Solar lamps & clean cookstoves for rural women & girls
Francis Mbewe
Chipata, Zambia
55% repaid
Entrepreneur
Name
Francis Mbewe
Member since
March 2016
On-time repayments
348 installments • 77%
About Me
Growing up in a Village and raised by great grandmother, i studied under a kerosene lamp and every month i missed school due to sickness caused by the fumes from the kerosene lamps. Its an experience i don't wish any child or woman to go through. My great grandmothers meager earning she used to have was mostly spent on my medication, while my uncles were busy abusing my aunties and spending their money on beers. I grew up knowing the challenges women go through. I grew up knowing that when a woman is empowered then the whole village is empowered. I saw it through my great grandmother Sofia and through my aunties.
Its this experience that has shaped my career path. I chose to be a Social Entrepreneur so that i can create opportunities for women and girls. So that i can enable women and girls have equal accesses to products and services that can put them on a road to economic prosperity.
My Business
For the past 3 years i set up Kukula Solar, a social business that seek to distribute 100,000 solar products to rural and peri urban communities of Zambia. 90% of these solar products will be put in the hands of women and girls so that they can be empowered to do more. For girls, to study for longer hours and for women to work for longer hours. Its here at Zidisha were we launched this social business and together we have distributed over 3,000 solar lanterns. We still have 97,000 solar lanterns to distribute, thats why i invite all our lenders here to help us get these life changing products to the women and girls I'm so passionate about!
Loan Proposal
With this microloan, I plan to restock clean cookstoves and solar lanterns to distribute to my customers in Lundazi and Petauke District of Eastern Province.
The total units I will buy with this loan will be 600 and will help families in rural communities of Lundazi and Petauke to be able to use solar lanterns instead of kerosene and also cook under a smart clean stove using biomass such as cow dung instead of cutting trees.
This business continues to create benefits for families we distribute to and also to the environment. We are encouraging people to stop cutting trees and using dirty sources of energy for lighting and cooking. This helps us to conserve our forest and also help combat climate change.
Income Source
My business model is very unique because I only distribute products that bring life-changing opportunities for people. All the products I sell are essential products that are very much on demand. With a unique repayment plan that allows my customers to pay I'm installment, it enables me to have money weekly hence making it possible to manage to repay for the microloan on a weekly basis.
My Videos
Jan 18, 2021: Impacting lives using zidisha loans
Feedback
Positive
9
Neutral
None
Negative
None
Loan Info
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$1,325.94
Date disbursed
May 15, 2021
Repayment status
Late
Projected term
7 months
Cost to entrepreneur
Service fee: $83.11
Credit risk payment:
$332.56
Other loans
Lenders
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tromso, Norway, Norway
Germany
Gold River, Canada
Wellington, New Zealand
United States
Germany
Frankfurt Germany, Denmark
United Kingdom
United States
Devon, United Kingdom
United States
Germany
Austria
United States
Australia
United States
Brussels, Belgium, Belgium
United States
Switzerland
United States
United States
Canada
United States
Denmark
Germany
United States
United States
Germany
Austria
United States
Germany
United States
Cuenca, Equador
Sweden
Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
United States
United States
Colombia
Houston, United States
Kirkland, WA, United States
Germany
Germany
Antwerpen, Belgium
United Kingdom
United States
Alice Springs, Australia
United States
Canada
Germany
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United States
Karlsruhe, Germany
United States
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Italy
Switzerland
Markham, Canada
Vancouver, Canada
United States
Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
Fullerton, United States
United States
Ask Francis a question about this loan project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.
Kirk Moore Jul 9, 2021
Cianna Jan 18, 2021
David Jan 17, 2021
David Dec 1, 2019
TomF925 Mar 7, 2019
TomF925 Mar 21, 2017
Jan de Wit Mar 20, 2017
BernadetteV Mar 19, 2017
Loading...