Mrs Alifosina Mkonde is the proud mother of eight children, and lives in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi. In 2012, she set up a small grocery stall selling tomatoes, rice, groundnuts and maize to support her family. She dreamed that her children would get the education she never had. In reality, the family lived in extreme poverty and often went for weeks without food. Imagine the heartache of putting your children to bed hungry.
Determined to make a change, Mrs Mkonde joined a MicroLoan group in 2012, receiving extensive business training and a loan of just £13.
Mrs Mkonde had a vision, and MicroLoan was there to help. Over time, her loans grew and she used her entrepreneurial training, coaching and mentoring to turn her stall into a shop, and later built a mill at the heart of the village.
She now has a team of paid employees and her mill serves local farmers, local businesses and has created many jobs in her community.
Mrs Mkonde, mother, super-entrepreneur and owner of an entire business empire.
Her family, and other families in the community, no longer face hunger, and her eldest three children went to college to study nursing, IT and insurance. And it all began with a £13 loan and training from MicroLoan.
Every £25 fundraised for the WLA Coachathon will give a woman like Mrs Mkonde the chance to start her entrepreneurial journey. Thanks to your donation, she will be able to feed her family, send her children to school and pay for healthcare in emergencies. Families and communities will be transformed thanks to your support.
Published on: 08/11/2021