Villagers’ Own Financial Institution Empowers Small Business Owners
How did Mrs. Kache get to be known as “The business lady from Kadongoleni Village?” She tells her story:
“I am very grateful for all the help I’ve received in unleashing my potential. When our village started its own finance association two years ago, I joined so I could start saving money to assist my husband with household expenses. He is a farmer, and also works as a day laborer on other people’s farms. Money is tight. We have two children in secondary school and four in primary, and even with support from the government we couldn’t make ends meet.
“I decided to open a small bakery business. With my first loan, I bought the equipment I needed to make buns and sell them from my home. When I started receiving orders from two hotels in Garashi Centre, the nearby city, I realized I had a full-fledged business. This allowed me to repay my loan very quickly.
“I took out another loan to grow the business by providing other items like salt, tea, coconut, and sometimes flour in addition to the buns I sold from home. Since then, I have been able to pay for my children’s secondary school education and cover other basic needs at home. My hope now is to borrow enough to build a kiosk to sell buns at the Garashi Trading Centre. That market is much larger than the one in my village.”
Caption: Mrs. Kache (in doorway) and her home bakery and grocery business
Kenya Magarini Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partner ADS Pwani