Ripena Laau

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Ripena Laau 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.

Ripena Laau is 36 years old and has 3 children. She is a member of Vailoa Aleipata center which is located in eastern/ Upolu island. She has Plantation business, which she has been engaged in for 6 years. The loan officer who is in charge of her center says Ripena 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 taro crops and bananna crops,fertilizer, coromozone and sting chemicals bushknifes, spade, digger, trailer, and home improvement for her business. She says her business is doing well. On good days she makes 250 Tala a day (1Tala=0.4USD) and on bad days she makes 150 Tala a day. She also says that the Kiva loans and SPBD loans are not only helping her business grows, 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 “Given the fact that the plantation is one major source of income for her family, she would take out more loans in future until she is able to sustain her plantation on her own and until her plantation is able to survive with its earnings.”