Mwaiseni 0605 Group

There are five entrepreneurs in the group called Mwaiseni 0605. The group members are based in Mazabuka. The members are between twenty-two and fifty-four years old. The income generating activities the women run are mobile banking booths, cosmetic stands and small grocery stalls locally known as kantembas. These small businesses have helped in paying for their twenty-six dependents going to school with everything that they need to learn suitably.

With the previous loans, the members of the group have boosted their capital. They are now requesting their second loan to invest in their small income generating activities.

Loveness is a member of the Mwaiseni 0605 group. She is a single mother of one lovely child. Despite her age and marital status, Loveness has persevered through life and business in general by running a mobile money booth. She makes good profits from her small business because members in her community prefer mobile banking services rather than going to a formal bank due to the distances where the banks are located. With the profits, she is able to provide for herself, her child and her elderly parents.

The Microloan Foundation in Zambia lend to female entrepreneurs using the ‘centre’ model. A centre is typically made up of 3-4 sub-groups and these sub-groups almost always have five members. Each centre has its own name and the sub-groups within the centre share the same name. Each person within the group of five women is responsible for repaying her loan but the members support each other and if a member is unable to repay her loan on time, then the group assumes responsibility for repayment. Loan officers provide training to the groups, although it is expected that centre leaders will eventually assume responsibility for providing some of the basic training.