Mrs Alifosina Mkonde is the proud mother of eight children, and lives in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi.
She joined a MicroLoan group in 2012, with a loan of £13. Ten years later, look where she is now.
At first, Mrs Mkonde built a tomato stall. Over time she made savings, which meant she was able to set up a small grocery stall selling tomatoes, rice, groundnuts, and maize. By 2018, Mrs Mkonde had built a maize mill in the centre of town.
Today, that maize mill is the centre for local economic activity, and Mrs Mkonde has eight employees. Over time, her loans grew, and she used her entrepreneurial training and mentoring to hone her business skills. She is ambitious, and has plans to expand her mill further by building a warehouse where she will have more storage, and purchasing a large vehicle to transport the maize flour in bulk to bigger buyers.
At first, Mrs Mkonde built a tomato stall. Over time she made savings, which meant she was able to set up a small grocery stall selling tomatoes, rice, groundnuts, and maize. By 2018, Mrs Mkonde had built a maize mill in the centre of town.
Today, that maize mill is the centre for local economic activity, and Mrs Mkonde has eight employees. Over time, her loans grew, and she used her entrepreneurial training and mentoring to hone her business skills.
She is ambitious, and has plans to expand her mill further by building a warehouse where she will have more storage, and purchasing a large vehicle to transport the maize flour in bulk to bigger buyers.
She has also in the process of building an even bigger home on her land, and will rent out the house she lives in now. It’s an impressive and grand new home.
Above all else, she and her family no longer face hunger. She dreamed that her children would get the education she never had, and through her own determination, she raised the funds for three of her children to attend university. Her eldest son studied couriering and now helps her to run her mill.
Mrs Mkonde’s first loan was £13. Now, her loan is £2500. She is a role model for other women in her community.
Published on: 08/11/2021
