Sara Moshi runs a thriving poultry business supplying hotels, supermarkets and street vendors in Moshi Town, northern Tanzania. The secret of her success, she says, was the commercial loan for US $570 which, “really boosted my business,” and is earning more – from US $18 a month to US $110 a month.

Sara’s commercial success is a rarity in Africa where, although one in four women is an entrepreneur, they struggle to access credit, as they rarely hold assets so don’t have sufficient collateral. In fact, globally, there’s a US $1.7 trillion gap between the amount of capital women want and the amount they get. If that gap were closed its estimated US $6 trillion would be added to global GDP.

Our solution: An accelerator scheme that equips women to move from subsistence to success

There are millions of under-served women just like Sara with the potential to expand their businesses, but who lack the credit, market connections and technical expertise to do so.

That’s why we’ve developed an ‘accelerator’ programme which equips women the skills they need to move women beyond the absolute Poverty Line of $2.15 a day to the lower middle-income poverty line of $3.20 a day.

Creditaccess

Supported by her Hand in Hand business trainer, Sara was able to secure a loan with our commercial finance partner. She provided detailed bookkeeping and a business plan setting out her ambition to buy 200 chickens, the cost of feeding, vaccinating and housing those chickens, the expected sales, profits and the repayment schedule.

Having attended Hand in Hand’s business training sessions, Sara knew credit alone would not bring business success – she needed the farming skills to take care of her investment and the market connections to secure sales and profits.

Farming skills

Sara built a bigger chicken coop to make sure the chickens had enough light and space, made sure she had the correct feed and put plans in place for the necessary vaccinations. Finally, Sara decided to follow Hand in Hand’s advice and invest her loan in the “Sasso” breed because they would grow more quickly than the indigenous breed.

Market connections

Sara also researched her competitors: who was selling chickens to which outlets and how much were they charging? Then she contacted the buyers directly, securing several regular clients in nearby Moshi Town.

The business has transformed life at home. Sara has built a brand-new kitchen with a modern oven, has tiled the floors throughout her home, and repainted the house.

Looking back Sara says, “We are just housewives, but we sat with experts (Hand in Hand) who showed us how it could be done.”

Meet Shaima – running her own honey business in Afghanistan

Meet Pauline Mbugua – Succeeding in business through market connections