Lydia K – Agricultural Production (Adja-ouèrè, Benin)
Lydia is 52 years old, and is a widow with 4 children. She did not have the opportunity to finish primary education herself, but all her children are enrolled in school.
Lydia works producing red palm oil, which is a traditional African cooking oil that is being increasingly used in Asia and the developing world because it contains a number of phytonutrients. She runs an oil production unit behind her house and employs 2 workers at fair wage. Palm nuts are produced locally in Adja-Ouèrè village, and she sells the oil both to wholesalers and retail in the nearby Houinhi and Monzoungoudo markets.
The loan will be used to two large lorry loads of palm nuts allowing her to employ helpers and increase her production. By expanding her business, she hopes to better secure the education of her children. The loan is provided through ACFB Benin, a non-governmental organization that offers savings facilities as well as individual and group loans, mainly to women microentrepreneurs who are engaged in a range of small-scale commercial activities and agricultural and livestock production.
