance that will help them in the Kiva process and beyond. Clients benefit from networking events, financial literacy sessions, pitch competitions, and much more.
Alexa sees it as her personal mission and objective to help applicants craft a strong story that will both interest prospective lenders on Kiva.org as well as boost the confidence of the applicants themselves. Seeing things in writing can be powerful, as Maria can attest.
“Kiva was definitely the first to believe in my story, and Alexa actually helped me to write my very first story, telling me to describe my business, how it started. Now you can ask me any question about my business, finances and everything; and I know almost everything at the top of my head. But I didn’t know how to put it onto paper, and Alexa was such a huge help.” - Maria, founder of Di Luna candles
Alexa herself feels grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with small business owners and entrepreneurs on a daily basis, supporting them on their unique journeys as they pursue their financial and personal goals. She reminds them that the Kiva process requires patience, dedication, and belief in one’s vision, and that thoughtful preparation can boost confidence.
“I really care about helping borrowers feel confident with their journey, because it’s hard to tell your story, it’s hard to get out there and show how hard you’ve worked for your plan. Sometimes they need help with the planning to feel more confident.”
Alexa, an entrepreneur herself who designs and sells handmade leather bags, speaks from experience and resonates with the sentiments expressed to her by those considering financing options for their small business.
Confidence is fundamental, and Growth Partners Arizona’s emphasis on helping clients craft compelling stories inevitably sets them up for success for crowdfunding with Kiva. By design, the Kiva process — with its emphasis on social underwriting to secure community-backed capital — often boosts confidence further: seven in ten borrowers reported an improvement in their business confidence as a result of going through the Kiva process.
Maria’s loan allowed her to expand from supplying six stores to nearly thirty
In July 2022, Maria received her $5,000 0%-interest, zero-fee Kiva loan, powered by 121 lenders near and far.
“Initially, I was so scared of getting a loan. It was like, am I even going to make enough money to pay it back? I got $5,000 from Kiva which — now it seems crazy — was so much money. It was like, ‘I can do anything I want with this.’” - Maria
She used the loan primarily for inventory for her wholesale partnerships, expanding her candles’ presence from six stores to nearly thirty. At that time, she was also marketing and selling her products at local farmers markets. Through her involvement with the Kiva Tucson Hub, Maria met many new people and attended various courses – this networking and knowledge sharing proved invaluable as she continued learning what worked to grow her business. Then, about a year after receiving the Kiva loan, she was able to secure a grant as well as an additional, larger loan from GPAz which made her dream of opening a physical storefront for Di Luna come true.
Maria with her storefront in Arizona
“Being able to get that capital [from Kiva] was the start of it all. My first year, I made about $15,000. My second year, after getting the Kiva loan, I grew that total by about 400%. The third year, I grew it about another 190%.”
Maria is intentional about the goods she curates to sell in her shop — the selection features close to 90% women-owned businesses. She sees her brand as a platform for empowerment and community, dedicated to uplifting small, woman-owned, and local businesses whose values align with those of Di Luna Candles. Both Alexa’s leather bags and her mother’s JC Jewels’ products are among the items carried. Maria has also been able to employ her mom, Josefina, her sister, Maria-Ines, and her brother, Angel, to work full-time at the Di Luna shop alongside her.
Following her curiosity and exploring a new creative outlet a few years back paid dividends for Maria and her family that she could have never dreamed of, and sometimes, she catches herself reflecting on just how surreal it all is. But it is also motivating, and Maria is committed to using her platform to support other local, woman-owned businesses.
“I want people to have the opportunity to sell their products in retail stores just like I did. I know just how excited I was when I got my very first store, I couldn’t believe it. It’s like: ‘Wait, you’re selling your product that you made with your own hands and your own ideas in a store?’ Even if it’s a small, hole-in-the-wall place, it’s such an honor.” - Maria Cortes
Maria’s mother and sister applied for a loan to pivot their business during the pandemic
Maria-Ines and Josefina
Witnessing Maria’s positive experience with Kiva as well as the transformative impact of the Kiva loan firsthand, Josefina and Maria-Ines decided to apply for a Kiva loan to help grow JC Jewels. Maria-Ines had helped out with the business during her childhood, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that she started supporting in a more formal capacity. Because of the lockdown, fairs and markets were canceled and JC Jewels needed to explore other channels for sales. Maria-Ines taught herself social media marketing and quickly set up an Instagram page for the business. Consistent posting led to increased credibility of the brand as well as a new and expanded customer base, and direct-to-consumer sales took off for the mother-daughter team.
