Meet Beatrice Kasonde, 47, a mother of seven from Kaseba area in Kafue district who has transformed her life through entrepreneurship , thanks to the support from USAID ECAP III program.

Beatrice is one of the 184 recipients of sewing machines handed over last year across six districts in Zambia by CIDRZ’s USAID ECAP III programme.

“I faced challenges with finances and meeting my basic needs. When I received the sewing machine, I seized the opportunity to earn money and improve my situation,” she said.  

Beatrice said that to enhance her enterprise, she had to diversify into barter trading her clothing creations in exchange with essential Agro products such as chickens and groundnuts, which she later resold for additional income.

Beatrice’s journey with ECAP III began through village banking in Nangogwe, where she actively participates in savings and loans. With a loan of ZMW17,000.00, she invested in materials to sew and produce school uniforms for her community. This initiative helped her  to generate  a sustainable income.

” This income has been instrumental in financing my son’s college education, covering essential tuition fees,” she said.

Beyond her sewing business, Beatrice also diversifies her sources of income by selling a variety of other products, highlighting her entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen.

Beatrice is currently fulfilling an order for seventy uniforms for a local school. With this, she now plans to invest in two extra sewing machines and recruit additional staff to scale up operations to meet the growing demand for her products.