Harvest 1402

The group that call themselves “Harvest 1402” comprise five hard-working women with an average age of 41. They established the group to improve their lives through various small-scale businesses. The members are involved in activities such as trading groceries, farming, and food sales, which were chosen because of their profitability and strong demand in the community. Between them they support 36 dependents.

Ruth is one member of this group. She is a 53 year old married woman and mother of six children.

Ruth runs a store which has expanded its range of products according to the local demand by being versatile in its approach. It is a grocery store that also sells tomatoes, bricks and fish.

Ruth’s grocery store is now at the heart of community life as well as being a key element in her family’s survival. Ruth sources her stock from local markets and manages it carefully to ensure that she is well supplied to meet her customers’ demands whilst minimising wastage of perishable stock.

She has earned respect in her area for her reliability and her commitment to serving others, balancing her family responsibilities with the demands of her businesses. Ruth’s goal is to continue expanding her store so she can increase her income and give her children a brighter future through education and stability.

Ruth requested this loan to purchase more grocery items and increase her stock of tomatoes and fish. This loan will help her expand her grocery store, boost her sales, and improve her family’s livelihood. The other members of the group will use their shares of the loan to strengthen their own businesses and provide better support for their families.

The Microloan Foundation, Lendwithcare's local partner in Zambia 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 Zambia 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.