Empower Women, Give Opportunity

This Giving Tuesday December 3rd, Empower Women, Give Opportunity

In November 2012, Seeds of Africa launched its microfinance program to provide mothers and grandmothers of our students an opportunity to start or expand their businesses. Twenty-three mothers participated in a three-day entrepreneurship seminar that covered topics such as managing household and business expenses (involving what your business can and can't afford - ranging from affording post notes to other office equipment to paying your employees), reinvesting profits, accounting and recordkeeping, marketing, and business plan writing. All of these topics are crucial for a business owner to know, so it's great that these female entrepreneurs are now aware of how they can create a successful business. Most commonly, a lot of entrepreneurs will struggle with managing their finances. This usually leads to the collapse of their businesses, as they will have too many expenses and not enough profit. This is why it's so important that new businesses monitor their expenses from the start. By using something like this FileCenter Receipts software, businesses can track all of their expenses. This should help them to monitor what they're spending, helping them to keep their spending low. Hopefully, these female entrepreneurs will consider using something like that.

It's so important that more people learn about becoming entrepreneurs and business owners. Many people believe that becoming a business owner can seem daunting, whilst many others would argue that it's quite straightforward once the company has an audience and regular sales. However, these women are far away from consistent sales with their startup businesses. In order to increase their sales, these entrepreneurs could consider thinking about marketing. Business marketing is vital for any business. That's why many startups will contact a national seo company in their area to help them out through link building, and other methods similar. This can help businesses get more clients and business, helping them to become successful.

After completing the seminar, the mothers and grandmothers drafted plans for businesses they would fund with Seeds of Africa micro-loans. Mothers and grandmothers each received, individual microloans of about 2000 birr ($105 USD) in the spring, and they established and grew a wide range of businesses from vegetable stands, injera (flatbread) sales, and food ingredient preparation, to a battery charging station and local alcohol preparation. The community development project leader and two community service providers supported the entrepreneurs in their new business ventures by assisting with the purchase of capital, providing guidance on action plans, reporting economic activities, and forging partnerships with community organizations. While the business owners have experienced their share of challenges, overall, the women are earning profits, paying back their loans in installments, and saving some money as well. This is important for any business owner. Saving money is crucial to ensure that the business is financially stable. There are a range of things that businesses could save money on, such as their utility bills. Energy bills are known to be expensive, so it might be worth using a business energy comparison website to make sure that you cut costs wherever possible. Businesses could also consider becoming more energy-efficient to save money and to reduce their carbon footprint. Business owners can click here to learn more.

This December, a new group of 15 mothers in Adama, Ethiopia will participate in the microfinance program, starting with a four-day entrepreneurship training at the Take-Root Center. This second group of parents, mothers of our LKG Seeds, have already completed Seeds program offerings such as literacy courses and health seminars, and will spend these four days in December receiving business support and devising plans as they prepare to embark on a business of their own. Almost a year since the first group of mothers and grandmothers took a Micro-Loan from Seeds of Africa, we are thrilled to offer loans to a second group of women. In addition, many participants from the first loan dispersal will be taking out larger loans in the New Year to expand their business after a successful repayment.Begin the Giving Season by giving a gift that continues to produce results. For Giving Tuesday on December 3, help us empower these women to start or grow their businesses and support out microfinance program.

Follow #GivingTuesday on Twitter and visit our Donate page.

Read Their Stories

Elfinesh Natea, mother of Marta (Seeds 1) and Banchayehu (seeds 7) used her micro-loan to buy an injerra (flat bread) making machine and start a business and has since made a profit. Read her story and view a photo essay by Audre Rae Photography.

Estigent Legesse, mother of Alazar Freshibet (Seeds 1) owns a coffee and snack business at Adama University. She started her business selling coffee and tea in a small room in a classroom building and then expanded to selling fruit, due to student demand, and sambosas (small fried snacks). Before taking the loan, Estigent owed the government for a loan she borrowed for an inheritance settlement. The government would take all of her salary to repay this loan. Today, for in the first time in 26 years, she is saving 1000 birr per month. Estigenet is saving to purchase a sambosa machine which costs 6000 birr. She is very confident she will repay the loan ‘without a doubt.'Fanaye Dinku, mother of Genet Tamiru (Seeds 7), operates a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. If you enter Fanaye's restaurant at 1:30pm on a Saturday, you will encounter a bustling lunch crowd and a very busy restaurateur. Fanaye works tucked away in the kitchen with four other employees, busily preparing the lunches for 25 or more customers. Fanaye's business has been very successful, and she repays her loan on time every month.Saliyat Buser, mother of Alemstsehay Gosser, has diversified her business with her loan from the microfinance program. Saliyat operates a coffee ceremony and tea snack stand, trades and sells women's clothing, and sells butter. Saliyat has made substantial profit and plans to open her own boutique next year to expand the clothing business. Because Saliyat has achieved success with her businesses, her children have bought new clothes, and she can now contribute to a savings group after paying on her loan to Seeds of Africa. Saliyat feels confident about her economic opportunities.Wagaye Legess has been a part of the Seeds family for a few years. A graduate of the parent literacy class and regular participant in the periodic health workshops, Wagaye decided to participate in the microfinance program so she could build a small business selling coffee in the style of the traditional coffee ceremony. The Community Service Provider, Netsanet, visited Wagaye to see how the business was going and noticed that Wagaye's customers increased each day. Netsanet advised Wagaye to purchase more supplies in order to meet the growing demand for her product. After taking the loan and starting her business, Wagaye has increased her daily income from 10 birr to 50 birr and now contributes regularly to her community savings group.Elisabet Beyene, mother of Seeds 7 student, Zekariyas, is also a graduate of the literacy program. Now, Elisabet operates a business selling spices and vegetables for traditional food dishes. She advertised the business to neighbors and received positive feedback on her products. After taking the loan, Elisabet purchased an electrical injerra-making stove which increased her business five-fold. She plans to purchase a small electrical stove to make wot (stew or curry) and continue to expand her business. Because of her business, Elisabeth is able to support her daughter who will graduate this year. After experiencing such success, Elisabeth is very hopeful about growing her business. "My family experiences financial freedom," said Elisabet. "I can feed my family and friends with extra potatoes without going into my profits. I see much hope in the expansion of my business."