By Betsy Ramser Jaime
‘My name is Stavia Chali a Zambia citizen aged 22 years old. I am the second born and a student at Gideon Robert University studying clinical medicine. I also run a business that supports me and helps pay my school bills. Currently, I am studying for a Diploma in Clinical Medicine, therefore am trying to work and graduate with good results for me to get a higher job with a good monthly income in the near future.’
In her business, Stavia owns a tailoring and design shop where she sews clothing such as uniforms, school jerseys, and general men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing.
Stavia decided to pursue this particular business because she knew that there was a high demand in her community for these products. She chose to partner with Zidisha lenders as she knew this would help her to make additional money and expand more than she might be able to do on her own.
Since joining Zidisha in 2022, she has raised four Zidisha-funded loans beginning with a $9 loan and now over $100. With her loans through Zidisha, Stavia has used her funds both to continue with her education and also purchase necessary products for her business.
With her first loan she shared, ‘With the funds am requesting today, I would like to pay for my second semester at school. As this will help me to study and do my school research work effectively and prepare for final exams adequately.’
Then, with her following loans, she’s been working to purchase a new sewing machine as she writes, ‘I would like to buy a new sewing machine as the old one is giving me challenges. I have good orders of sewing school uniforms and reusable washable pads for a female orphanage organization in our community. This will create more income for me because the income I will realize from sewing school uniforms and school jerseys are bigger which requires a good sewing machine for the production of uniforms and items. For these uniforms, I will be making 12,000 ZMW as profit and if I include the jerseys, the total profits increase will come to 15,000 ZMW.’
Recently, this summer, Stavia took to her Zidisha discussion page and shared how she’s been progressing in her business. She says, ‘I will buy 3 sewing machines and employ 2 helpers as demand is growing at my tailoring shop. This will help me to serve my customers on time as they bring their orders in bulk, especially school uniforms. Thank you to you all of my lenders for supporting me once again, am so grateful, and may God bless you more.’
Would you like to make a difference in the life of a Zidisha entrepreneur like Stavia? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to see how our other business owners are changing their lives and communities for the better.
Betsy is a Writer and Editor living in Florida with her husband. She has been writing with Zidisha for 5 years and loves sharing the inspiring stories of Zidisha entrepreneurs. You can connect with her on her personal website.
