When we arrive at Julienne Padonou’s house, she has just come back from the market. She first launched her business 20 years ago, and the loans from ACFB have greatly helped her to make it a success in the last 15 of these years. She first started selling fabrics, but now she also sells a variety of other items, from maize to jewellery. Julienne told me that 9 years ago she had an accident caused by a fire while cooking that changed her life and her ability to travel around. She showed the pictures of when she was in hospital and where she was burnt and scarred permanently on her neck and arms. This had an ill effect on her health and her ability to leave the house; so she was very grateful for how well established her business was in the area because it meant that she could continue to run it from her own home, with her customers coming to her rather than the other way around. With her recent profits she has bought a motorcycle so that somebody can collect her stocks and 2 months ago, she bought a plot of land. She envisages that her business will continue to develop so that she can earn the profits to build a house on this land. She told me that without the loans life would be very difficult for her because she is a widow, but she has 6 children, of which 2, who are still at school, are still very much dependent on her. She is part of a group of women entrepreneurs in the area who work together and support each other.
Emma Howard, 5th June 2012