SACCOs enhancing women entrepreneurs (part 2)
16-10-2024Agriterra has been working closely with two SACCOs in Rwanda under the Farmer Focused Transformation (FFT) programme. These SACCOs - CPF Ineza and SACCO Impamba - have provided crucial support to women entrepreneurs in the Southern Province. With a budget allocated to 80 women’s projects across these two SACCOs, Agriterra aimed to empower women by offering lower-interest loans, promoting entrepreneurship and providing training on agribusiness finance. Additionally, these efforts included designing financial products tailored for women in agribusiness, which has significantly impacted the beneficiaries.
The collaboration between Agriterra and these SACCOs facilitated financial access and enhanced the women’s leadership roles within their cooperatives, creating opportunities for growth and development in their communities. Through these interventions, many women have been able to secure financial stability and strengthen their business operations, contributing to local economic growth.
Below are the stories of two women supported by CPF Ineza SACCO:
1. Ayishakiye Ndaruhutse Jehovanis
Ayishakiye Ndaruhutse Jehovanis, a 23-year-old from Kamonyi District, Mugina Sector, began selling farming inputs to small-scale farmers in 2018, alongside her mother.
With an initial loan of 500,000 RWF from CPF Ineza, they ventured into selling fertilizers, seeds, seedlings and other agricultural inputs. CPF Ineza also provided them with financial advisory services, which helped them manage their finances and develop business proposals.
Their business is now valued between 5 and 10 million RWF, with a monthly profit of 200,000 RWF. They plan to secure a 7,000,000 RWF loan to purchase a motorcycle to expand the distribution of their agricultural inputs. "We are grateful to CPF Ineza for their training on financial management.
In five years, we aim to extend our business to different locations across our province, ensuring everyone can access high-quality agricultural inputs," Ayishakiye shared.
2. Zaninka Athanasie
Zaninka Athanasie, a 53-year-old woman from Nyamiyaga Sector in Kamonyi District, grows cassava on two hectares and bananas on one hectare of land. She began working with CPF Ineza in 2017 with a 600,000 RWF loan, which has since grown to a 3,000,000 RWF loan.
By using high-quality banana and cassava seedlings, Zaninka now earns a profit of around 1,000,000 RWF per season. She credits CPF Ineza for training women in the cassava value chain, covering topics such as fertilizer application, agronomic skills and market research. "After the training, we received loans to implement our business ventures," Zaninka explained, highlighting the impact of CPF Ineza's support on her farming success.
Read also Part 1, the story of Evelyne Mukabaruta and Dusabemariya Athanasie
