Mweziukawala 2 Credit Group

The Mweziukawala 2 Group is located in Ntcheu district in the village of Mweziukawala. The group consists of five married women who collectively care for 12 children. To support their families and ensure their children can attend school, these women cultivate maize. They have sought a loan to invest in their farming business, which will allow them to better provide for their families.

One of the group members, Chimwemwe, is a 30-year-old married woman who supports her family, consisting of three children. She has been growing maize for six years, with the help of her husband, who is also a farmer, and one family member. Chimwemwe started growing maize to ensure her family could have enough food, so her children wouldn’t face difficulties in their lives. The group has requested a loan to purchase key farming supplies like fertiliser, which will improve the quality of their harvest, enabling them to sell at a profit. Chimwemwe hopes to grow her farming business to the point where it can fully sustain her family’s basic needs and allow her to provide her children with the best quality education.

The Microloan Foundation, Lendwithcare's local partner in Malawi employs a unique 'centre' model for lending to female entrepreneurs. A centre comprises several sub-groups which share the same name as the centre. As such, you may have seen similarly named group loans from Malawi all belonging to the same centre. In this system, each woman is individually responsible for repaying her loan, but the group offers mutual support by assuming overall responsibility together.