Kabonkétor 2 B Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Kabonkétor 2 B Group, consisting of Denisia Manga, Thérèse Atome Assine, AÏda Sambou, Siliboye Diédhiou, Adèle Diatta by Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance Fund (SEM) in Senegal. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 10 months of this loan, Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance Fund (SEM) will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Kabonketor 2B Group was formed by a group of 5 women who were neighbours and friends all living in Oussouye in the Casamance region of southern Senegal. Just over 6 months ago you kindly lent them $1,450 to allow them to buy raw materials that they needed for their textile business.

The word Kabonketor means “to support oneself” in the local language of Diola and it is a very apt description for this group of women. Since having their first loan from SEM, the textiles business has grown quickly and new members have joined the business. Due to the number of women now involved, the group has been divided into two separate groups named Kabonketor 2)and Kabonketor 2B) who work doing the same business – dyeing cloth and other fabrics to make clothes, tablecloths and bags.

Business had been very good for the Kabonketor group, but recently the number of tourists in the area has declined and they are struggling to find as many clients for their goods as they used to. To adapt to the situation, the women have been travelling to local villages to sell their products to people living in the area. They have also sold their products on to other retailers for resale, but those retailers have been delayed in their payments for the goods, making it hard for the women to meet their repayment requirements.

However, against all of this adversity the women remain determined. They are very motivated to continue in this business and to find ways to pull together to make sure that they can get through the tougher months. They feel encouraged by the solidarity that group lending gives them and believe that between them they will find a way to continue to make profits. The women are making sure to put aside profits in good months to give them some reserves to meet repayments when further difficulties may arise. Repaying the Kiva lenders is extremely important to them and they wanted to say a big “Thank you” to all of you who provided money for this loan.

If you would like to support more entrepreneurs like Kabonketor group, please consider funding another of SEM’s loans or joining the “Supporters of Senegal” lending team.