Nega Nega B 0601 Group

The Nega Nega B 0601 group brings together five enterprising women from Southern Province of Zambia. They have an average age of fifty-four and collectively care for forty-three children. Four of the members are married and one is single. Their livelihoods come from running grocery shops, selling second-hand clothes and growing garden produce. Over the years, the women have used their businesses to provide for their families.

Grace is a fifty-seven year old single mother of eight children. For the past ten years she has operated a grocery shop, selling various household essentials to members of her community. The business has become an important source of income for her family.

Through dedication and experience, Grace has built a loyal customer base and gained a good understanding of the products her customers need. However, limited working capital sometimes makes it difficult for her to maintain enough stock, causing her to lose potential sales. Grace has requested a loan to purchase more stock and expand the range of products available in her shop.

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.