Success Stories

W/O Tsion G/mesekele

Like always, w/o Tsion and Ato Tariku have arrived early to start their daily routine. Although there are now staffs who they hired to work under them, they have to supervise the business and have to lend their hand in case some gaps occur.
Ten years ago the couple was leading an altogether different life. Ato Tariku become unemployed and he had no income, while his wife was earning Birr 70 per month by working in tailor shop .It is not difficult to imagine the challenges they were facing to sustain their family of four .This is now history as the couple disentangled themselves from poverty and realized their vision to become rich.

W/O Tsion expresses the change in their life as follows:

My husband was employed and earning monthly salary, where as I had no job until I had my second child and I was dependent on what my husband was able to earn. We were living in one-roomed house my uncle gave me. As my child were growing and as I faced a big difficulty to sustain economic hardship, I started to work in a tailor shop for monthly salary of Birr 70.It was barely three months after I started working in the tailor shop that my husband was expelled from his work. Our family had thus to entirely depend on the birr 70 per month I was able to get working in tailor shop. At the time it was my husband who was undertaking all household chores.
In 1985 the municipality was allocating residential plots that were meant for low income households. As many people were registered, the plots were many distributed on a lottery basis and I was fortunate enough to get a plot .As I didn’t have enough money, however, I could not immediately start the construction of the house. It was using the small money I obtained from my mother that I somehow managed to construct a small one-roomed house. I was renting this and earning some income, while we were living in a shelter we improvised from “Satera” and that was not even able to protect us from splashes of rain.
I heard for the first time about WISE while I was working at the tailor shop. I immediately became a member and started to save in my SACCO that allowed me to obtain basic business skills training. The focus of the training was enhancing our business skills and inspiring us to transform ourselves .After getting the training, I decided to quit my job and took the first loan of Birr 500.Adding the small amount of money I obtained as compensation from my previous employer, I opened a small shop in improvised structure that I constructed within my compound ,I was preparing and selling Injera ,Shiro and Berbere,but ,as the business was not that much profitable. I had to switch to selling gift articles as I was able to get “Teletafi Suk” , A small mobile shop, from the municipality that was promoting micro and small enterprises. Like the first one, I had to quit the new business as it was non-profitable.
I then took loan from my SACCO with which I constructed five bed rooms on my plot to rent them as pension. Initially, it was my husband and I who were responsible for cleaning and taking care of the business as we were not in a position to hire workers at that time. As we were new to the business ,we were bit confused at the beginning but we gradually understood the work. As our business gradually picked up, we decided to rent a residential house somewhere else so that we could add more rooms on our plot. Although we were able to finish, the construction of additional rooms, they remained vacant for quite a long period as we hadn’t enough money to furnish them. A neighbor who saw our difficulty volunteered to borrow us Birr 11,000 which we took to furnish the rooms. As we have succeeded in expanding our pension business, we had to hire workers .I find this to be a big change as we started from the scratch .We were getting birr 70 birr per month, our capital has now reached above birr 3 million. Our life would have remained difficult if I was not registered with WISE that allowed me to obtain the training that brought significant changes in my life and the loans I utilized as working capital. We are also planning to construct a six-storey building on our plot and to expand our business.

Ato Tariku,Tsions’s husband ,Remembers his previous life as follows:
I was unemployed for about 10 years since 1991 and our family was relying on the monthly salary of Birr 70 my wife was getting working in a tailor shop. As our income was too small to hire a housemaid, I was the one who was washing clothes, cooking food and taking our children to and from school and carrying out other household chores. I had to pay this sacrifice as she had to go to work. I am happy to see that our efforts have now bore results.

W/O Zinash Alemu

As usual, W/O Zinash Alemu has commenced her fruits and vegetable trade early in the morning.She has parked her car along the road leading to Akaki and is busy trying to attract attention of potential customers.Her husband is busy selling fruits and vegetables in another location using another pick-up vehicle.

According to Zinash, a total of of 30 workers including her and her husband engaged in their business.although they are currently undertaking their business in temporary site,they have already started constructing a permanent business premise that would protect them from dust,the scorching sun and strong winds.According to Zinash,this is a big change as things were different seven years ago.Before getting registered as a member of WISE,she was selling different items by roving around the city,while she is now using pick-up to sell fruits and vegetables by moving from one place to another

W/O Zinash narrates her story as follows:

Seven Years ago,our family was subsisting on the daily income of Birr 16 per month which my husband was getting working as a welder.Worried about the challenges we were facing to tackle economic hardships,I started selling vegetables in "Akaki" by traveling from our home which was in "Gotera" area.Yet this couldn't change our lives.

It was one of my neighbors who was already a member of a WISE SACCO who advised me to join WISE.She told me that I would get business skills training and advise that would allow me to start business and transform my life.Although I was a bit worried initially about not being able to repay the loan,thanks to the relentless encouragement from my neighbor,I started saving in my SACCO and obtained basic business training.The training was very educative as it allowed me to appreciate that women should be actively engaged in income generating activities.Since then I have taken different types of business related trainings.Before I took the business skills training from WISE,I never thought that women should work outside home,specially after having children,as I thought husbands should look after their families.The training helped me appreciate that women should also help their husbands by engaging in income generating activities.

