Entrepreneurs We've Helped

Name: LEOCADIA MWITA

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Activity: Beauty Salon

Loan Used: To open a fish business.

Description: Mambo from Tanzania! This is 29-year-old Leocadia Mwita from Dar es Salaam. She is married and has one child who is two years old. She is also responsible for supporting two dependents because their parents cannot take care of them. Leocadia has been running a beauty salon since 2008. This is a place where you can buy long hair, short hair, curly hair, straight hair, red hair, or blue hair, and then have it attached to your head, woven, cut, or braided, and made to look like your own. She works at her business for 5-8 hours per day, 3 days per week and is assisted by one employee. Leocadia currently earns about $100 USD from her business. She is requesting a loan to open a fish business. In the future, she plans to improve her fish business. Leocadia thanks you for her support! SELFINA has taken a lead role as a pioneer of micro-credit in Tanzania through Micro-Leasing. The organization is engaged in the economic empowerment of women in Tanzania through the provision of a leasing and leaseback microfinance facility. Customs and traditions in Tanzania make it difficult for women to own land and assets, thus they are termed non-creditworthy by financial institutions. This leads to poor financial support and poor access to basic needs and services for women with low incomes. One of the primary advantages of micro leasing is that is allows clients to use the equipment as collateral for future loans with SELFINA, thus enabling them to borrow larger sums in the future.