By Luis Fernando Sanabria, General Manager, Fundación Paraguaya
Fundación Paraguaya is a social enterprise dedicated to poverty elimination through innovative and practical solutions. We work in over 60 countries, in 24 languages, with over 515,000 families. Fundación Paraguaya has been a part of the Miller Center social impact community for almost 20 years, participating in 5 programs since 2005. In October of 2024, we graciously accepted the Impact Excellence Award from Miller Center. It is an honor provided to organizations annually that have scaled dramatically after participating in a program and exemplify the spirit of the Center. Each year, the team reviews enterprises in the Miller Center network and assesses everyone’s impact and funding data in order to identify award recipients. This year, Fundación Paraguaya was honored alongside Warc Africa and Banca Bio.
Central to our work is The Poverty Stoplight, a groundbreaking methodology that measures multidimensional poverty and empowers individuals and families to address their own deprivations. Unlike traditional poverty measures, which often focus solely on income, the Stoplight uses a participatory, visual self-assessment tool to help individuals identify areas of poverty across six dimensions and develop tailored strategies to overcome them. By providing actionable insights and fostering agency, the Stoplight transforms poverty measurement into a dynamic and empowering process, giving not only a voice to the people but the ability to enact the change that is needed to end their poverty.
One of the defining features of the Poverty Stoplight is our emphasis on partnerships with local organizations and businesses that are already embedded within communities. These partnerships are vital to the Stoplight’s rapid implementation and success. Partner organizations bring a wealth of local knowledge, established trust, and long-standing relationships that allow them to engage effectively with community members. By integrating the Stoplight methodology into their existing operations, these partners can enhance their impact while helping to build trust and credibility for the Stoplight within their communities.
Partner organizations have reported that the Stoplight not only allowed them to measure the effectiveness of their own interventions but also provided invaluable insights into the realities faced by the communities they serve. This knowledge enables partners to refine their strategies and make data-driven decisions to better achieve their missions.
Additionally, the Stoplight amplifies the work of our partner organizations by equipping them with a robust set of tools and resources. Once partnered, these organizations become part of the Global Stoplight Network, a collaborative ecosystem that fosters knowledge sharing and innovation. Partners receive comprehensive training to understand the Stoplight methodology, access to global development education, the opportunity to connect with a diverse network of like-minded organizations, and access to Cerrito Forum, our annual global development event that brings together organizations from all over the world to discuss challenges and solutions we’ve learned throughout the year.
The Stoplight is designed to seamlessly integrate into the missions of partner organizations, whether they focus on women’s entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, or cash transfers. For instance, Warc Africa is a social enterprise that operates in West Africa and is also a member of the Miller Center social enterprise community, and a fellow recipient of the 2024 Impact Excellence Award. Warc establishes agricultural services and consulting operations in Ghana and Sierra Leone, serving over 22,000 farmers through community-based Trading Hubs, focused on improving incomes, transforming rural livelihoods, and turning farmers into climate heroes. Warc utilizes the Stoplight with their clients, allowing them to better understand the needs of the farmers and their families, as well as to help inform where cash transfers that Warc provides go in order to provide as much impact as possible.
The Stoplight’s adaptability allows it to be applied by a wide range of organizations across various sectors and regions. These include social enterprises, NGOs, universities, faith-based organizations, multilateral development agencies, and even private businesses. Some partners, such as The Clothing Bank in South Africa, have highlighted additional benefits of the Stoplight, such as simplifying annual reporting by providing robust, real-time data. This comprehensive tracking enhances their operational efficiency and demonstrates their impact to donors.
The Stoplight’s flexibility is further reflected in its ability to accommodate cultural, linguistic, and contextual differences. Indicators are tailored to meet the specific needs of each community, ensuring that the methodology remains relevant and actionable regardless of the region or demographic. The Stoplight indicators for our work with the Roma community in Romania look different but hold the same key values as the Stoplight indicators for our work with families in the Philippines. With over 1,000 partner organizations worldwide working in 24 languages across 60 countries on every habitable continent, the Stoplight has become a trusted ally in poverty elimination efforts across diverse contexts.
The Global Stoplight Network
All partner organizations automatically become members of the Global Stoplight Network, a collaborative platform designed to support and amplify their efforts. Membership in the Network provides access to a wealth of resources, including:
- Training and Workshops: Partners participate in workshops and receive ongoing training to refine their use of the Stoplight methodology.
- Annual Cerrito Forum: This global gathering allows members to share challenges, solutions, and best practices, fostering a spirit of collaboration and mutual learning.
- Promotion and Visibility: Partners are featured in press opportunities, speaking engagements, and other platforms, enhancing their visibility and impact.
- Access to the Bank of Solutions: The Stoplight’s database of actionable strategies and solutions empowers partners to address poverty more effectively.
- Data and Insights: Partners gain access to a rich repository of data from other Stoplight organizations, enabling them to benchmark their progress and adopt proven strategies.
As we look to the future, Fundación Paraguaya is committed to expanding the reach and impact of the Poverty Stoplight. In 2025, we aim to establish new partnerships in regions such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Egypt, and China, We plan to expand our work in countries such as India, the Philippines, and Spain. By collaborating with organizations and businesses in these areas, we seek to extend the benefits of the Stoplight to even more communities and families worldwide.We invite organizations across all sectors to join the Global Stoplight Network and become part of a transformative movement to eliminate poverty. By leveraging the strengths of local partners and equipping them with the tools and resources of the Poverty Stoplight, we can create lasting, systemic change—one family at a time. For more information, visit www.povertystoplight.org or reach out to me directly at lfsanabria@fundacionparaguaya.org.py.
