Ojo, Tanzania

Ojo is 22 and lives in the village of Morogoro in Tanzania. In Tanzania, only 13% of young adults have a bank account compared with 44% of adults over 25. Ojo, like many other young people, didn’t have access to financial services.

Ojo had aspirations to start his own business so he could support himself, but he didn’t have the resources and skills he needed to make this a reality.

After attending a training session at his local church, he was inspired by the other young people who had started their own businesses. So Ojo joined a Group too and started saving.

After six months he took his first loan and was able to start a small business selling sunflower oil. He used the profits to invest in the future of his business and to pay his school fees.

With the knowledge he gained from his Group and his further studies, he did some market research and identified popcorn could be a very profitable business. And so with his latest loan, Ojo rented a popcorn machine and also bought seeds to grow vegetables in his garden.

His business has flourished and he now has big plans to buy his own popcorn machines with his next loan and expand into rice cultivation.

This story was written by Five Talents UK staff for our 2018 Impact Report: Momentum. You can read the full report by clicking here. Learn more about how you can support our partners so more entrepreneurs, like Ojo, can build a brighter future.