By Betsy Ramser Jaime
‘Linda Prempeh is my name, I was born on 14th December, 1983 in Akronpong in Ghana.’ Linda was raised in a household where her father worked as a subsistence farmer and her mother earned a living as a petty trader. As the eldest daughter, Linda worked hard in both her schooling and maintaining her household chores.
Linda’s mother considered education to be a high priority in the family, however, finding the funds for Linda and her siblings to continue their education was not always easy. Fortunately, Linda had both the drive and work ethic to help her parents in their own trades to help support her own education. She shares, ‘I successfully excelled in my basic education certificate exams and entered secondary school. While schooling, I was still selling food items such as fish, secondhand clothing, etc. to earn extra income in supporting my parents.’
As Linda continued to meet and exceed expectations in her studies, she eventually received admission to Accra Polytechnic where she received a Higher National Diploma in Secretaryship and Management Studies. Then, after her national service, she attended the University of Cape Coast and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management.
Sadly, after finishing her degree, the lack of jobs left her unable to find employment, she says, ‘After my degree, due to the lack of jobs, I ventured into poultry farming, where my own people were complaining that this is a “no go zone for women.” Currently, for the past five years now, I have 2000 layers and 800 broilers with four permanent and three casual staffs.’
Upon joining the Zidisha community in 2016, Linda set business goals to expand her poultry farm and employ additional workers. Linda explains, ‘Ghana is a peaceful nation, with a lot of hotels and restaurants, for which demand for poultry birds and eggs is high. Also, the demand for litters as a manure by farmers is high. My poultry farm business is now the only source of income for the family. I am able to supply crates of eggs to the market women from Accra, Madina, Kaneshie, etc. and also poultry birds to hotels and restaurants in these areas and many others.’
Like many businesses, Linda finds that her profits ebb and flow depending on weather, the season, and holidays. Her busiest times of year tend to be during public holidays and during the rainy season, around May through November.
Since joining Zidisha in 2016, Linda has effectively raised 9 Zidisha funded loans ranging in amount from $50 to $1,130.
One of the biggest ways that Linda’s Zidisha funded loans have impacted her business is in purchasing wholesale quantities of poultry feed, drugs, and birds. This is especially important during busy times like the Christmas season, where it’s critical for Linda to have high volumes for her customers to purchase.
Linda continues, ‘With this I have been able to increase the number of staffs in the farm, therefore creating jobs for the teeming jobless youth in my area. This can also help reduce social vices such as arm robbery due to lack of job.’
Through her business, Linda is able to support herself and her family, as well as paying school fees for her younger siblings. In the future, Linda hopes that she will be able to continue growing her business, eventually purchasing her own land, and continuing to employ more and more members of her community.
Would you like to support a driven entrepreneur like Linda? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about other Zidisha business owners all over the world!
