New Borrowers, New Opportunities for Self-Employment

One of the overarching goals of my summer was to bring on board new members to Zidisha in Dakar. I may say I did not expect to have the reception I did. There is opportunity on every corner, and even sometimes two or three in the same household. The last few weeks we have been able to successfully add two new clients that were in the same household.

Alioune Bandara Ndiaye

Alioune is a young Senegalese man searching for the means to begin his small business. He wishes to use his first loan to do some work on the already existing hen house where he lives. He will be able to raise hens that he can sell in Dakar for families to eat.

Khady Aminita Dione

Khady and Alioune actually live in the same household! Her business is a little different, focusing on selling palm oil. Palm oil in Senegal actually comes from the south eastern region known as the Casamance. It is important in cooking and in many other household uses in the Dakar region. Khady will use her first loan to purchase bottles in order to bottle the oil for redistribution.

Client Spotlight: Youssoupha Samb

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Youssoupha Samb to discuss his business. This was not the first time I had met Youssou so I already knew of his outgoing and charismatic personality. Passionate for transportation our conversations ranged from local agriculture to the problems with large scale transportation operations in Senegal.

Youssou has completed his first loan with Zidisha and is currently seeking his second loan with us. He works full time with the SEM Fund, an American NGO in Dakar, as a manager of logistics and will be continuing his studies commencing in this January in business. The SEM Fund and Zidisha have a close history in Dakar as the SEM Fund was our first local field partner. Youssou remembers these days nostalgically: "I was the one that cut the checks for other Zidisha entrepreneurs!"

As he encountered Zidisha at his place of work, Youssou decided to try his hand at starting his own business. A friend taught him urban agricultural techniques, Youssou started his own garden at home lettuce which he sold to local restaurants. During the months from July to mid-October Senegal is plagued with heavy rains, destroying local livestock and vegetation. Unfortunately lasts years rain was extremely heavy, causing Youssou to lose most of his produce. He was thankful he had his job at SEM Fund so he could pay-off his loan.

Even though his first project did not work out, Youssou was not discouraged. He and another family member are commencing another project. Sweet, tropical juices are popular with the Senegalese but most made locally contain a lot of sugar. Overconsumption is creating a rise in diabetes in Senegal. Youssou sees this as an opportunity to create a healthier alternative. He has been pressing juices at home, and with recommendations and critiques by family members and friends he has created several recipes that contain less sugar. Overstocking his family refrigerator, his family does not have adequate space to store food. He is applying for a second loan to help purchase his own refrigerator and finish up the labeling on his products.

I had a pleasant visit with Youssou this week and I can't wait to see the progress of his business!

Client Spotlight: Yacine Moustapha Gueye

Like we say in Wolof: Bal ma. I'm sorry for the slight delay between the posting of the last story and this one! When here in Senegal it is difficult to not want to be out spending time with friends and exploring new territory. Without further ado, here is a post about a meeting from a few weeks ago...

A few weeks ago Miriam and I had the chance to meet with borrower Mme. Yacine Moustapha Gueye in her market shop. Mme. Gueye is currently on her third loan with Zidisha. She uses the money from her Zidisha loans to purchase and import fabrics from Mauritania. Her third loan actually enabled her to travel to Mauritania herself to select her fabrics.

Dress is very important to Senegalese culture. Women are adorned daily from head to toe in brightly colored fabrics so there is a large market for products like what Yacine sells. Women will buy the fabric at the market and then take it to their local tailor to have them sew their boubou exactly to their design. Yacine does not just sell fabrics but she imports jewelry from France and India for resale. In addition she sells soaps and other fragrances.

Yacine is a strong and outgoing woman, and she thanked us multiple times for not only increasing her revenue but for helping African women with micro-lending. As many other Zidisha members Mme. Gueye is no different in the fact she is already planning what to do with her future Zidisha loans. She hopes in the future she can travel again to purchase more fabric as well as move into a larger shop in the Parcelles Assaines market.

Yacine and friends posing with several fabrics in her market stall in Parcelles Assaines.

Photo credit goes to my colleague Miriam! This photo turned out so well I could not help but want to share it!