Trickle Up

10/13/2026

Municipal governments are powerful partners for advancing economic inclusion.

Over the past eight years, Trickle Up has worked with nine municipal governments. Our experience has shown that strong local partnerships can create pathways to reach more people living in extreme poverty.

Scaling is not simply about replicating successful programs. It requires understanding local contexts, strengthening municipal and community capacities, and building systems that can sustain impact over time.

In our latest blog, we share lessons from our collaboration with municipalities in Guatemala and explore what it takes to scale economic inclusion through locally led partnerships.

👉 Read the full blog:

In Guatemala, Trickle Up has spent more than 15 years supporting people who face the greatest barriers to building sustainable livelihoods, with a particular focus on rural and Indigenous women, single mothers, and people with disabilities.  

10/12/2026

For Shahnaz Begum, rebuilding her life was not a choice, it was a necessity.

After fleeing domestic abuse, she moved to Kolkata with her two sons and faced the challenge of finding stable work. Through Trickle Up’s WINGS program, Shahnaz received a sewing machine and business training that helped her turn her tailoring skills into a steady livelihood.

Today, she is running her own tailoring enterprise with greater financial stability, independence, and confidence.

“Shahnaz’s determination and resilience have inspired other women in the community to believe that they can overcome challenges and become self-reliant,” a community member notes.

Read our latest blog to learn more about Shahnaz’s full story: https://buff.ly/yJKmycJ

10/06/2026

After fleeing domestic abuse, Shahnaz Begum moved to Kolkata with her two sons and began rebuilding her life.

“Leaving an abusive situation was difficult, but starting my own business gave me the strength to rebuild my life and support my children with dignity,” Shahnaz said.

She began turning her tailoring skills into a business—learning how to manage income and expenses, build a customer base, and plan for the future. Today, Shahnaz runs a growing tailoring enterprise and has greater financial stability, independence, and confidence.

Read her full story and learn how she is rebuilding her life, one stitch at a time: https://buff.ly/yJKmycJ

Fleeing domestic abuse, Shahnaz left her home and moved to Kolkata with her two sons. As she searched for work, she faced repeated barriers.

10/02/2026

Building financial health requires different sectors to work together to create lasting, systems-level change.

👉️ Governments can create enabling policies and strengthen social protection.
👉️ Financial institutions can design products and incentives around people’s actual needs.
👉️ Philanthropic organizations can take risks, test new approaches, and share lessons.
👉️ Civil society organizations can bring community knowledge and lived experience into larger systems.

Financial health is a shared responsibility.

Read more about the lessons we learned at our recent UNGA side event, Financial Health in an Uncertain World, co-hosted by Trickle Up, MetLife Mexico Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and MetLife México 🔗

https://buff.ly/RxF1yyJ

10/01/2026

It’s one thing to talk about partnering with governments or civil society organizations in economic inclusion, but it’s another to understand what it is that makes those relationships work.

In the case of Trickle Up, we ask ourselves: where might these relationships be less effective? Where are our partnership efforts working? And where do we need to adjust our approaches?

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing insights on improving local partnerships. Read Wendy’s first piece of our new blog series:

Trickle Up is committed to strengthening the local systems that are already in place within the regions we work.

09/30/2026

What does it take to help people build stronger financial health, especially across Latin America?

At our recent UNGA side event, “Financial Health in an Uncertain World,” Trickle Up, MetLife Foundation, and MetLife México brought together leaders from across sectors to explore that question.

After a meaningful conversation on policies, systems, and economic inclusion programs, one thing was clear: financial health cannot be strengthened by one sector alone. It requires an ecosystem approach that brings different actors together to scale what works and drive systems-level change.

We’re grateful to everyone who joined the conversation.

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¿Qué se necesita para ayudar a las personas a construir una salud financiera más sólida, especialmente en América Latina?

En nuestro reciente evento paralelo a la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, “Salud financiera en un mundo incierto”, Trickle Up, MetLife Foundation, y MetLife México reunieron a líderes de distintos sectores para explorar esta cuestión.

Después de una conversación enriquecedora sobre políticas, sistemas y programas de inclusión económica, una cosa quedó clara: la salud financiera no puede fortalecerse desde un solo sector. Se necesita un enfoque ecosistémico que reúna a distintos actores para ampliar lo que funciona e impulsar cambios a nivel sistémico.

Agradecemos a todas las personas que se sumaron a la conversación.

09/30/2026

Esta reunión a puerta cerrada reunirá a un grupo de actores estratégicos que trabajan en inclusión económica y financiera, desarrollo local, investigación, filantropía, sociedad civil y gobierno.

El objetivo: compartir experiencia, construir conexiones basadas en la confianza y explorar conjuntamente cómo los modelos de inclusión económica y financiera pueden adaptarse, financiarse y sostenerse para llegar a las personas que viven en pobreza extrema, particularmente mujeres rurales e indígenas.

La conversación iniciará con evidencia y aprendizajes del Estudio de investigación que CARA realizó sobre el Modelo de Inclusión Económica de Trickle Up con las municipalidades en Guatemala, como punto de partida para mesas de trabajo facilitadas sobre alianzas, mecanismos de rendición de cuentas, inversiones y condiciones institucionales necesarias para avanzar hacia sistemas de resiliencia económica más sostenibles y equitativos.

