KIVA Loan for March

Gladys, business woman and mother of two, Fort Portal Uganda

This month's KIVA loan goes to Gladys, a very hard working lady living in Fort Portal, Uganda.  Gladys has a produce store selling beans, ground nuts and maize flour where she works seven days a week, five hours per day. In addition she has a small farm where she grows produce to sell at her store. 

Like many people with a small business she is faced with the hardship of limited capital which hinders the growth of her business. She supplies produce to schools on credit and faces hardships due to their delayed payments. Her goal is to own a food store that can sustainably supply retail customers year-round. 

A previous KIVA loan helped her by providing capital which she used to improve the wholesale buying power of her business, thus improving her profits. 

She wishes to construct a permanent house, which she has already started building, and like mothers everywhere, she dreams of providing a college education for her two children. Bit by bit she has laid the foundation for the house and construction has begun. 

With the increase in profits from her business the last KIVA loan afforded she bought iron sheets to roof her house. With this new loan she plans to buy the timber to frame the walls and roof.  

Many poor families in Uganda cannot afford housing that meets their needs. By making a housing loan on KIVA, you give people access to flexible capital to obtain or improve their homes. Better housing means better health, sanitation, and even educational outcomes for children. A house can also be much more for entrepreneurs who run businesses out of their homes. In this way, housing and small business loans on KIVA share a common purpose: they alleviate poverty and enable families to enjoy more stable lives. 

You can help lift a hard-working family out of poverty for as little as $25.00 - share your wealth today through a KIVA loan.