John Beasley

Country: Nicaragua
Organization: Hurricane Ventures

BEASLEY: "My internship this summer with Hurricane Ventures expanded upon an idea born out of the commercial challenges of developing, operating, and maintaining a solar energy project in Central America.

The previous summer I worked with a project developer, Global 2020, on a 12.5MW solar project near the capital city of Managua. In the process of overall market research and specifically while sourcing contractors, Global 2020 recognized the overwhelming lack of local human capital capable of performing the required engineering and electrical work to build and operate a solar field. Furthermore, while this project was the first and largest of its kind in Nicaragua, other Central American countries had previously built solar projects, only to see their productivity drop significantly or fail entirely due to lack of certifications, regulations, and overall operation and maintenance challenges (O&M). As the summer of 2016 progressed, we (Global 2020) began to sketch out a rough outline of what a training program might look like and brought in Hurricane Ventures, a local project management firm with experience in socially oriented initiatives to begin implementation.

Over the course of the 2016/2017 academic year, I worked with Hurricane Ventures to draft proposals and grant applications to source funding for the project. We initially envisioned a simple collaboration and joint venture with a local Nicaraguan university that would use Global 2020’s working project site as a classroom facility to incorporate into engineering and electrical training classes.

Today's project is still ongoing and I continue to help Hurricane Ventures, primarily with writing proposals and explaining the breakdown of the project for various agencies. One visual that includes some of the German companies who will be involved can be found in my PowerPoint presentation. As my blog posts indicated, I grew quite frustrated with the bureaucratic slog that accompanied the expansion of the project. Governments and aid agencies move very slowly and cautiously but the need for this type of training in the region is immediate. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm with which our ideas were received but I worry that the program will not reach its potential before more mistakes in the solar industry have been made. Ultimately though, I believe this project is headed in the right direction and can be a future model for technology transfer in developing countries. The critical piece is that the private sector players have a financial incentive to help and this is not just an aid project. For developers like Global 2020, being able to hire local workers for O&M will significantly cut down on CAPEX spending, and the German suppliers will gain a foothold in a region with great potential. The challenge remains getting all the disparate groups, with various goals and objectives, to work together towards a common goal and share the financial risk accordingly.

Samuel Rosenow

Country: Mexico

Organization: FINCA Mexico

Samuel Rosenow designed, managed and implemented a nation-wide evaluation of FINCA Mexico’s social performance. In his capacity as Survey Manager, he completed a randomized and clustered sampling plan and established a field visitation schedule while hiring, training, and managing a team of 7 enumerators as they conducted 798 face-to-face interviews with clients across Mexico. He was responsible for the compilation, cleaning, and analysis of survey data, and prepared tools for econometric impact assessment as well as poverty targeting.

Samuel: “My work stint reaffirmed for me the importance of evidence-based policymaking to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. Heading a nation-wide impact study not only reined my skills in program management and evaluation but also enriched my understanding of the opportunities and limitations of other micro-based development policy interventions, such as in health or education.”

Sarah Ryan

Country: Paraguay
Organization: ACCION MFI partner Fundacion Paraguaya

Sarah Ryan focused on the Fundacion’s reading glasses microfranchise and investigated new microfranchise opportunities for FP. She was able to meet with microfranchises, loan officers, and potential suppliers. Her business plan suggesting strategic changes in order to grow sales and expand the number of vendors was presented to the directors.

Sarah: “It was extremely useful to get on-the-ground experience in a developing country… and to understand the cultural differences which impact the speed and implementation of new operational models.”

Meghan

Country: Nicaragua

Meghan conducted the Program Evaluation of a microcredit and sustainable agriculture program in Leon, Nicaragua for SosteNica, a U.S.-based nonprofit that funds sustainable agriculture and development initiatives in rural Nicaragua . As the Evaluation Consultant, Meghan developed and conducted an assessment of the socio-economic and environmental impact of this pilot program on its participants.

Sebastian

Countries: Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala

Sebastián spent ten weeks working for Catholic Relief Services in Central America under the Agriculture for Needs (A4N) project, implemented in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. During this time, he traveled through these countries, interviewing farmers and women in savings groups, as well as local partners’ Staff. As a result of his work, CRS adapted a set of guidelines to be applied regionally for A4N. These guidelines set clear rules for local partners to implement the project and how to work wit the beneficiaries in delivering tangible and intangible inputs for agricultural production, small business, savings groups and large investments in productive infrastructures. Sebastián experienced firsthand the powerful effect that savings groups have in women’s lives and the challenges faced by rural households in the most impoverished areas in Central America.

Rebecca

Region: Central America

Rebecca worked for FINCA: interviewing 300 micro-finance loan recipients for their feedback on their experiences accessing and repaying funds, and the impact on of the loans on business growth. Findings were presented to the CEO of FINCA.

Suzanne

Countries: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador

Suzanne worked with Catholic Relief Services on the Agriculture for Basic Needs Project, analyzing the project in four countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador) with a special focus on the savings-led credit groups and the impact on sustainable agriculture, innovation and learning.