Sitimadziwa 3 Group

In Dowa, Sitimadziwa 3 Group is made up of five determined women who have built their livelihoods through small but steady businesses that serve their community’s daily needs. The group focuses mainly on butchery activities, alongside other trading, such as fish, vegetables, clothing and grocery sales. With 16 dependents relying on them, their work is driven by responsibility, teamwork and the shared goal of improving their household incomes.

Lozalia is 35 years old and married to a businessman. She is a mother of four children and runs a butchery business that she has been operating for the past three years. She sells goat, pork and, sometimes, beef to customers in her community, carefully managing her stock to meet demand.

Her business has grown through consistency and trust. Customers know her for providing fresh meat, and this has helped her build a stable flow of income for her household. Although she does not employ workers, she receives support from one family member, who helps her during busy market days.

What drives Lozalia most is her desire to improve her family’s living conditions. She hopes to build a decent house where her children can grow up with stability and dignity. Every sale she makes brings her a step closer to that goal.

Lozalia will use her share of the group loan to purchase a larger stock of goats and pigs, ensuring her butchery remains well supplied and able to serve more customers consistently.

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 that 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.