Zaina Ramadhani, Bedsheet Retail Seller
In 2000 Zaina Sareva (34) decided to move to Dar es Salaam. Like many other Tanzanians, the 24-year old woman was expecting a better life in the metropolitan city, which nowadays holds more than 3 million people. When she moved from Iringa region, she started supporting herself by selling bus tickets at the Ubungo bus terminal. Like other employees, she was paid by commission for every ticket sold. The overall income was too small for the single-mother to take care of her 6-year old daughter and herself. In order to release herself from the dependency of this unsecured employment, she decided to look for other income-generating activities. She discovered quickly the high undeserved demand for bed-sheets in her area. The little income she got from selling tickets was not enough to start a retail business. She could not apply for a loan with other local financial institutions because she did not have financial collateral.
As the second oldest client, Zaina heard of EEA and successfully applied for her first micro loan in December 2008. She used the main share of the money to purchase the first order of bed-sheets. Since she was not sure about the business performance, at the beginning she did not spend all the money purchasing bed-sheets but extended the amount until she made the first profit. Now she operates her business with a third loan, which has increased to TZS 1,000,000 (app. $ 750). She uses this loan solely for expanding her business. She does not have to spend her days selling bus tickets. She can run her retail business from home and simultaneously care for her daughter. She uses her savings to build her own home. “It will take 3-4 years to finish the house. I want to spend all my saving on this project. I know it is a long investment but it will be worth it.” says Zaina. Furthermore, for Zaina this house means not just the fulfilling of a personal dream, but also a beneficial investment she considered briefly. “When the house is built I can rent out some of the rooms and establish a continuous inflow of income.” Zaina said.
Vick Mlaponi, Drinks Supplier
One can hardly bear the busy and sweaty environment of the Ubungo bus station, in Dar es Salaam City, without refreshing themselves with a cool drink from time to time. Thus, the shadowy roof of Mrs. Vick’s bottle store is an appreciated and well-used oasis for short relaxation. The 50-year old mother of four adult-young children opened this business in 2007, some months after she lost her job as a public servant. Besides her four children and her husband, whom works in retail business, Vick Mlaponi is living with and taking care of four orphan children. After she lost her job, her immediate and extended family quickly discovered that the income from her husband was not enough to serve the common existential demands.
Without any background experience, Mrs. Vick was motivated to rent a little outdoor space inside of the bus station and build up a stall to start selling drinks. She started her business through her small retirement benefit. However, she was facing serious losses in the first 18 months. The main reason was the lack of working capital to purchase a broader range of drinks to meet the different tastes of her customers. Nevertheless, she did not consider giving up, but decided to compensate the occurring losses by starting to plant mushrooms in her backyard. At the same time she applied for a micro loan in the amount of TZS 300.000 (app. $ 225) from EEA, which was disbursed on January 2010. She joined the EEA women’s credit-group because of proximity, simple and fair loan conditions, and fruitful exchange of ideas and consultancy, which comes up every two weekends when 10 women meet in the group. Mrs. Vick spent the whole amount to purchase various types of drinks. She was able to increase her average daily turnover from a previous TZS 20.000 to currently TZS 50.000 per day. Now, she can easily repay the loan and meet the needs of her family, including education fees for the four orphan children. The story of Mrs. Vick reflects very well what an impressive social impact that can be reached by a small loan amount like this. She increased experience in business and became self-reliant. Currently, Mrs. Vick is looking forward to the next EEA loan to improve her mushroom farming business.
Amina Salum Orembo, Hair Salon Owner
One would be hard-pressed to find a free place inside Amina Salum’s Hair Salon in Ubungo on the weekends. African women care a lot about their hair and passionately sacrifice large portions of their time and money for it. It’s not all about cutting, but also about styling and dressing the hair. Amina (32) utilizes the unique use of extensions to help her clients get their hair styles they want and need. When Amina started her business in 2002, word spread quickly that she was the right person for this kind of service. With her distinctive hair-dressing skills, the mother of two sons (18 and 4 years-old), faced serious problems in serving the needs of many potential customers who were looking for broader range services. Although the profit she got was enough to meet the existential needs of her family, there was nothing left to invest in her business.
When Amina got her first loan from EEA in December 2009, she significantly increased the working capital which was used to purchase hair extensions and tools. Consequently, she can now offer broader range and higher quality of services, which yield to higher business returns. Furthermore she can save some money for emergency and her own financial security. In the near future, she intends to establish a boutique, which offers different services around wellness and beauty care.