Abundance of Entrepreneurship

One of the most shocking things about Ouagadougou is the number of stalls that line the street.  I have been to a number of countries, but the I have never seen this method of survival so clearly etched into the fabric of the city.  We drive about 10 kilometers to get to the school, and there are very few breaks in the river of textile stores, make-shift mechanic shops, barbecues for corn or chicken, and convenience "boutiques" that flow alongside the main road.  This are not stores created for tourist dollars, cause there are none, these are shops for the local people, created by the local people.  They are generating their own economy!

Of course I do not want to misguide you, these are not stores by our standards and they generate little income.  But what is so cool about them is that the stalls serve a social role (people hang out in front of each others businesses) and they demonstrate a culture of entrepreneurship.  Facing a lack of structure from the government, people have carved their own path of survival, and this path is a positive one, from which many people benefit.

Roadside Business

Knowing this, it is with great confidence that we can invest in these women.  So today we met with the second group of women who have applied for a small loan of $200.  These loans are to help them continue and expand their existing business ventures.  The women meet with Francois (the director of the school) twice a month to troubleshoot and give updates on their progress.  Once a  woman has repaid her loan and has attended these meetings, she can reapply for another loan.  The women are very happy to have this opportunity.  This also guarantees that their children stay in school because they are able to generate more income and pay school fees.  These women have also requested to have night classes so that they can learn to read and write.  This is great progress :)

The second group of mothers in the micro-credit program

On a side note: The women took a while to smile for their photos. At first they were soooo serious!  They were smiling right up until the moment they stood in front of the camera, and suddenly the smile vanished! But as I was showing them their photos on the digital camera, I saw that they really liked seeing the photos of their children.  I offered to print off the photos downtown and Francois would give them to them the next day.  Well they couldn't get in front of the camera fast enough after that, and they were all smiles.  This has been my favourite experience so far.  I like that I could give them something tangible; something that they wanted and clearly valued.  It was a good day.