Transforming the Lives of Women in Rural Malawi
The story of Gloria Chidzanja
It is every mother’s dream to comfortably care for her children’s needs. Like it would be with every single mother, this was Gloria’s dream for a long time. However, Gloria’s dream only led to frustration as days went by. Her tomato business was too small to meet her household’s needs. “Despite working hard for so many years, I could not see a way of this dream turning into a reality,” narrates Gloria.
When did you join the FEM program and why?
“I joined the FEM program in 2021, because I wanted to comfortably provide for my kids and achieve many other goals. Despite having been in business for a very long time, I was unable to realize enough profits to boost my business as I didn’t have enough capital to buy products to sell in a good quantity. Thus, I wanted to boost my business capital.”
What business do you do and what are some major accomplishments that you have made in your business?
“I sell tomatoes and fish. However, I also do farming as a business.
I would say the major accomplishment is that I am able to comfortably provide for my kids. Adding to that, I have managed to buy iron sheeting for my house and my mother’s house. I have also managed to sublease a piece of Dimba land that helps me in my business. I can now grow my own tomatoes and beans on my Dimba and later sell them on my market bench.”
What are your future plans?
“My plan is to buy another piece of land by the end of February 2024. I am planning on building a bigger and better house on this land later in the year 2024.”
What advice can you give to other small business owners?
“Over the years that I have been doing business, I have learned the importance of diversifying my business. There was a moment that I invested a total sum of 150,000 MWK into pig farming. I bought 6 pigs which I had high hopes that they could give me great proceeds. However, one day I woke up to a call from my brother telling me that all the pigs had died. It was a great loss for me. However, I did not struggle as much in paying back my loan as I had invested part of the money in maize farming, which helped me to cover that loss and I managed to pay back my loan.”
Gloria is just one of many women whose lives have been transformed by the FEM program. Click here to learn more about our FEM program, and visit our donation page if you would like to support women like Gloria with microloans. Many thanks to Gloria for sharing her story with us!
