Chitimbe 2 Group

In the northern part of Malawi five women have grouped together for mutual support and encouragement under the name of “Chitimbe 2” . They are all mature, experienced women with an average age of 51. They are all married and between them they care for 15 children. They each have their own small businesses in areas that include maize and bean farming, as well as small grocery sales.

One member of this group is Salome. She is 51 years old and married to a farmer. She supports three children and has been growing maize for the last six years to provide both food and income for her family. Salome will use her share of the loan to buy fertiliser which will improve her crop-yields and thereby improve her maize sales.

In the course of time Salome plans to use some of the increased profits from her maize sales to purchase a bicycle which will make it easier for her to manage the business and support her family more efficiently.

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.