Florence Nanziri's Group

Florence Nanziri is a 36 year old single mother of four children, ranging in ages from 3 to 18 years old. She has operated a grocery in her neighborhood for the past 15 years, selling fruits and vegetables and other products. Florence first started the grocery because there weren’t any in her neighborhood. She started with just a few items, such as tomatoes and bananas, and gradually expanded her business to include more items.

Twice a week, Florence goes off early in the morning to the Owino Market, a large outdoor market near downtown Kampala, and buys about 150,000 (Ugandan shillings) or roughly $90 (US dollars) worth of produce. She transports the goods back to her grocery stall via motorcycle taxi (boda boda) or minibus taxi (matatu).

Being the first grocery to open in her neighborhood guaranteed Florence would have many customers, although there are now other groceries nearby. Florence's grocery is open seven days a week from 8:00 AM in the morning until 9:00 PM at night, except on Sunday when she opens at 9:00 AM after attending mass. She is helped by her sister who also works at the grocery.

Florence uses the profits from her business to pay school fees for her children. Profits are getting smaller as food prices go up. Florence has struggled to pay loans back in the face of unexpected expenses, but as she has been a member of MCDT for the last three years, she and her group have been able to repay approximately nine loans. Florence says that the loans make her life better, helping her to overcome challenges, in particular the school fees.

Florence currently lives in a house with three rooms, but she would like to build a larger house with five rooms. Her ultimate goal with a larger loan and sufficient savings is to build a bigger house for her family.

For now, with this new loan, Florence would like to buy a refrigerator. This will help her business because she will be able to sell cold drinks in addition to the produce she sells.



About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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