Improving lives with business loans & training, Malawi
Ostin Chintudula Nkhoma, 35, of Sitolo Village T/A Kachere, Dedza, struggled to get his basic education. He started school in 1986 when he was already 10. The nearest school was 10km away and was separated by a large river which young children could not cross as it had no bridge. He also had to raise his own school fees and it took him ten years to complete his primary education. His final results in 1999 were not good enough to take him to any college.
Ostin joined CUMO Micro Finance Limited (CUMO) in 2003. With an initial loan of MK3,000 (US$18), Ostin started a tin smith business. Ostin was one of the first to receive entrepreneurial training from CUMO’s training facility. The training taught how to run a business successfully, how to save and how to forecast demand for products and plan level of production accordingly. Ostin explained “I learnt from CUMO how best I can price my products by looking critically into production costs. In this way I am able to make good profits. The training I received taught me the importance of producing a product in accordance with demand levels for each season to avoid incurring business losses”.
Ostin now makes between 50 and 200 hoes per day. With the
profits from his business, he can provide for his family of 3
children. He has furnished his house, purchased a bicycle for his
transportation and a plot of land at Lobi Trading Centre where he
plans to build a house. He also purchases seeds enabling him to
grow enough food for his family for the whole year.