“It was really special to be able to apply what I knew about social media in order to help my mom with this business which she’s poured so much of herself into for almost two decades", says Maria-Ines. "I learned — and continue to learn — a ton from my mom, both personally and professionally, and am thankful that we were able to keep the business going.”
Maria-Ines had explored different financing options, but while her business was already established, unlike Di Luna, she faced other obstacles.
“I was 19 years old and was seeking capital to expand our business. No bank would give a 19-year-old some business capital.” - Maria-Ines
She followed in her sister’s footsteps and, in January 2023, crowdfunded an $11,500 Kiva loan powered by 632 lenders.
“The Kiva platform was definitely a game-changer, and the process was very straightforward, also thanks to the help of Alexa. It was also easy in comparison to other sources of financing or banks which we had explored in the past.” - Maria-Ines
JC Jewels used the Kiva loan funds to revamp their marketing strategy, upgrade packaging, acquire displays for jewelry and increase inventory.
Maria-Ines moved to Tucson, AZ for school and brought her mother’s jewelry to sell at farmer’s markets, street fairs, and local events.
Maria and Maria-Ines’s father, Angel, realized a long-time dream
Angel, founder of Señor Taco, Arizona
Angel, Maria’s and Maria-Ines’s father and Josefina’s husband, was — and remains — a role model in the family’s entrepreneurial endeavors. Growing up in Mexico, Angel was exposed to entrepreneurship himself from a very young age. His father worked his way up in a brewery that supplied liquor stores, at one point managing 14 liquor stores himself. From age 10, Angel helped his father on his rounds, and by 15, Angel was running his own business. A few years later, he went to university, but continued running the family business, working in the mornings and studying in the evenings. When he graduated, he joined various family members with a real estate business, but in 1995, Mexico faced an economic crisis, and Angel’s family’s companies went bankrupt.
Since moving to Nogales, Arizona, with his family in the early 2000s, Angel worked in different corporate roles, but he held onto his dream of starting his own business one day. Throughout the various chapters of his life, one constant prevailed: his passion for cooking and sharing savory, authentic Mexican food with people he cared about.
“When I was a kid, I would cook breakfast for my family and at social gatherings. People would compliment the food I made. As my kids were growing up, I was also always the one cooking at home.” - Angel
A couple of years ago, in order to be closer to his children, Angel moved from Nogales to Tucson, where he unfortunately faced a tough job market. Instead of losing hope, however, Angel, surrounded by his wife and children who were running and growing their own businesses, felt more inspired than ever. His family encouraged him to pursue his lifelong dream, and a few business courses and necessary licensing/permits later, he did just that, establishing Señor Taco, an authentic Mexican food catering business, in April 2023. Angel is not yet able to dedicate all of his time solely to his business, but he trusts the process as well as his three-step growth plan: offer catering, expand to a food truck, and open a restaurant.
“Currently, when I don’t have [catering] events, I am an Uber driver. I talk to customers and see how much people love Mexican food. I have been hired by my Uber customers to serve them at events.” - Angel
About a year after his first catering event, Angel became the third of the Cortes family Kiva borrowers, crowdfunding a $15,000 loan powered by 353 lenders. When reflecting on the Kiva process, one word comes to mind: gratitude. At first, Angel could not believe the loan was zero percent interest.
“Growing up in Nogales and in Mexico, these types of opportunities were simply not available to me. But this is a beautiful reminder that it’s never too late.”
The Kiva loan funds went towards a food truck, city and health licenses, equipment such as a generator, and hiring staff. Angel’s daughters also help with managing Señor Taco’s online presence. As was the case for Maria with Di Luna Candles, Angel was able to turn a hobby into a full-time career. He feels humbled by the full-circle nature of his family’s journey: just as he was a key role model and source of inspiration in the lives of his children during their early years, they inspired him to pursue his dream at this stage of his life.
For the Cortes family, hard work, a solid support system, and access to both capital and information were key. And (three) Kiva loans helped.
