Desiree Lyons's Contact Details

Desiree Lyons's Company Details

Namaste Direct & Fundación Namaste Guatemaya

San Francisco, California, United States • 9 Employees
Civic & Social Organization

Namaste Direct/NamasteGuatemaya is an outcomes based NGO that supports women's economic empowerment via a proven business development program that offers low interest microcredit loans (which we handle in house and lend at 1.5% monthly interest), financial literacy education, and what we have seen to be the most impactful component, personal business advising/consultancy. We've learned that too often international development agencies collect and manage data to support outputs instead of outcomes. The success of their clients is overshadowed by a focus on agency-centered performance metrics. In the world of microfinance, for example, loan repayment rates largely remain more important than the development of profitable and successful businesses. To address this challenge we have pioneered a new approach to sustainable development based entirely on client outcomes. We still look at metrics like re-payment rates, but we have expanded our metrics to include important success indicators like the actual increase in sales and profits from the business. Our business development program typically produces results like a 40% increase in income in just nine months amongst the low-income women we serve in Guatemala.We believe that our outcomes based approach to development, supported by effective technology tools, has the potential to transform the way international development is practiced globally.