How Financial Literacy and VSLA Empowered a Rural Mom to Launch a Shoe-Making Business in Kano

Saving culture is one of the difficult attributes to cultivate, especially among the Vulnerable living in rural areas. Access to banks has also made saving difficult for them. The introduction of the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) in these rural communities has helped in building their interest in saving money, and through financial literacy, the beneficiaries have an understanding of the importance of saving.

Hajiyya Alawiyya Abdullahi, a member of Aminan Juna VSLA group, has five children, and she is also a stay-at-home mom with no source of income. She was introduced to the savings group by a Community Case Management Worker.

Hajiyya Alawiyya, who is fully dependent on her husband for every expense in the household, was counselled on the benefits of acquiring a skill or having an income-generating Business. She decided to be an active savings member in her VSLA group to save money to start a business. Since she showed interest in shoe making and she already has a sewing machine, the CCMW linked her to a place where she acquired the skill of shoe making for six months.

During the share-out, she was able to save a total amount of 9500 Naira, which she used in starting her shoe-making business. She was able to make twenty-one shoes with different designs, and it was sold within her community. She realizes a total amount of 12,000 Naira after selling for 600 Naira per pair.

The second batch of shoes she made was taken to Kofar Wambia and Ibo Road Market, these markets are located in different LGAs in Kano state.

Hajiyya Alawiyya Abdullahi was thankful for the ICHSSA 3 project intervention. She said:

“I am now empowered with the capacity to help my household, and I have also gained respect from my husband for being supportive in my little way. I no longer wait for him before I feed my self and the children’’.