Grace Group

Loan description:

This is a group loan to the Grace women of Kafue district in Southern Zambia. There are 13 women in this group aged between 21 and 55. Some women are married and some widowed and some have children who are in school. They run small scale businesses like groceries and market stalls. These women have different reasons for starting their businesses. Some wanted to be able to send their children to school and to provide for the daily needs for their families. This group is requesting its first loan. They know that through this loan they will experience a lot of positive change in their businesses.

Mary Tembo ,46 years old, is a member of this group. She is married and has four children who are in school. She runs a nthemba (small grocery stall) selling salt, eggs and ice blocks. She is requesting this loan to order more stocks of soap, containers for making ice blocks and eggs for her stall. Her nthemba is on the road by the side of her house. Her customers come from her neighbourhood. From the profits of her sales, she hopes to see her business grow into a big grocery stall where she will be able to stock almost everything. She also hopes to build a house for her family. Before she started her business, she was not able to contribute financially to her family. Now she is able to do so.