Visit to the Mama Bahati Foundation in Iringa
Rachel Lindley, the Co-ordinator of Arcubus, spent her summer holiday this year (self-funded) visiting the Mama Bahati Foundation, the microfinance partner in Iringa which Arcubus is supporting through Five Talents UK.
Rachel says: ‘It was fascinating to see how microfinance really operates in the field. It doesn’t always follow the theory – but it certainly works! I met some amazing women entrepreneurs whose lives – and whose children’s lives – have been transformed by the savings products, loans and training which Mama Bahati offers. It was especially a privilege to meet Zawadi, the fruit-seller who features in the Arcubus brochure. She has now diversified thanks to the loans and savings she’s built up, and sells chips and charcoal from her stall on a busy roadside. She looks after 6 children and all of them are doing well.’
You can see pictures of Zawadi and her children as well as many more clients in the gallery page – and if your company invests in Arcubus, you too could visit one of our microfinance partners for a first-hand experience of a lifetime!