Whilst I love hearing about business successes closer to home, I find it equally inspiring and heart-warming to hear stories of women creating businesses in developing nations all over the world.
It makes me immensely proud to be a woman when I hear how some women are changing their lives and the lives of their families for the better running small scale businesses.
Today I wanted to share with you 4 success stories of female entrepreneurs but more specifically those who have managed to get their businesses off the ground having received a loan from Kiva.
If you’ve not heard of Kiva, in a nutshell, the organisation is a non-profit that has created a platform for lenders in developed nations (like the UK for example) to provide small loans to support borrowers in need elsewhere in the world.
One of the reasons that I like Kiva so much is that it encourages people to lift themselves out of poverty – trade being the answer rather than aid.
4 entrepreneurs who have done themselves proud
Naana, Ghana
Naana’s husband works as a fisherman but she is responsible for feeding her family and also for paying her children’s school fees.
She received a loan of $475 from Kiva to enable her to buy cassava, the raw ingredient which she then mills and fries to create the gari that her business sells.
She repaid the loan in just 9 months and is now enjoying the fruits of her labour with a business that generates enough profit to support her entire family.
Aayda, Lebanon
Aayda is just 22 years old but she decided to start a women’s accessories business with a $1,000 loan through Kiva.
She used the money to purchase merchandise including beauty products and has since created a profit-making enterprise, repaid the loan in just 14 months and is now focusing on growing and improving her business in the future.
Nanci, Peru
Nanci is 39-years old and operates a business selling a well-known brand of cosmetics.
Over a three-year time period, since receiving her Kiva loan, she has grown her business to such an extent that she is contemplating selling her cosmetics at a bazaar that she will hold. In addition to the cosmetics, she is diversifying and adding other types of products such as children’s clothing to her product range. Her desire to succeed is incredible.
Nanci’s business income allows her some niceties and enough money to help her husband with household expenses.
In the future, she plans to increase the amount of stock she holds and has also considered starting other businesses including a costume rental service – something which she has researched and found a need for. Nanci is a future serial-entrepreneur without a doubt.
Genita, Mozambique 
Meet Genita, a 47 year old lady with seven children – the youngest of which is 8 years old. Genita wants to ensure her children get the life that she never had because she was only given the opportunity to attend school up to the 7th grade when she was forced to leave due to her parents’ financial situation.
Genita received a loan for $375 to help her to expand her egg retail business. She paid her loan off in 18 months and now makes around $130 each month that goes into supporting her family.
These are just a few of the many success stories that have come out of Kiva’s microfinance programme, I hope that you found it as inspiring and heart-warming to hear the stories of these women as I did writing about them.
About the writer
Elizabeth Goldman is a writer for the payday loans alternative provider Wonga.com which is one of Kiva’s biggest corporate supporters.