By Betsy Ramser Jaime
Rita Nutsugah was fortunate to have received a great education as a child, and strong support from both parents. She always had a knack for saving and as she says, ‘ I loved doing small handiwork.’ From there she used her small savings to start the business that she runs today.
When she’s not busy running her business, one of her great joys is cooking. She enjoys finding new recipes and also likes to relax by watching movies, reading, and sewing.
In her business, Rita sells a variety of items including: clothing, liquid detergent, and general trading items. With her profit, she is able to pay her rent and also re-invest in her business.
With the help of Zidisha lenders, Rita has been able to raise 6 Zidisha funded loans. Rita began her partnership with Zidisha in August 2015 and raised $100 to purchase some basic tools for detergent making.
Shortly thereafter, in November 2015, she successfully doubled her first loan and used $200 from Zidisha lenders to buy more materials including: base, buster, thickener, salt, fragrance, color. She also used the remaining funds for transportation and for printing labels.
By 2016, Rita was ready to increase her inventory of detergent, with a loan of $416 from lenders to get her started. She purchased bottles, base, thickener, booster, soda ash, sulphonic acid, and glycerine.
For Rita, 2017 was a year with a lot of accomplishments and big strides in her business. She started the year by renting a larger space for producing her soap. With a loan of $570 from Zidisha lenders, she acquired a space, purchased paint, shalves, a ploytank, and also paid for painters to paint the shop.
In addition to seeing her business thrive, she was also nominated to attend the National Board for Small Scale Industries business plan training. Beyond that, she was also listed on the “Made in Ghana” website! She shared with lenders that, ‘I am very grateful for your financial support that have now put me in the lime light.’ 2017 was also the year where she developed a new formula for her detergent as well!
Reflecting on the year, Rita shared, ‘My previous loan helped me a lot in the following way: it helped me top up to acquire a delivery van, it also helped me in expanding the quantity of products, it also helped me in my research to come up with a new formula for my detergent. Because of it I am now being invited to attend seminars for SMEs.’
Never one to rest on her laurels, Rita was ready to continue to change and grow her business in 2018. As she approached lenders for a loan of $648, she put a plan in place to renovate part of her workspace, to fix and purchase new plugs and extension boards, and to repair and service her delivery van. The items that she needed to purchase to make this happen included: ‘wood, mesh, nails, extension boards, fuel pump and van parts, a mixer, and labor.’
On April 12, 2018, Rita proudly shared this update with lenders, ‘Thank you Zidisha once again for your assistance and support. I promised to keep working hard and also be prompt with my repayment. This loan will help me fix and buy the items listed in my proposal for the loan, eg to fix some of my plugs and buy the wood for the fixing of the top part of my working space. Thank you my lenders.’
Most recently, in March 2019, Rita was able to raise, $701 from lenders, and with the funds, purchased a 3 clip agitation machine.
