Iloga Niko

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Iloga Niko by South Pacific Business Development in Samoa. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 18 - 18 months, South Pacific Business Development will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Iloga is a mother of seven who runs a Taro Plantation (Traditional Samoan Root). The four loans from SPBD has enabled her to purchase important tools such as chemical weed killers, soil, and gardening tools to improve the quality of her produce. She sells her Taro at the local flea market with the help of her children, and makes approximately 300 Tala (130 USD) per week. The most challenging aspect for her in business is being able to cover the expenses for the chemical weed killer, and hence weeding is often carried out by her children. In the future Iloga aims to employ extra helpers in her plantation, and to ensure her children get a University education.

Iloga Niko is 53 years old and has 8 children. She is a member of Saleaumua center which is located in northern eastern Upolu.. She has plantation business, which she has been engaged in for 9 years. The loan officer who is in charge of her center says Iloga is a very good member. She repays her loan on time, always attends her weekly meetings, and is enthusiastic about expanding her business.

She has used her previous loan to purchase chemicals, pesticides, bush knives and back sprayer for her business. She says her business is doing well. On good days she makes 180 Tala a day (1Tala=0.4USD) and on bad days she makes 95 Tala a day. She also says that the Kiva loans and SPBD loans are not only helping her business grow, but also helping her pay her children’s school fees, feed her family better, and improve her housing.

When asked if she has any words to the Kiva lenders, she said “It is so nice when you ask for something but its there already. I really like to acknowledge the good and helpful work done by the SPBD.”