SENDFiNGO P.O. BOX 17 Bimbilla, Northern Region, Ghana West Africa Phone: +2333720-94651,+2333720-92936 or +233243712077 Email: sendfingo@gmail.com

Impact/Success Story:

Madam Akua a trader in cola in the local market in Bimbilla is a proud member of the Bimbilla Community Co-operative credit union. The deplorable condition of the accommodation provided by her husband which is occupied by her family had been a great source of worry for her throughout her life.  Akua decided to share her concern   and dream of constructing   a decent accommodation for the family with madam Wasila a founding member of the Rural Commercial Women Association of the Credit union. Her appealed to Wasilla was to lead her to obtain credit to finance her dream. Heeding to the advice of Wasila, she joined the credit union in 2004 with an amount of GHS5.00 (USD3.33). She saved regularly until her savings reach GHS107.00 when she applied for her first loan of GHS200.00 in 2007 which was granted by the management of the union. Akua used the first loan to expand her business by preparing fried fish for sale in the local market alongside her usual Kola business. Part of the Profits made from the two businesses was invested in gathering some of the building materials such as gravel and cement for the construction. Whilst servicing the first loan, Akua was still active in saving with the union.  Being an active member of the union, her second loan of GHS324.00 was granted. She added GH100.00 of the loan her capital and business .The rest was invested in purchasing more building materials and paying for labour. Half of her third loan of GHS400.00 from the union was invested in her new Pito (local alcoholic beverage) brewing business and the rest in the construction process. Finally she added her 4th loan of GHS600.00 from the union to some of the profit from her three lines of businesses to purchase corrugated iron roofing sheets, wood, nails, paints, cement, sand and paid for labor to complete in 2010 the 5 bedroom house for the couple and their six children.

 

Madam Akua’s Family Accommodation before taking Loan from Bimbilla credit union.

Madam acknowledges the contribution of her husband Mr. Kojo Kilta a peasant farmer in providing labour and also supervising the labourers who worked on the building. She admits there is significant improvement in here relationship with her husband as family decisions a jointly taken with her. Her neighbours both men and women have being congratulating her on her achievement. According to madam Wasila, Akua’s achievement has been a source of motivation for most women in the neighborhood as 15 women were inspired to join Tehisuma microfinance women group because of Akua.  The main goal of those women is to mobilize enough money to educate their children. 2 of the women have so far opened their personal accounts with the credit union

 

 

Small loans making a positive difference:

When the manageress of the Tamale community cooperative credit union (TCCCU) Mrs Safiatu Musah visited Gulokpalsi a suburb in the peri-urban area of Tamale Metropolis in 2008 on her usual outreach programme to educate more women to join the microfinance scheme, little did she know that her intervention was to transform a productive but resource constrained Salima, a 38 year old mother of five children. Madam Salima a graduate of the microfinance programme of TCCCU is one of the many microfinance graduates with a success story on progressive business expansion to tell.

 Salima was among the 25 women who, not only listened to Safia’s message when others were in doubt, but accepted it and gave it a try. At the disbursement of the first loan and in response to the women from the community who doubted the scheme and never joined the group, her group adopted the local name Vi-kulariba (critics are put to shame) to show that they made the right decision. After receiving business management training from the microfinance team of the credit union and her first loan of GH¢60.00, she commenced her trade by processing groundnuts (peanut) into groundnut cake (Kulikuli) and groundnut powder (kulikuli-zim) for sale in her neighborhood. She processed an average of 6 bowls of groundnuts per month at the beginning. Her customers were mostly passersby and in some cases porridge sellers in her vicinity. As her microfinance loan size increased from 60 to 80 and to 100 Ghana Cedis, she was able to increase the number of bowls of groundnut processed from 6 to 14 per

 

Madam Salimah a member of the Vi-kulariba microfinance women group of

Tamale Community Co-operative Credit Union undertaking her groundnut processing business at home


 

month reaching out to many customers in both her area and in the Aboabo main market in Tamale Metropolis. After graduating and receiving individual loans 4 times averaging 300 Ghana Cedis from the TCCCU, Salima  now buys her raw materials in bags and processed an average of 3 bags per month with the help of her 2 daughters. Her product lines are groundnut paste, powder, cake and oil which she sells to different customers. Although Salima cannot read and write, she is able to put the marketing skills she learnt from TCCCU into practice by segmenting her customers and producing to meet their taste. Her clients include restaurant operators, retailers at the Aboabo market, Polytechnic students and other consumers.

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Tamale Community Co-operative Credit Union undertaking her groundnut processing business at home

“With the progressive expansion in my business and income since I started, I have been supporting my husband to take care of the family expenditure. Currently I contribute about 50% towards the payment of our household expenditure. I and my husband take decisions together. We are very good friends: to some extent we live like a brother and a sister. Our daughter is currently in the Senior High School and we are jointly taking care of her. I am currently working to construct a house. My husband is the one leading the process.” These were some of the sentiments expressed by Salima when she was interviewed.


 
  
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