Three years ago, Isabel Risquez turned something bitter into something sweet. The 26-year-old psychologist had to postpone her post-graduate studies abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But right away, she decided to start a business offering sweet treats to friends and family.

 “There will always be a market for food, especially desserts. And I also applied a little bit of psychology,” says Risquez. “I thought what makes people happy? What do people always eat?”

Isabel’s family recipe for hazelnut cake was the inspiration. It is now the top seller at her business, called Daveyana. 

In a single month, the Venezuelan entrepreneur receives about 400 requests for cookies and cakes and has now hired six employees.  

Isabel says it has become more lucrative than the profession she trained for.

 “A psychologist charges about 50 dollars per session,” explains Isabel.  “So, I thought not many people, not even me at the age of 26, would have the money to pay for a weekly session.”

But people, it seems, have money for sweets.

With wages falling behind the cost of living, many Venezuelans are looking for alternative ways to make money.

In 2022, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor conducted a private survey which found that nearly three million Venezuelans, about 14 percent of the adult population, became entrepreneurs over the last five years. 

The majority of these businesses are in the start-up phase and involve all types of commerce but are dominated by ventures in the food and service sector. For many people, entrepreneurship has become a matter of survival.

However, some researchers believe it is unlikely that these new ventures will significantly impact the struggling Venezuelan economy.

Economist Luis Laudiño works at The Catholic University Andrés Bello in Caracas and is one of the members of a multidisciplinary group that conducted the global survey on entrepreneurship in Venezuela.

 “These are ventures that don’t have much potential for growth,” explains Laudiño. “Because they’re basically supplementing salaries that are insufficient."

Experts also say financing and training are essential. In 2021, Venezuela passed legislation to promote new ventures helping among other things to simplify the paperwork to start a new business.  

Still, Laudiño says most of these businesses are destined to fail.

 “These ventures have few expectations of being sustainable over time. Not 100 percent of them but a good percentage of these ventures are not sustainable over time. For various reasons, including lack of training, appropriate public policies, and know-how on the network," said Laudiño.

Marianna Velasquez, another Venezuelan entrepreneur, packs and sells organic pet food.

With her four employees, she manages the processing of raw beef and vegetables as well as deliveries, sales, and marketing. 

The 37-year-old graphic designer sorted all the financing on her own in order to buy equipment.

 “The hardest thing we face here is that we don’t have financial support,” says Velasquez. “There are no loans at banks where you can ask for a credit line to buy the machinery you need to start."

Despite the difficulties, Mariana keeps dreaming about expanding her business. 

Like most Venezuelan entrepreneurs, she is doing what she can to keep working and betting on success. 

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.