Akuwa is a very impressive entrepreneur. After her husband died 10 years ago Akuwa knew she needed to find a way to adequately meet the needs of her two daughters so she started to consider different income-generating activities. She used to sell porridge from a stall on the street but this did not provide her with a sufficient income. Learning from her sister who lives in France, Akuwa slowly started to trade in various commodities within the Togolese capital, Lome. Now, she buys a variety of goods from the port and grand market in Lome in bulk and then sells them at retail. These goods range from colourful cloth and children’s toys to furniture and pianos. Akuwa visits the port and sees what is being imported and which items she thinks will sell the best in the area where she lives and buys these items in bulk. Akuwa told us the goods she sells come from all over the world, particularly China. In addition to selling these goods, Akuwa also grinds corn to make a type of powder popularly used to make soup. She exports large bags of this powder via middlemen at the port to Europe and other parts of the world. Akuwa hires three people to help her with this activity since it can be a laborious task preparing the corn into the powder. The list of activities Akuwa is engaged in is extensive and before we were about to leave she also wanted us to try some of the frozen yoghurt she makes and sells on the street to passersby. She sells these for 2 cents a bag and they are delicious!
Akuwa used the loan she received from lendwithcare’s microfinance partner WAGES to buy more items to sell and enable her to expand her activities even further. Two years ago, Akuwa was very ill and she struggled to cover her medical expenses. In fact, she was not able to afford an operation and could only pay for superficial treatment. She wants to be able to expand her business so she does not have to worry about covering her and her children’s needs in the future.