Name
Nazo Yaro
Age
51
What Pangea Women’s Network Cooperative are you apart of?
Tawakal Cooperative
Tell us about yourself
I am a 51-year-old wife, mother of three children as well as a businesswoman. I live in Wasini Island in Kwale County. My businesses involve running a retail shop/grocery shop as well as rearing chicken and goats for sale.
What are you most proud of?
I am proud of the fact that my business keeps expanding and hence I am better able to cater to my family’s needs. Initially, I only had a retail shop with a few items. Little by little, I began to stock it up with more wares as per the customers’ requirements. I quickly learned that if you are a reliable business person and provide what they need on time and of high quality, the business will thrive. My shop has now grown to also include groceries such as tomatoes, onions, eggs, and fruits. In addition, I started keeping poultry which I bought using the loan from Pangea. I attended classes on how to rear egg-laying chicken and I can attest that the results are impressive. Initially, I started with 120 chicken and after they were past their egg-laying age, I disposed of the chicken by selling it to customers for meat. I plan to get another brood of 150 chicken to continue with this business.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned with The Pangea Network?
| The topics that were most important to me were the ones on Business Management, Human Rights and Leadership. As my businesses expand, I have had to have each with its own set of records. I also had to get assistance from my son to run my businesses as I cannot be present in both businesses at once. After showing him what I learned in class concerning record keeping, he took up the system and applied it to my business. I can now concentrate more on supplies and customer relations to improve my business. With Leadership, this has helped me in improving my leadership skills in my group as I am the Chairlady. Handling the different categories of people has proved manageable after I got to understand that all groups have group dynamics among its members and we must learn to accommodate them all since they contribute to the overall success of the group. I sincerely thank the Pangea fraternity as they boosted my business to a higher level than it was before and improved my life. I would urge other women to be open-minded when aid comes their way such as the way The Pangea Network has benefited the members of Tawakal Cooperative. |
