Nancy Ortiz developed her passion for the travel industry as an employee at Avianca, the national airline of Colombia. After she and her husband David emigrated to the United States, they decided to turn that passion into a business, and in 1983 Buenaventura Travel Agency was born. Nancy and Diego offer flight, rail, and hotel booking services around the world, but specialize in personalized travel packages to Latin American and Caribbean destinations.
After over 30 years in business, Buenaventura has built up a loyal following among their Bay Area customers, but decided in 2014 to invest in new equipment to help the business compete with internet travel services. In August 2014, the Burlingame-based travel agency applied for a $5,000 loan from Working Solutions to purchase a new computer, printer, and flight-booking software. The loan was approved through LiftFund’s Microloan Management System, and within a month Nancy and Diego received their loan funds. Nancy and Diego are receiving ongoing services from the Working Solutions Business Consulting team, including advice about how to increase their online visibility to reach more customers.
Working Solutions is committed to supporting the growth of Bay Area small businesses through an innovative blend of microlending and business consulting. We offer microloans from $5,000-$50,000 and five years of free personalized business consulting, including mentorship, legal advice and financial education. To date, we’ve made over $8 million in loans with a 96% repayment rate to over 340 clients, who have in turn created over 1,100 jobs. Visit workingsolutions.org for more information.