La inclusión real comienza donde empieza la colaboración. Construyámosla juntos.

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This closed-door gathering will bring together a group of strategic actors working across economic and financial inclusion, local development, research, philanthropy, civil society, and government.

The goal: to share experience, build trust-based connections, and jointly explore how economic and financial inclusion models can be adapted, financed, and sustained to reach people living in extreme poverty, particularly rural and Indigenous women.

The discussion will begin with evidence and learning from the research study CARA conducted on Trickle Up’s Economic Inclusion Model with municipalities in Guatemala, serving as a starting point for facilitated working tables on the partnerships, accountability mechanisms, investments, and institutional conditions needed to move toward more sustainable and equitable systems of economic resilience.

Real inclusion begins where collaboration starts. Let's build it together.

09/29/2026

For women living in extreme poverty—often in rural, remote, and difficult-to-reach communities around the world—financial health can look very different from simply having access to a bank account or financial products.

What does it take to build meaningful financial health and resilience through economic inclusion programs when incomes are limited, risks are high, and uncertainty is constant? That was the question at the heart of “Financial Health in an Uncertain World,” a side event during the UN General Assembly in New York, co-hosted by Trickle Up, MetLife Mexico Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and MetLife México.

✅ Access is only the starting point. Financial health means being able to manage day-to-day finances, weather unexpected shocks, and plan for the future.
✅ Resilience cannot be an individual responsibility. A woman can save and plan, but her ability to recover from a crisis also depends on the systems around her.
✅ Stable income is fundamental. It’s a prerequisite for financial health, and financial products must be paired with opportunities to build sustainable livelihoods.
✅ We need to move from programs to systems. One intervention or project alone is not going to create long-term resilience for millions of women around the world experiencing poverty.
✅ The women closest to the challenges must help shape the solutions. Organizations like Trickle Up can bring their experiences and insights from the field to policymakers, financial institutions, and other decision-makers.

Building resilience means creating systems that enable women living in poverty not simply to survive uncertainty, but to plan, adapt, and thrive.

Read the full article: https://buff.ly/RxF1yyJ

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Para las mujeres que viven en situación de pobreza extrema —a menudo en comunidades rurales, remotas y de difícil acceso en distintas partes del mundo— la salud financiera puede significar mucho más que simplemente tener acceso a una cuenta bancaria o a productos financieros.

¿Qué se necesita para construir una salud financiera y una resiliencia significativas a través de programas de inclusión económica cuando los ingresos son limitados, los riesgos son altos y la incertidumbre es constante? Esa fue la pregunta central de “Salud financiera en un mundo incierto”, un evento paralelo durante la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York, organizado conjuntamente por Trickle Up, MetLife Foundation, y MetLife México.

✅ El acceso es solo el punto de partida. La salud financiera significa poder gestionar las finanzas cotidianas, afrontar imprevistos y planificar para el futuro.
✅ La resiliencia no puede ser una responsabilidad individual. Una mujer puede ahorrar y planificar, pero su capacidad para recuperarse de una crisis también depende de los sistemas que la rodean.
✅ Un ingreso estable es fundamental. Es un requisito previo para la salud financiera, y los productos financieros deben ir acompañados de oportunidades para construir medios de vida sostenibles.
✅ Necesitamos pasar de los programas a los sistemas. Una sola intervención o proyecto no va a generar resiliencia a largo plazo para millones de mujeres que viven en situación de pobreza en todo el mundo.
✅ Las mujeres más cercanas a los desafíos deben ayudar a diseñar las soluciones. Organizaciones como Trickle Up pueden llevar sus experiencias y conocimientos del trabajo en campo a los responsables de formular políticas, las instituciones financieras y otros tomadores de decisiones.

En última instancia, la salud financiera es una responsabilidad compartida. Construir resiliencia significa crear sistemas que permitan a las mujeres que viven en situación de pobreza no simplemente sobrevivir a la incertidumbre, sino planificar, adaptarse y prosperar.

What does financial health mean in a world where families are navigating rising living costs, climate shocks, economic volatility, and increasingly uncertain futures?

09/28/2026

What helps a small enterprise grow stronger over time?

For entrepreneurs, growth is not only about increasing income. It is also about building the skills, habits, and confidence needed to make better business decisions.

Through coaching and training, participants strengthen four important areas:

💰 Financial literacy as business infrastructure
🛍️ Product and service diversification
🤝 Customer management and local market intelligence
💪 Confidence as operational capacity

From tracking income and expenses to understanding customer demand and exploring new products, these shifts can help small businesses become more stable, adaptable, and sustainable.

Read our latest blog to learn how entrepreneurs are strengthening the way they manage and grow their businesses: https://buff.ly/CDCALNJ

09/28/2026

A look back at our UNGA Side Event, “From Proven to National Scale: What Livelihood Programs Need to Meet the Moment.”

Trickle Up brought together leaders and practitioners to discuss what it takes to strengthen social protection systems and bring proven livelihood programs to more people.

From exploring how governments can scale effectively to considering how technology can support delivery at the national level, the conversation highlighted the opportunities and challenges of expanding impact without losing quality or inclusion.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and shared their insights. We’re grateful for the conversation. Looking forward to seeing you at next year!