Uzumala 1 Credit Group

The “Uzumala 1” group, based in Rumphi, consists of five young, dynamic entrepreneurs with an average age of 29. They are all married women who are building their livelihoods through small businesses and farming. Together, they care for 20 children and are involved in selling vegetables, fish, tomatoes and snacks, as well as grocery trading, farming and livestock keeping.

One member of this group is 25 year old Ketiness who has already spent six years running her grocery store. She is the married mother of four children who started the business to earn an income that would help her provide for her family's basic needs and reduce poverty.

Ketiness manages the grocery store herself without any assistance. She will use her share of the loan to purchase more stock and ensure that her grocery store is kept fully stocked. With a stronger business, she hopes to increase her income and work towards her goal of buying a motorbike, which will be a great asset in supporting her business activities and making it easier to move goods.

This loan will benefit all five members of the group as they will each use their portions of the loan to the maximum benefit of their different businesses and farming activities. The members will use the funds to purchase stock for selling vegetables, fish, tomatoes and snacks, while others will invest in grocery businesses, farming and livestock.

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.