In the midst of the one of the world’s worst refugee crisis, the Bpeace community is planting some of the first seeds of hope.   

A commitment to personal improvement drives The Vitamin Shoppe brand. So, the maker of nutritional supplements said yes when Bpeace asked if they would share their knowledge with two Salvadoran entrepreneurs.

“We have a lot of employees from Latin American who appreciate that we do this. It’s a shared interest across the company.”

SPEAK had been growing faster than they could accommodate. The founder believed he did not have the right organizational structure, and information was not flowing. “I did not have visibility within the business. It would have been impossible to

“As a small business owner, it is really hard to do everything. Bpeace taught me that I have to know what I’m good at and where I’m really needed, and not waste my time where I could delegate and create a new job. There was a lot of strategi

Today, 101 Bpeace Fast Runner businesses generate $81 million in revenue, producing a ripple effect in Afghan, Guatemalan and Salvadoran communities as employees spend their wages and buy local products and services.

“We started the week with an innovation popup lab sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador with 100+ guests that included Salvadoran professionals from the worlds of business, government, academia and the arts.”

“The more we learn about other cultures, the better off we are. We've helped a mindful entrepreneur grow. These opportunities don’t always arise in large companies, which is why the connections that Bpeace enables are so uniquely valuable.”

Walleska de Castillo turned a good Guatemalan business into a great one and credits Bpeace. By sharing secrets of her success with other Guatemalan entrepreneurs, she hopes to drive up employment.

"Afghanistan is very fragmented. Abdul’s market is limited because the infrastructure to cross into other regions doesn’t exist. Also, I learned women make the purchasing decisions and I needed I needed to get Abdul to appreciate that.”

"Carlos created a play area so that female workers could bring their kids to work. Another employer in Guatemala City created a dorm for workers from outside the city. That speaks to how much business owners want to grow by helping folks."

Telling friends and people I meet that I have family in Guatemala often prompts an inquisitive expression.

“You don’t look Guatemalan,” many say.

Looking back on this year, I feel very grateful. Grateful for the Bpeace volunteers and donors who recognize the value of our work, grateful for my colleagues and committed staff in the U.S., El Salvador, Guatemala and Afghanistan, and gratef

It’s that time of year when we are deluged with worthy causes seeking our financial support. So how do we decide? As you assess your options for philanthropy this year, I suggest applying three criteria: 1) Personal Engagement; 2) Measurable Imp

Jamshid Sultanzada, founder and CEO of PomTech ICT Solutions in Herat, Afghanistan, developed a love for technology at an early age. He credits a local computer class that taught typing, Windows and Word as “cha