By Betsy Ramser Jaime
Attending Junior high school at Shiloh International and Effiduase Senior high school, Priscilla Appiah shares, ‘even though I was a brilliant student, I did not get support to reach my dreams in education as I planned to. But I know all is not over for me because I hope to go back to the classroom to continue my education.’
Even though things have not turned out exactly as Priscilla might have planned she is encouraged and optimistic about the future sharing, ‘It is by the support of people who see the good in me that I am surviving now. I started working on a commission basis with some natural health clinic in which I have managed to get myself a mobile money sim card that I am working operating now to gather money to help me to go back to school.’
Today, Priscilla has a small business where she sells provisions and operates a mobile money business in a container shop near her home. She intentionally chose this location as she says, ‘We live in a new developing site where people in the surroundings move far to buy provisions for their consumption, hence the decision to sell these items.’ Because of her close proximity to her business, she’s able to open early and close late to accommodate her customers.
With her profit, she is able to pay her rent and reinvest in her business. Joining Zidisha in 2017, Priscilla has now raised 8 Zidisha funded loans. Through these loans, Priscilla has grown her mobile money business and also built her own container. Upon the completion of her container, Priscilla set out for her next loan of $250, sharing, ‘I am going to use this money to sell notebooks, exercise books, mathematical sets, pens, pencils, erasers, paint, and color. Now that we are in schooling season this will keep me working and also help these students and pupils not to cross the roads to buy some of these items. The profit on this will be 10% and there will be a discount to single parents and grandparents taking care of their grandchildren. Some of the items I have started selling are pamphlets and textbooks.’
By August 2020, Priscilla was raising loans of almost $1,000, helping her to increase her stock in her shop and to add in new products as requested by her customers. She also set a goal to hire some additional workers in her shop, allowing her to expand, and also provide employment opportunities for her community members.
Would you like to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur like Priscilla? Make sure to head over to our Browse Projects page to see what other Zidisha business owners are doing around the world.
Betsy is a Writer and Editor living in Florida with her husband. She has been writing with Zidisha for 5 years and loves sharing the inspiring stories of Zidisha entrepreneurs. You can connect with her on her personal website.
