By Betsy Ramser Jaime
Emmanuel Nkrumah is a man who wears a lot of hats as a trader, farmer, social worker, and founder of a school. In his work as a trader, he sells foodstuffs and agro-chemicals on market days in his village to farmers. This is an important need as farming employs 95% of the people in his community. He has also found that these products sell quickly and that he is able to make a sustainable profit.
As a social worker, he works with the NGO, Compassion For Humanity Foundation. Through this organization they help the community and youth learn a trade that they can pursue as a career. In addition, he has also started a school called, ‘Compassionate Kids School’ so that the children in his community could receive a better education. This is particularly close to his heart as he has four children of his own.
Since Emmanuel discovered Zidisha in 2013, he has successfully raised 7 loans with a consistent and high repayment rate. He set out to raise his first Zidisha funded loan back in December 2013 and requested $49 from lenders. With this loan, he was able to purchase more fertilizers and seeds to sell to farmers on market days, thus increasing his overall stock. He notes, ‘This not only will improve my business but my life and support my family as well.’
After successfully repaying his first loan, he was ready for his next one in February 2014, for $139. For this loan, he purchased farm tools, as these had been requested by his customers. He also needed to continually replenish his stock of fertilizers and seeds. The following month, Emmanuel was ready for a $393 loan as he found himself ready to purchase a freezer so that he could start selling fresh fish. The remainder of the loan was put towards additional farming products and tools to sell.
By June 2014, he was ready for another loan of $497 as he shared with lenders, ‘With your support my business has grow well of the few months I join Zidisha. My Current loan is to help me buy more farm product and tools for sale. I have the intention to also buy new product as well. Also, I plan to buy more fresh fish, since I now have a freezer, and the frozen fish business is doing well. I believe this will keep my business ongoing. Thanks Zidisha, really this is the place to Secure an affordable online loan for greater works.’
With his next loan, in March 2015, for $725, he was ready for help in investing in his school. He noted that the loan would go towards teaching and learning materials for the children as well as a poly tank so that the children would have water. He explains, ‘We lack water at the moment, as the rains have not started and sometimes we have to drink from a stream within the town. Before we used to harvest rain water, but now there is no rain and no water for the school. Daily, children are ask to pay 1 Ghc and these will be used to support the repayment of the loan. The loan will also be used to assist children who are unable to pay for daily feeding at the school and later parents pay back. So all children can have the right to the quality education that Compassionate Kids School is offering.’
By the end of 2015, Emmanuel was ready for another Zidisha funded loan of $681. He shared that with the assistance of parents and teachers, his school has been able to add three classrooms. However, with this loan, they will be able to purchase roofing sheets for the school building.
Most recently, he requested a loan of $910 in June 2017 in order to purchase tools and equipment for the students who are trying to learn a trade. In addition, by having these tools available to take home with them, they can earn an additional income for themselves and their families. The remainder of the loan not used for these tools was put towards supporting the school with books and materials.
Would you like to invest in a community, teacher, or leader like Emmanuel? Make sure to head on over to our Lend page to read stories of dozens of borrowers working hard to improve their communities.
