Story by Talea Miller. Photos by
Brandon Smith.
This is part of Kiva’s ‘Invest in
her, invest in change’ series celebrating the power of women entrepreneurs
around the world. Today only, make a matched loan to a woman in honor of
International Women’s Day.
Lindiwe, 22, beams with pride as
she presents bottles of her homemade juice and
soda to customers at her shop in
rural Zimbabwe. Each bottle has a hand-glued label that reads ‘Lee Juice,’
inspired by her nickname. She has big plans to make it a household name
“I want my name to go far!” she
says. “I want to create as many employees as I can, especially girls. Girls are
so important to me.”
Lindiwe feels strongly about
girls in part because of her own struggles growing up with very little money.
Her mother is a widow, and Lindiwe remembers going to school hungry, without
shoes, and without a single pen or pencil to write with. She wants to be a role
model to show girls what is possible when they persevere in education and work
hard.
Lindiwe now operates 3 businesses
in her village — a poultry business, a small shop and Lee Juice — all under an
umbrella company she named Lee Investments. Her business savvy and work ethic
is clear in everything from her bookkeeping to her pricing.
“I did market research and
thought about what people wanted,” says Lindiwe.
She thought about the thirsty
laborers working at the mine near her village and asked herself how she could
have a competitive advantage for something they needed. So she started making
her own juice and soda from scratch, and priced it at half the price they would
pay for a national or international brand.
Her plan worked. With the
business training and guidance provided by Kiva’s Field Partner Camfed, and a
$500 loan crowdfunded on Kiva by 11 lenders, her business grew quickly.
“The loan boosted this business
up. I used to make only 20 liters a week, only 20!” she says. “Now I’ve
expanded to 200 liters a week."
Through Camfed’s unique lending
model, Lindiwe doesn’t pay any interest on her loan, but instead volunteers as
a mentor and teacher for other young women in her community. It’s a way of
paying social interest on the loan, but it’s also something Lindiwe loves
doing.
“Helping girls to stay in school,
helping them to achieve what they want in life, that is my favorite part,” she
says.
The loan also motivated Lindiwe
to create her first savings account, a mobile banking account controlled
through her cell phone. She likes keeping her money in the account, instead of
in the house, so she can be deliberate about how she spends it.
“The pin number [for the account]
stays with me. The access to the money stays with me,” she says. “No one else
has that, even my husband.”
With her business success,
Lindiwe has seen a change in how she feels about herself, and her standing in
her community.
“I am independent…and if I am
independent I can do anything that I want at any time,” she says. “If I want to
help someone who is in need I can just take my money and help.”
Lindiwe is currently training 1
woman from her community to work with her, and has started saving $10 each
month from her profits for her future. With the rest of her profits, she wants
to expand her production and also add a large run to her poultry house.
Her advice to other young women around the world who want to be successful is to work hard and don’t have regrets.
“It’s you who make your life,”
she says. “Success is in our hands.”
It’s advice she will repeat to
her own first child — boy or girl — due this summer.
Join thousands of other Kiva
lenders backing inspiring women like Lindiwe in celebration of International
Women’s Day. Make a loan through Kiva’s Field Partner Camfed in Zimbabwe today.
When you invest in her, you invest in change.
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