"My name is Mubila Mary. I’m a 29-year-old single mother. I belong to the Chitukuko woman’s credit group in Kafue, Zambia. 'Chitukuko' means development. My husband left me in 2011, I had three children with him. I started school at age 7 years and stopped when I was 14. I got married at 19 years and had my first child a year later. Since the divorce, my husband has not been supporting me or my children financially as he remarried.
I got my first loan from the Microloan Foundation Zambia in May 2015. I stared with a loan of 700 kwacha (about £57) and after three cycles I got a loan of 2,300 kwacha (about £188). I’m in 'mwakhoza' now. From the 700 kwacha (£57) I made a profit of 150 kwacha (about £12) per week, and now with my fourth loan I make 250 kwacha (about £20). When I started getting loans from Microloan Foundation Zambia, I used to only sell fruit. Now my business has expanded so I’m also selling vegetables, magenta, small dry fish and other food stuffs.
Microloan Foundation has the best interest rate and the principle of saving has helped me and my family. I use my profits to feed my children and and pay for their school fees. I’m grateful to the Microloan Foundation for the loan as the standard of living for my family has improved through my business. It feels good to run my own business."