When Fatuma was a young girl in Kenya, family hardships forced her to drop out of primary school after only two years; she never learned to read or write. Now her dream is to educate and provide for her own children.
Fatuma joined a borrower’s group in her village and received a $20 loan from Yehu Microfinance Trust, Grameen Foundation’s partner in Kenya and a recipient of financing from The Pioneer Fund. Grameen Foundation established this special fund to make sure that well-run local groups reaching the very poorest have access to the money they need to make loans and increase the number of women they serve.
This small loan transformed Fatuma into a rural entrepreneur who now raises and sells chickens for food. Her local chicken-raising group nominated her to be the main breeder of hens in the village, tasking her with raising 12 hens that can provide a good number of eggs. She also shared best practices with new entrepreneurs in her village who wanted to get into the egg-selling business. The villagers eventually took over this egg project, allowing Fatuma time to concentrate on rearing her local breeds of chicken.
Fatuma’s chicken business earns a profit of $10 a month. This small amount of money is a big step in fulfilling her dream to send three of her children to school regularly and feed her family daily.