Patuma Bakes: Women In Malawi Venture into Entrepreneurship

We told you Patuma’s story in Fund: Her Village Venture. She’s the woman who started a home bakery that earns enough income to make sure her four children attend school and have three meals a day. We checked in with Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee to ask how Patuma is doing and heard things are going well.

Patuma is using the savings earned from her bakery business to diversify. She wanted to make sure that her family was secure, regardless of the unpredictable success of the bakery. So she invested her savings and bought a goat as a back-up solution. Now, the goat has produced three goats giving her a total of four goats.

This business savvy woman has been quite resourceful in growing her business over time. She has been growing her farm too and has already harvested two silos of maize, over 500kg of ground nuts, and 250kg of rice.

Patuma can now afford to feed herself three meals per day, and also helps her community by sharing food with the hungry. She makes sure that her four children are in good health, which is much easier now that she can afford to pay necessary medical bills.

What's in store for Patuma?

We are confident that Patuma will continue to thrive and support her family and community. She is slowly moving out of poverty for the long-term. She is a strong community member and entrepreneur, with a successful bakery that will nourish her family and community in more ways than one. She is a true role model and inspiration locally and globally.

Now that her children are moving towards better health and nutrition, her next priority is the structural security of their shelter. Patuma is planning to purchase iron sheets to replace the grass that she used to thatch her home.

A little goes a long way...

Patuma's successful business venture was possible because of the training, peer support, and loan from Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee. Much like the women who will receive support from Fund: Her Village Venture, which has already raised over $8,000 to help more women in Malawi start their own businesses. Fund: Her Village Venture supports local efforts to create lasting solutions to poverty. Instead of distributing one-time loans, our grantee partners work hard to mentor women and help them set up businesses that will support them, their families, and communities for years to come.

In addition to being able to feed their children and pay medical bills, women in Malawi are making lasting and profound changes in their community. We know that when money is limited, typically boys are sent to school while girls stay home to help with household chores. More women starting their own businesses, means they can afford the tuition fees and can send all of their children to school to provide them with equal opportunities in their own lives.

This way future generations in Malawi will benefit, and will have access to education and better financial security.

Patuma's success with her bakery business reflects the perseverance of mothers, the benefits of sustainable community-based solutions, and a brighter future for generations to come. Donate to Fund: Her Village Venture and help more women in Malawi launch small businesses and keep girls in school.