I could have borrowed Birr 500 if my saving had reached 50.However,as I couldn't save that much I was able to borrow only birr 369 with which I started a fruits and vegetables retailing business.The consecutive loans I was then able to take from my SACCO allowed me to expand my business and transform my life.When I carry out my business in one location using one of the pick up vehicles,my husband would do the same in another location using the second vehicle.We have achieved all these because we were able to assist and support one another.Even though my husband and I jointly own the business,we take our monthly Salaries,which is based on the business management training we obtained from WISE.

Before registering as a member of WISE,I was engaged in trading which I was undertaking moving from one place to another.I didn't have sufficient capital at that time.What I have been able to achieve now is a big change for me as my situation at that time was quite different from what I succeeded to achieve now.It is important to respect and be committed to do any type of work.It is also important to have a strong conviction that it is possible to transform a small business to a bigger one provided you work hard.

We could not have achieved what we have now if my husband wasn't supporting me.His support and encouragement was critical for what ever I was able to achieve.After I joined WISE,I was hearing about many my husbands who were not happy about their wives joining WISE.I could neither have joined WISE nor continued my membership if it were not for the encouragement and support I obtained from my husband.

w/o Melkam Wondemu and Ato Abraham Yuhune

Previously,we were living in a small,three meteres by three meteres mud plastered(Chika)house.I even remeber the time when the walls of the house collapsed and we had to buy secondhand corrugated iron sheets from a door to door recyclable materials collector(Koralio) to mend it as we were not in a position to buy new ones.Today,thansks to WISE,we have constructed a three-room house with additional service quarters.

Before we started living in this congested one-room house we were living in Gojam,before we came to Addis Ababa where we were for some time engaged in honey,butter and vegetables retailing business.While my in-law gave us the working capital and we contribute our labor for which we were entitled to retain a third of the profit.

Although the business appeared quite good at the beggining ,we were forced to abandon it as we got bankrupt and we had a lot of debt.Following this,our life became miserable and I had to start a roadside retailing business('Gulit trade')which I was carrying out during the day time.I was also working at the Coffe Board during the night shift at a daily rate of Birr 4:50.
My husband,who was assisting me in my business during the day time,was also working with me at the Coffe Board as a daily laborer.

Initially,someone who was working at WISE advised me to join the organization so that I would be able to take loans and start my own business.I became a member of a SACCO orgnized under WISE in AUGUST 2000 as I was determined to get credit and expand my business so that I can tackle my economic problems.After starting saving in my Sacco,participate in a 12 days basic business skills training that brought about significant changes in my life.During the evening,I was discussing with my husband what I was learning from the various training sessions.After saving Birr 50,I was able to take the first loan of Birr 500 with wich I started a fruits and vegetables retailing business.Initiially,my husband was not happy about the business I started with the loan I took from the SACCO.His main fear was I would go bankrupt and fail to repay the loan so that I would drag him into difficulties.

However, as I was telling him about the training,he eventuallly realized that it is possible to start a small business and transform it in to medium and large scale business and started to assist me and was even substituting when I had to attend trainings. I took the first loan and started the business only thinking that it would help me just to meet my basic needs and I had never thought I would reach this status.

After repaying the first loan, I took the second and later the third loans with which I was able to buy sufficient stock for my business I eventually expanded.During the period when the city administration was providing support to micro and and small enterprises,I was able to acquire a plot of land under a short-term lease which I could use to construct a business premise.

I borrowed Birr 6,000 with wich I constructed a shed using corrugated iron-sheet that allowed me to expand my business.After repaying this loan,I was able to borrow another Birr 8,000 from the SACCO with which my husband and I started a recyclable metal and plastic materials collecting business.I also took additional
loans of Birr 10,000 and 15,000 with which I opened new shops in different locations and expanded my business that allowed me to fully repay the loans I took from my SACCO.

I do not think I would have achieved all these if I did not take the training provided by WISE or if I have not put it int good practice.I am no more engaged in Gulit trade as I opened a fruits and vegetables shop.Like wise,my husband has transformed his door-to-door recyclable metal and plastic products which he directly supplies to recycling factories.The business which has proved to be a good source of income,has contributed to the improvements we were able to see in our life.At present, I have taken a loan of Birr 20,000 and my saving has already reached Birr 16,000.Moreover,apart from being able to construct a residential house,I have bought two pick up vehicles.In general,in cooperation with my husband,the capital of our business has reached over Birr 1.3 million.The training I obtained from WISE helped us a lot in the decisions we took in terms
of changing business lines and hence what we have been able to achieve at present.

In addition to the business related trainings,we have also obtained gender-related training that helped us to develop a positive attitudinal change that was beneficial to our daily lives.As I have to go to work early in the morning,it is my husband who is taking care of our children as well as taking them from home to school and bring them back.My husband and I support one another in carrying out household chores.I advise women to learn from my experience and stop being dependent and transform their lives by supporting their husbands.