On 4th June I met Odette. It is difficult to believe that she sells all of her products from the side of the road. She is 54 years old and has taken out 8 loans from ACFB to run her business. Odette used to make a living for herself by weaving shopping bags, that due to their strength were very popular in the community, although each one took her 2 days to make. However, as she got older she started to get back problems so she had to stop – so she decided she needed to start a business, which thanks to the loans has been steadily growing ever since. Each time she takes out a new loan, she expands into a new product – this time rice and gari.
Emma Howard, 4th June 2012