Kiva Loans for Soro Yiriwaso, a partner of Save the Children

Yacouba : Mali

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:02:04 PDT

$375 of $1,000 raised.

Started raising funds on May 1, 2012

Born around 1977, Mr. Yacouba is married and father of six children. He lives with his wife and their children in a traditional family in Bougoula Hameau, about 7 km from the city of Sikasso. Mr. Yacouba, after operating a few businesses unsuccessfully, started a business buying and selling various articles. For over 12 years, he has had a store in front of his home where he buys and sells: corn, cigarettes, candy, matches, chewing gum, powdered milk, tea, sugar, soap, etc. He is much sought after by his customers for the quality of his products. To satisfy growing customer demand, he decided to join the Soro Yiriwaso microfinance organization about four years ago. He has received five individual loans, all of which have been fully repaid. He is now asking for a sixth loan that will enable him to buy 10 tons of corn, 20 cartons of different cigarettes, 5 boxes of tea, 5 bags of sugar, 10 packets of powdered milk, 8 packages of candy, 15 packs of chewing gum, 35 packs of matches, and 10 boxes of soap. Sourcing from wholesalers in and nearby the city of Sikasso, he resells his goods retail, for cash and for credit, to customers from all social classes in his area. With this loan, he expects to earn a monthly profit of 100,000 FCFA that will be used to contribute to family expenses and to pay the interest on his loan. The remaining amount will be invested in his business.

Sali : Mali

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:30:04 PDT

$825 of $1,025 raised.

Started raising funds on May 1, 2012

Sali was born in Garalo. She is 40 years old, married and the mother of five children. She lives in a polygamous household with her co-spouse, husband and children in Koutiala (which is in the Sikasso region). For social reasons, Sali was unable to attend school, which is why she has been involved in various business schemes for several years. These include buying and selling cloth, shoes and other goods. Sali is much sought-after by her customers. A few years ago, Sali decided to join the Soro Yiriwaso microfinance institution in order to increase the size of her business and satisfy her customers. Sali has taken out 2 solidarity loans (group loans), which were both reimbursed correctly. This is her third loan, which she is taking out as an individual. With this loan, she plans to build up her stock and buy ten dozen wallets, five dozen pairs of shoes and a pack of cooking utensils. She buys her stock at Cotonou and sells her products in Koutiala. Her customers include both men and women, who either pay cash or buy on credit. Sali hopes to make 150 000 FCFA monthly, which she will use to repay the loan, contribute to households expenses and fund her business.

Sabaly Group : Mali

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:00:05 PDT

$700 of $1,225 raised.

Started raising funds on May 3, 2012

The four members of the Sabaly group are all married women living in traditional families. On average, they are 50 years old and they have four children each. They live in the city of Koutiala, in Sikasso (3rd administrative region of Mali), and they know each other as neighbors, as colleagues, and through ties of kinship. They buy and sell cereals, pagnes, jars, etc. To increase their working capital, the group members joined the Soro Yiriwaso microfinance institution. This is 15th group loan, and all previous loans were correctly repaid. Mrs. Marama (first from the right with her hands on the jar) is an important seller of jars. She is in high demand due to the quality of her merchandise. She plans to use her loan to buy 120 jars (for 1,250 FCFA each). She buys her merchandise from local wholesalers and conducts her sales at retail, for cash or credit, to a clientele consisting of both men and women. Mrs. Marama hopes that this loan will help her to earn an average monthly profit of 75,000 CFAF, which she will reinvest in her activity and use to cover some of the household expenses.

Hamadoun : Mali

Wed, 02 May 2012 04:00:04 PDT

$150 of $625 raised.

Started raising funds on May 2, 2012

Mr. Hamadoun is 28 years old, married, and lives with his family in Kaboïla II, the city center of Sikasso (in the third administrative region of the Republic of Mali). After having run several businesses without success, Mr. Hamadoun learned the business of selling various goods more than 10 years ago, which he uses in a shop in Kaboïla II, where he runs this business buying and selling various goods (cigarettes, candy, matches, chewing gum, powdered milk, tea, sugar, soap, etc.). He is very much in demand among his customers for the quality of his wares. In order to satisfy his ever-increasing customer base, he decided to join the microfinance institution Soro Yiriwaso, with whom he is on his first loan, which will allow him to purchase 10 cartons of various cigarettes, four sacks of sugar, 10 boxes of tea, five bags of candy, 10 packages of chewing gum, 10 packages of matches, five boxes of soap, etc. His merchandise is purchased from wholesalers in the city before being resold at retail in his shop to a group of customers of both genders. Mr. Hamadoun expects to see a monthly profit of 130,000 CFA francs with this loan, which will be used to contribute to his family expenses and to pay the interest on his loan, with the rest being invested in his business.

Lassina : Mali

Wed, 02 May 2012 04:50:02 PDT

$200 of $725 raised.

Started raising funds on May 2, 2012

Lassina is about 35 years old, married, and the father of three children. He lives with his family in Wayerma II, in the center of Sikasso (third administrative region of the Republic of Mali). After being involved in several activities without much success, Lassina decided to learn about retail business more than three years ago. He now has a shop in front of his house, and he buys and sells various goods such as cigarettes, candy, matches, chewing gum, powder milk, tea, sugar, soap etc. The quality of his products makes him a very popular seller and the demand from his customers is high. In order to satisfy the needs of an increasing number of customers, Lassina decided to join the microfinance institution Soro Yiriwaso about four years ago. He has received four loans which have all been properly repaid. Lassina is now requesting a fifth loan for the purchase of 15 cartons of various brands of cigarettes, 10 bags of sugar, 15 boxes of tea, 10 packs of candy, 10 packs of chewing gum, 25 boxes of matches and 20 boxes of soap. He buys his goods from local wholesalers in town and retails them in his shop in Wayerma II. With this loan, Lassina is expecting average monthly profits to reach 175,000 CFA francs which will be used to contribute to family expenses and pay off his loan's interest, while the rest will be reinvested in his business.