Change a Girl's Life Through Microentrepreneurship

Margaret's story is one of resilience. She fled from the conflict in Bafut a village in the NorthWest region of Cameroon to Muyuka in Mautu a village in Cameroon's  southwest region and started a small business selling  Groundnut paste. However, despite her best efforts, the business soon hit a dead end due to insufficient capital.

Fortunately, Margaret's fortunes changed when ReachOut's social workers identified her during a door-to-door identification process. They recognized her potential and provided her with training in entrepreneurship, business management, savings, and the use of technology in business. Moreover, she was supported her with a capital injection of ($95) 57,200 CFA to kick-start her "Groundnut paste" business all over again.

With this fresh start, Margaret proved to be outstanding in time management and diversification of the market. She woke up early every day to go to the market and sell her wares, which allowed her to face very little competition. After receiving a second round of training and an additional capital injection of ($190) 114,400 CFA, which she used to expand her business. Now, she produces her goods in great quantity and sells them in four different markets, a significant improvement from her previous situation.

Through her business profits and her newfound knowledge of investment and plowing back into her business, Margaret was able to rent farmland to cultivate food for home consumption, which she also used to augment her business. Today, her hard work and perseverance have paid off, and she has successfully improved her business capital to ($350) 210,000 CFA. Margaret's story is a testament to the power of  training and financial support in transforming lives and communities.

 "I express my deep gratitude towards ReachOut and its partners  for giving me another chance to rise above my difficulties and i am thankful for the startup capital giving to me which has helped me get back on track". said margerate