Utete, TZ – OMM general store – 27 Jun 2014

The OMM family received a small-business loan from Better Lives and the Kindwitwi Development Association in October 2010. Prior to the loan the family had been running a small general store and they used the loan to buy items in bulk and increase their profit margins. The family was so successful running their business that they were able to pay off their loan early and get a second loan to further expand the business. They got their next loan in July 2013 and used it to purchase a refrigerator, tables, and chairs so that people could get cold drinks and relax. The family also built an open-air, roofed-in patio for customers to sit under. Located at the village bus stand, this small business creates a pleasant welcome sight to visitors.

The family has been using profits from the business to expand their business and improve their lives. They bought a motorcycle to help them get store supplies from the nearest town and to help the family drive out to their farm. They are also putting their children through school. The family has even been able to send their eldest daughter, who will soon finish high school, to a boarding school in Morogoro. She has a dream of becoming an engineer. The family has two other children who are in primary school.

The OMM family has said that one of the biggest difficulties of running their business is planning for the future. Families in Kindwitwi have very sporadic income streams based on harvest seasons which are becoming less and less predictable each year. When people aren’t getting money from their farms, the shopkeepers don’t have any customers.

As the village chairman and also a member of the Kindwitwi Development Association, the father of the OMM family is very enthusiastic about the power of small loans and other financial tools to help people improve their lives. “Many people needs loans,” he says, “If we can give more, even small, it will help families a lot.”