TV Presenter Kate Garraway meets Yawa Lores, an entrepreur from Togo who has got a microloan for her small business through lendwithcare. © CARE/Emily BaileyNew micro-lending website allows people in the UK to make a difference, without spending a penny
CARE International UK took daytime TV presenter Kate Garraway to Togo, West Africa, to visit individuals working their way out of poverty by starting their own business. Kate is an official ambassador of the new poverty fighting website lendwithcare.org - , a new that micro-lending website that allows people in the UK to lend from as little as £15 to entrepreneurs in the world’s poorest countries, to help get their business off the ground. Kate spent time visiting entrepreneurs who have used the money lent to them through the website, to see how their business is helping to provide a better future for them and their families.
During her experience, Kate met Yawavi Tchegnon, a hairdresser in Atakpame who runs her own hair salon. With the help of lendwithcare.org she has been able to buy better supplies for her business and recruit some apprentices, allowing her to become financially independent, and give her two children a better future.
No stranger to early morning starts, Kate was keen to see Batchassi N’Kore, a mill grinder who starts work at 4am, grinding flour everyday. After losing his job, Batchassi refused to let his family suffer. He set up his own flour grinding business with the money lent to him via lendwithcare.org and has since been able to send his son to the best school in the area.
Following her experience in Togo, Kate commented: “Having recently set up my own discount website goodypass.com, I know first hand the challenges that everyone faces in getting started in business, but I was completely blown away when I visited the entrepreneurs in Togo, whose energy and enthusiasm is utterly inspiring. These mums and dads just want the chance to use their own hard work to lift themselves and their families out of poverty and lendwithcare.org gives them that chance. It has been amazing and very moving to see how the money that has been lent by myself and others in the UK, has already had such a dramatic impact on the lives of families there.”
lendwithcare.org is the first UK site of its kind to harness the expertise of one of the world’s largest international development organisations. The website has transformed the way people can help others in developing countries. The micro-lender’s contribution is then repaid at the end of the loan for them to keep, recycle by re-investing in another budding entrepreneur, or donate to CARE’s work.
The loans will allow small businesses to thrive and enable entrepreneurs to earn income, send their children to school, feed their families and, of course, gain economic independence as their business grows. The entrepreneur receives 100% of the loan that they requested; no administrative charges are deducted from the entrepreneur’s loan.
The lendwithcare.org website has a whole portfolio of entrepreneurs seeking funding for you to choose from, helping you to give someone living in poverty the chance to make a new life for themselves and their family.
