Fatou Kiné Niang

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Fatou Kiné Niang by Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance Fund in Senegal. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 10 - 16 months, Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance Fund will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

"We're happy and we thank you; I think that this loan will make us financially independent people."

«Nous sommes content et nous vous remercions ; je pense que ce prêt fera de nous des personnes indépendantes.»

Note: The SEM staff has translated this message into French and English, staying as close to the speaker's original words as possible.

« We are certainly satisfied ; this loan came at just the right time and today we thank God and we will never stop being grateful to SEM.”

“Ce qui nous manque n’est pas la satisfaction ce financement est venu au bon moment et aujourd’hui, nous rendons grâce a dieu et ne cesserons de remercier le SEM dans son ensemble. »

Note: The SEM staff has translated this message into French and English, staying as close to the speaker's original words as possible.

« We’ve opened a hairdressing training center with the loan from SEM, and we’ve started our hairdresser and beauty training program in our village. It’s only a beginning, but we’re sure that it will bring results, because before, the girls would leave our village to get training and education elsewhere. But with the training center we now have, they no longer need to leave their community and go far away. Everyone is satisfied and wishes for a long life for SEM, thanks to whom our family life is beginning to stabilize. We manage to meet daily expenses without stress and we are able to support our families.”

« Nous avons ouvert le centre de formation de coiffure avec le financement accordé par le SEM et nous avons commencer les activité de formation de coiffure et de soins de beauté dans notre écovillage. Ce n’est qu’un début mais nous sommes sûres que tout cela va donner des résultats, car auparavant, les filles quittaient notre écovillage pour aller se former ailleurs or que avec le centre actuel, elles n’ont plus besoins d’aller hors ou bien loin de leur localité. Tout le monde est satisfait et souhaite une longue vie à SEM, grâce à qui, notyre vie familiale est entrain de se stabiliser . Nous arrivons à gérer le quotidien sans stress et parvenons à soutenir nos familles. »

Note: The SEM staff has translated this message into French and English, staying as close to the speaker's original words as possible.

On Saturday I had the pleasure if meeting with the hairdressers who are running this enterprise. There are three main entrepreneurs headed by Fatou, as well as 8 apprentices. As I sat in their shop learned that everything I saw was purchased with the loan that they received from KIVA. They used the loan to make the building a hospitable environment, which meant doing some painting, refurbishing the entrance to the building, buying appropriate chairs, as well as ample supplies.

The women spoke about their business and past experiences candidly. They were pleased with how business was going. They have been able to make their repayments thus far. The group leader spoke of past frustration of having a hairdressing diploma and being unable to find work. She said had she not open up her own shop, she would be unemployed.

In terms of future plans, Fatou has many. She would like to begin to offer services to men. Fatou says that the secret to distinguishing herself from the other stylists is to offer a full assortment of products and services – being a full-service shop. Ideally the store would offer manicures, pedicures, make-up services, as well as sell all of the associated products. At the moment making such an investments is too capital intensive, but these are the types of things that Fatou would like to do in the future, perhaps after the initial loan is repaid and the opportunity for a second one becomes a reality.

She has hired 8 apprentices to help with the business. I am found of these types f initiatives, as young people gain an income generating skill. Fatou spoke of developing the program into a more formal school. She would charge a fee for this, providing an additional revenue source.

I enjoyed meeting Fatou and left with an appreciation of what she had accomplished in a relatively short amount of time.

On Saturday I had the pleasure if meeting with the hairdressers who are running this enterprise. There are three main entrepreneurs headed by Fatou, as well as 8 apprentices. As I sat in their shop learned that everything I saw was purchased with the loan that they received from KIVA. They used the loan to make the building a hospitable environment, which meant doing some painting, refurbishing the entrance to the building, buying appropriate chairs, as well as ample supplies.

The women spoke about their business and past experiences candidly. They were pleased with how business was going. They have been able to make their repayments thus far. The group leader spoke of past frustration of having a hairdressing diploma and being unable to find work. She said had she not open up her own shop, she would be unemployed.

In terms of future plans, Fatou has many. She would like to begin to offer services to men. Fatou says that the secret to distinguishing herself from the other stylists is to offer a full assortment of products and services – being a full-service shop. Ideally the store would offer manicures, pedicures, make-up services, as well as sell all of the associated products. At the moment making such an investments is too capital intensive, but these are the types of things that Fatou would like to do in the future, perhaps after the initial loan is repaid and the opportunity for a second one becomes a reality.

She has hired 8 apprentices to help with the business. I am found of these types f initiatives, as young people gain an income generating skill. Fatou spoke of developing the program into a more formal school. She would charge a fee for this, providing an additional revenue source.

I enjoyed meeting Fatou and left with an appreciation of what she had accomplished in a relatively short amount of time.

Maty Diop

La seule chose que nous voulons après ce prêt; c'est un deuxième prêt qui nous permettra d'acheter du bon materièl qui pourra duré; mais pour le mement, nous disons merçi à SEM.

This group, led by three dedicated and inspiring women, continues to be committed to running a successful hair salon with an apprenticeship program for women in the area. Unfortunately, business has been slower than they would like and they have had some trouble getting their business operations off the ground with limited capital. The group intends to make all repayments and hopes to take out another loan to improve their operations. These women are working hard and are committed to achieving their goals.

by Hilary Corsun