From nothing, to something

For years, Amina Ramadhan, 29, was just an ordinary Mama lishe who used to sell porridge. With three children and a husband to support, the Sh6,000 she made was hardly enough to earn a living.

 It took her years of struggle to survive with whatever she made out of her business. Amina saw her business collapse a number of times leaving her with little hope of recovering financially.

However, things changed recently when she was among the women who benefited from microfinance serving program at Tumbi, Coastal region.

She joined the Kibaha Education Centre Sacco programme after one of her friends invited her and told her about what the program entails. For three years now the Saccos has helped women to pool their own savings and then provide loans to members.

 Today Amina’s business has expanded; from selling porridge to owning a grocery which sells food and drinks. She can now support her family well from the business profits of Sh40,000 and do savings all together. 

“To be honest this microfinance saving is helping us. Things are working out well for us especially women like me who live in poverty. We did not know how loans were secured but things are different now. We have been taught everything on how to manage our loans including how to expand our businesses so as to get the profit and returns we desire,” Amina states.

Amina added that, the good thing about the microfinance program is that they were educated too about their health and how they can join National Social Security Funds (NSSF) for pension scheme.

Uplifting small entrepreneurs

Women in Tanzania who operate   small businesses endure a lot of hardship when running such business. From harsh business conditions to poor sales, the outlook of their endeavours is never optimistic. That’s why any help presented forward that gives passage to smooth running of the business is always welcome.

For almost three years microfinance savings has been supporting women at Kibaha area. Apart from giving small loans, the fund also provides education programmes to all women, who come together with the drive to lift themselves and their families from the burden of poverty.

The  sacco programme is supported by Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

For her part, Tatu Marini, 25, who is also a beneficiary of the programme  says she had no particular source of income before being afforded the loan, therefore life was very hard but since she was empowered financially, she now runs a small business of  making snacks.

“I am happy that now I can make my own money and run my life comfortably, before I was idle and was less respected by my peers but now I have a job which keeps me busy. The profit I earn from my business has helped me finish one of the rooms in my house,” explains Tatu.

Redempta Salim, 40, expanded her business using the loans she has got from microfinance. She said before she failed to secure loans from other financial institutions including banks because she didn’t have any asset.

“It is very difficult to get loans from banks because they have tough regulations for people like us with very low income. Most of the time women are excluded from financial services and educational opportunities than men. They ignore the fact that women are the ones who to a larger extent spend their money on improving the society’s wellbeing. “This Sacco has helped us, their interest rates are low  compared to banks and other Financial Institutions  out there, we just pay them ten percent for six months,” noted the grateful woman.

Redempta says they women are put in groups consisting of ten members in each group. They meet every Saturday to make payment. If one fails to make her payment, the other women in the same group help to repay the money.

This allows the woman to work harder so as to be able to repay back her loan.

Women empowerment

In order to have a brighter future in families and larger societal groups, empowerment of women is very crucial. Prof Sang Do Kim, the Principal - College of Business Administration at the United African University of Tanzania is one of the people who educate these women on how to do business and maximise profit.

He said that he feels delighted to help the women from villages achieve their dreams. He noted that it is everyone’s ambition to make a good living for themselves and their families.

“Before giving them loans we educate them and give them a chance to share their thoughts on their business preferences. This helps them realise what sort of food is preferred by their customers and what strategies they can use in order to secure such customers. 

Things like being more cordial to customers, good customer services are all pertinent to the success of their business of selling food,” he states. He adds that; one thing he noted is that these women involved in food selling business need to realise the value of customers. Since the money comes from the pocket of their customers, then it is imperative that they treat such customers well. If not, then they will keep losing customers.

Redempta agrees with Prof Sang that education they get is useful. “They taught us how to keep notes and have a list of names and phone numbers of our customers. If you don’t see one of your customers then it’s advised that you call them and inquire on their wellbeing. This is perceived as a more caring gesture to your customer,” she says.

Since the poor living in rural areas are mostly cut off from the rest of the world, women who involve themselves in small business in such rural set ups find it extremely hard to make their businesses grow.

For example the banking sector seldom sets up any services in rural areas. This is because banks do not provide very small loans as administrative costs to facilitate such loans are too high for them. So initiatives such as microfinance become the major gateway to securing a productive financial future to women in rural areas.

Creating unity

Due to the need of succeeding in their business endeavors, it becomes inevitable to work together as a team in microfinance programmes. Women hence help each other reach their goals of making profit. In light of their specific values, they work as a team.

They all make sure that they work together to see to it that the group`s performance is high and in accordance with its vision and mission. However, they also make sure that all funds of the finance programme are safe and every member of the Sacco is treated fairly and equally in terms of providing savings and loan services, providing advisory services, and furnishing members with proper information on loans utility. 

According to developafrica.org  website, microfinance has proven to be a successful practice and plays a major role in the development of many African nations.  In fact, the UN declared the year 2005, to be “The international year of microfinance,” in order to remind everyone that millions of people worldwide benefit from microfinance activities.

Redempta, Tatu and Amina have had their lives changed. From being unable to support a steady living, they now run their lives without worrying about surviving tomorrow.

Such programmes help them recognise their commercial value, and it also helps them assess and recognise their own strengths and weaknesses in order to build the critical business skills needed to succeed in a competitive market economy where women are largely left out.