MicroLoan: How Your Donations Make a Difference

Alifosina Mkonde: The difference £22 can make

Mrs Alifosina Mkonde is the proud mother of eight children, and lives in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi. 11 years ago, she set up a small grocery stall selling rice, groundnuts and maize to support her family. She dreamed that her children would get the education she never had. In reality, the family lived in extreme poverty and often went for weeks without food. Imagine the heartache of putting your children to bed hungry.

Determined to make a change, Mrs Mkonde joined a MicroLoan group in 2012, receiving extensive business training and a loan of just £22.

Mrs Mkonde had a vision, and MicroLoan was there to help. Over time, her loans grew and she used her entrepreneurial training, coaching and mentoring to turn her stall into a shop, and later built a mill at the heart of the village.

Now on her 12^th loan cycle, has a team of paid employees and her mill serves local farmers, local businesses and has created many jobs in her community.

Mrs Mkonde, mother, super-entrepreneur and owner of an entire business empire.

Her family, and other families in the community, no longer face hunger, and her eldest three children are at college studying nursing, IT and insurance. And it all began with a £22 loan and training from MicroLoan.

Thanks to the fundraising from the Goodwille Winter Warmer 2021, 34 women like Mrs Mkonde will have the opportunity to build their own businesses. Goodwille – we can’t thank you enough!