We’re excited to announce HerBusiness’ latest contribution to support women in the Philippines, Nicaragua, Kenya, Turkey, Uganda, Ecuador, Samoa and Senegal.
Our goal at HerBusiness is to support women in business growth and continue to do what they love, wherever they may be. This is why, for over 10 years, we have continued to support women and entrepreneurs through KIVA.org, a non-profit organisation that provides loans to women in business from disadvantaged areas.
While our day to day circumstances might different, our spirit and our goals for having a business a the same. We want to fund our lifestyles, support our families, contribute to our communities and to feel a sense of accomplishment.
We are pleased to announce our latest donations to 17 business owners from Philippines, Nicaragua, Kenya, Turkey, Uganda, Ecuador, Samoa and Senegal.
All 17 of these women operate small businesses in their respective country, and have high ambitions for the growth of their business. Our donations will go a long way in supporting these women who work hard to provide for their family and to improve their family’s overall living standards.
“Our circumstances may differ immensely to these women but our spirit and goals are often the same.” — Suzi Dafnis
Here are the stories and profiles of the women and their business we are supporting this year.
We’re so thanking for the contribution our HerBusiness Network members continue to make to fellow female entrepreneurs.
Suzi
Glady: Kitengela, Kenya
Gladys is a 27 year old woman who is married with one child. She operates a beauty shop and nail parlour and has been in business for two years.
A loan from KIVA loan will allow her to purchase more acrylic products and a nail machine for her beauty salon. She will use the profits to expand her business, and provide an education for her child. In the future she hopes to expand her business and open another beauty salon.
Jona: Palo, Leyte, Philippines
Jona is 44 years old and married with three children. Jona runs a food vending business in the Philippines and has been in this business for six years.
She will use the donations from KIVA to purchase ingredients for her food production business. She is hopeful that her business growth and profits will allow her to be able to afford to send her children to college.
Rosa Aura: Ciudad Jardin, Nicaragua
Rosa is 47 years old, and a single mother to three children. She owns and operates a business selling natural medicines such as ointments, syrups, tablets, and masks.
With the donations from KIVA she will be able to continue to invest in her micro-enterprise and support her children. She will use the funds to purchase creams, oils, and syrups which are all prepared naturally. Her goal is to continue strengthening her business.
Geronima: Sibulan, Negros Oriental, Philippines
Geronima is a widowed woman with one child. She has been in this business for 10 years and is a very hard working entrepreneur.
Geronima has a food vending business and will use the donations from KIVA to buy ingredients for her food production business. She would like to build and expand her business to secure a future for her family.
Rachael: Kenya West Nairobi, Kenya
Rachael is married with two children and runs a cosmetics shop and salon in Kenya. The salon is her family’s only source of income and she values her business immensely as it allows her to have interactions with her community on a number of levels and provide for her family.
She will use the donations she receives from KIVA to purchase more stock, with the hopes to boost her business and increase her revenue. Her intentions are to use the profits to expand her business in the future and increase her family’s standard of living.
Merve: Turkey Kırklareli, Turkey
Merve is a 33-year-old widowed mother raising one son. She is known in her community as a successful, determined and responsible woman. Her business is selling hardware items, which she once managed with her husband.
Merve will use the donations she receives from KIVA to purchase stove pipes, to keep up with the demand during the winter season.
Lily: Nandi Hills, Kenya
Lily is a 23-year-old mother and is a dairy and crop farmer who has been in the business for a few years. Through farming she has been able to provide for her family’s basic needs.
Lily will use the donations she receives from KIVA to buy farming inputs, which she will use to improve her production and increase her income. This will allow her to support her family during the global recession, which has caused great uncertainties and disrupted food supply chains.
Lovisa: Njeru, Uganda
Lovisa is 35 years old and lives in the town of Njeru in the Mukono region of Uganda. She is married with 5 children. For the past 3 years Lovisa has been working hard to manage her fish business, which sells small silver fish.
Lovisa will use the donations she receives from KIVA to purchase more small silver fish to resell and help her generate greater profits. This will improve her standard of living by providing enough food for her family. Lovisa hopes that in the future she will be able to continue to expand her business and build a house for her family.
Emilie: Ziguinchor, Senegal
Emilie is a brave woman who has a poultry farming business. She has been in business for over 10 years which involves buying baby chickens, which she raises and resells as broiler chickens. She is aided by her husband who helps her with the demanding tasks.
The funds from KIVA will allow her to positively progress with her business with a goal to be a leader in the poultry industry. Her business is necessary for her family as it enables her to pay her children’s school fees, and cover a great part of her family’s needs.
Ruth: Nyeri, Kenya
Ruth is married with two children. She provides for her family through various businesses. She owns and operates a retail shop in her local neighbourhood, but a lack of capital threatens to cripple her business.
Ruth’s retail shop is struggling to meet the current demands of her community and she will use the donations she receives from KIVA to purchase more stock. She will use the profits to continue to expand her business.
Juleha: Serang, Indonesia
Juleha is 47 years old and married with children. She runs a business making door frames, which she has been operating for more than ten years. The business has enabled her to provide for her family and her children’s educational needs.
Juleha will use the donations from KIVA to purchase additional materials to make door frames to sell in order to expand her business.
Kisa Esther: Manta, Ecuador
Kisa Esther is a 41 year old entrepreneurial woman who has a jewellery business. She works very hard and sells her jewellery (rings, earring, bracelets, watches) via social media and from her home.
Kisa has built a reputation for selling quality pieces and has many long term customers because of this. She will use the funds she receives from KIVA to purchase more stock for her business.
Kalameli: Faletagaloa, Savaii, Samoa
Kalameli is a 21 years old wife and mother of two children. She runs a small canteen in her community to earn a living and has been in business for two years. Her dream is to one day build a bakery store and provide her children with a valuable education.
Kalameli is well known in her community and has a reputation for her delicious food and friendly customer service. She will use the donations from KIVA to purchase sacks of sugar, flour, pans, food and drinks and a large boiler to assist her with her business. She plans on expanding her business in the future and strengthening her contributions to her community.
Gnima: Ziguinchor, Senegal
Gnima is a 42 year old wife and mother of five. She is a saleswoman, selling fabrics of different quality to men and women in her community. Her business allows her to provide for her family and educate her children.
With the donations from KIVA she will be able to expand her business through the purchase of additional fabrics. Her dream is to one day open a clothing store in her local town.
Charma: Maasin City, Leyte, Philippines
Charma is 54 years old and married with seven children. She is a very hard-working entrepreneur who has owned and operated a food vending business in the Philippines for over 10 years.
Charma will use the funds from KIVA to buy ingredients for her food production business to increase her profits and hopefully expand her business. She hopes that this will put her in a good financial position to send her children to college.
Elma: Negros Occidental, Philippines
Elma is a 67 year old woman, married with nine children. She has a general store in the Philippines and works very hard to provide for her family and support her community with access to necessary items such as personal care products and canned goods.
Elma will use the donations from KIVA to purchase more stock for her shop and use the profits to sustain and one day expand her business.
Antonia Del Carmen: Ciudad Jardin, Nicaragua
Antonia is a 35 year old woman who is married with four children. She is a hard working mother and entrepreneur who for the last two years has sold second hand clothing, mostly men’s shirts and baby clothes. She also has a business selling seafood.
Antonia ventured into this business with the desire to generate a greater income and little by little, reinvest in merchandise in order to grow her micro-business. She will use the donations from KIVA to purchase more clothing and seafood for her businesses.
