Kazimasika 1 Group

Kazimasika 1 Group from Rumphi is a dedicated group of women entrepreneurs who rely on small businesses to support their households and improve their livelihoods. The group consists of four married members and one widowed member, and together they care for 15 children. Their businesses include fish trading, snack vending, vegetable sales, grocery retailing, restaurant operations, livestock trading, and farming, providing multiple sources of income for their families.

One of the members is Grena, a 50-year-old widow and mother of six children. For the past seven years, she has operated a grocery store, which she started to create a reliable source of income and provide for her family's daily needs. Through hard work and perseverance, the business has become an important part of her livelihood, helping her maintain financial stability and support those who depend on her.

Grena manages the business on her own and takes pride in ensuring that customers have access to essential household items. Her experience and commitment have helped her build a steady customer base within her community. As she looks to the future, Grena hopes to diversify her income sources by purchasing cattle, which would provide additional earning opportunities and strengthen her family's financial security.

Grena will use her share of a group loan to purchase additional stock for her grocery store. By increasing her inventory, she hopes to improve product availability, serve more customers, and increase her income. The other members of Kazimasika 1 Group will also use their shares of the loan to strengthen their businesses through the purchase of stock and resources for fish trading, snack vending, vegetable sales, grocery stores, restaurant operations, livestock, and farming activities.

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.