Why invest in women?
- Women reinvest 80% of their income in the well-being and education of their families
- With the same amount of land, women can increase crop yields by 20%, reducing world hunger for 150 million people
- Women business owners s...
Nomatter is a Kiva borrower who lives near Binga, in northern Zimbabwe. I visited her in early May, to get to see the business she's set up using her Kiva loan.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Binga lies close to the Zambezi River and Nomatter, using a $500 loan through Kiva's partner Camfed, has established a business based on the plentiful 'kapenta' fish (a very popular small dried sardine).
Nomatter buys the fresh fish straight from local fishermen. She hauls her purchase home (an 8km trek)! The fish is then spread out to dry in the sun, for several hours.
Once dried, it's stored in large sacks, ready for customers in the local community.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Each sale is carefully weighed out, using a scale. Laughing, Nomatter explains to us how she needs to be careful with the scale to avoid any cheating from her customers!
Like all of Camfed's Kiva borrowers, Nomatter is not charged interest on her loan: instead, she volunteers at a local school, coaching younger children in core 'life skills.' And the loan is transforming her life: profits from the business have helped her pay school fees for her younger sister, and she herself is now also able to study math, English and science.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Nomatter is certainly a good saleswoman. We all left, laden with bags of kapenta, for a rather smelly journey home...
Join thousands of other Kiva lenders backing inspiring women like Nomatter. Make a loan today. When you invest in her, you invest in change!
