Imagine leaving your home and starting over in a new country. You didn’t choose to leave; you had to flee because of violence. You, along with your young children, have to figure out the logistics of survival all over again, especially income and food.
Elisabeth is a 39-year-old shop owner and mother living in Nyabiheke Camp, a refugee camp in Rwanda.
Being here and being a shop owner was not her original plan. Her situation is not the sort that she, or anyone, could see coming.
But through her proactive nature, adaptability, and tenacity, Elisabeth is now able to better provide for herself and her children.
Escaping conflict in Congo
There is ongoing armed conflict in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo between various groups, part of a larger conflict over minerals and territory that has lasted since the 1990s.
Fighting has displaced 6.9 million people and created 1 million refugees who have fled the country, seeking refuge in neighboring countries like Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Elisabeth and her children are among the many people forced to flee violence. “We were being chased,” Elisabeth remembers.
Building a new life in Rwanda
In 2005, after Elisabeth and her family arrived at Nyabiheke Camp in Rwanda, she knew she needed to find a way to earn money and support her family. “I thought to myself, ‘let me look for ways I can start a small trading business, so that we can at least have a means of living.’”
And Elisabeth needed to figure out something, quickly; their situation in the camp was far from easy. “...we lived a very difficult life.”
Eventually, she found work by trading tomatoes in the market.
This provided some income, but not much. Elisabeth would take the little money she made and use it to buy more goods to resell, making just a small profit. That work wasn’t enough for her family to live on.
Transforming her business and bringing it home
One day, Elisabeth says, she heard about Inkomoko, a Kiva lending partner that helps support entrepreneurs in Rwanda and other countries across East and Central Africa, after they came to the camp.
Elisabeth saw the opportunity to make a change in her and her family’s lives. If selling at markets wasn’t fruitful, she thought, there had to be another way.
“ I thought,’ Let me see if I can work from home,’” Elisabeth recalls.
“Selling at markets doesn't always go well; let me try opening a shop instead; it might work,” Elisabeth thought.
By creating a shop in her home, Elisabeth could save time, increase profits, and cook her children’s meals while they were at school.
Through a Kiva loan, Elisabeth was able to actualize her plan. She opened her at-home shop and says the chance she took on herself paid off. “I do better with the shop than I did selling at the markets.”
Challenges refugees face when trying to financially rebuild their lives
Elisabeth and her family are one of the millions of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide who have had to leave their homes and start life over somewhere new.
Currently, 1 in 70 people worldwide are displaced. And by 2030, the total number of displaced people is expected to grow to 300 million.
When refugees and IDPs are forced to flee their homes, they leave behind not just their belongings, but also their careers, communities, and financial security.
And when they arrive in their new host countries, they face a number of challenges that make it difficult to access financial resources, such as loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts. If a refugee or IDP lost their ID or documentation while fleeing or doesn’t speak the language of their host country, this can make it harder for them to get the resources they need to rebuild and resettle.
Plus, in some places, there is an intense stigma against refugees, which causes a form of financial discrimination. To put it plainly, the misconception that refugees and IDPs are less financially responsible than other groups, despite Kiva proving their reliability through an average 96% loan repayment rate, is damaging to refugees’ futures.
But when refugees get the financial resources they need, instead of just surviving, they can thrive.
Kiva’s work with refugees and IDPs
Data from a 60 Decibels report shows that 91% of refugees and IDPs who received loans reported an increase in business income, 83% reported an increase in their savings, and 94% reported an overall improvement in quality of life.
Kiva has been lending to refugees since 2016, with the help of local lending partners such as Inkomoko. And every day, lenders around the world contribute $25 or more to help support refugee entrepreneurs, like Elisabeth.
More than a loan
Elisabeth received not only a loan but also financial and business training from Inkomoko. “We were taught how to use money wisely and improve our living conditions.”
With her increased profit, Elisabeth is better able to buy essentials like food and clothing for her family.
Elisabeth has plans and hope for the future. She wants to move her and her family out of the refugee camp, build her own house, and further ensure that her children have access to quality education.
As for her business, Elisabeth wants to move into wholesale.
Scaling refugee financial inclusion
Kiva is committed to expanding support for refugees and internally displaced people globally.
Kiva lenders are ensuring refugees and IDPs have the resources they need to rebuild their lives financially. This way, refugees and IDPs can buy food, put their children through school, get the household supplies they need, and plan for the future.
Join us in supporting refugee and IDP entrepreneurs worldwide.
