Stories: How financial literacy helps women-and refugee-owned businesses flourish

Noella Nyinawinka, 28 years old, came to Kenya in 2015 with her children and and struggled to get an sustainable income.

She started working at a salon doing men’s shaving, which didn’t require much skill or knowledge of more complex women’s styles. She joined a chama, an informal cooperative group and would contribute weekly and get a lump sum at the end of the year. After joining the CAPYEI program, she was surprised to learn that she didn’t need a lot of start-up to create a business.

“When I joined the program, I paid attention to the lessons and learnt that I needed little capital to start my own business,” she said. “When I joined the chama, the aim was to get 200k to start my own salon, but, given the small amount we were contributing, it would take at least five years to get that amount.”

She took the savings she had made and opened her own salon and barbershop. “This was such a great achievement for my family and me,” she said. “My husband would come help in the Kinyozi (barbershop) when I was overwhelmed.”

Noella also had thought recordkeeping was only significant for large businesses. But when she started recording her own income, she realized they were essential for even small ventures.

Not long after opening, her salon was broken into and most of the equipment was stolen. Instead of giving up, Noella used her new strategies to reopen in a different location. “The new area not only offers security but also has a lot of clients.”

With the increase in clients, she is also adapting her services to the community’s needs. “Our most requested service is the electric tonging, which was initially used for brides. However, more and more people are now adapting it as a normal day hairstyle.”

She has also ventured into bridal makeup. “I have an Instagram account where I post my work, which has grown my clientele. I have learnt how to engage clients and handle them based on their different personalities and temperaments.” 

The training provided by CAP YEI included talent shows to encourage creative skills. Noella found the atmosphere very supportive and discovered she had an audience for her comedy. “The feedback I got from my fellow trainees was overwhelming and gave me the confidence to make it a career. I have a YouTube channel where I will be posting my own skits.”

Her goal is to open more beauty parlours, and she says that based on the training she received in budgeting, saving and goal setting, she should be able to do that by next year.

Nahimana Dianne was 19 years old, married and with a young son when she arrived in Kenya from Burundi in 2019. Nahimana spent most of her early time in Kenya taking care of her family, as she found it dififcult to overcome the language barrier.

“I learnt so much in class,” she said, after establishing her own grocery business using the knowledge she learned in class. “I learnt to live well with people around me, have the self-confidence to set a goal and work towards it, how to solve problems if they arise, and how I can express myself.”

After learning more about fiances, Nahimana saved and started her own stall where she began selling groceries. “I started with fast-moving goods, which include tomatoes, onions, potatoes, oranges and vegetables.” Even though she didn’t have a lot of money to invest, her business grew.

“I believe that through the knowledge I have, I can grow big,” she said, thinking of her future goals and true passions. “I can save enough to start my beauty shop because that is my dream. [CAPYEI’s training] really helped open up my mind, and I realized it’s possible to start small.”

Like Nahimana and Noella, Belyse Iradukunda, 24-years-old, arrived in Kenya from Burundi in 2015 and didn’t have the finaicnal skills to sustain her business. “ I started hawking watermelon and slowly learnt Swahili. I later got a job as a supermarket attendant but quit in 2019 after I got married to take care of my young family,” she said. “I had nothing to show [from the period I was employed] as I never budgeted for any money I got.”

After coming to CAPYEI, she realized that there were factors she needed to consider before setting up a business, such as a target market and the importance of proper budgeting. “I was able to learn the mistakes I did in my previous business and how to rectify them,” she said. “After the training I started hawking watermelon and boiled egg. This time round I have a different approach and strategy.”

Right now, Belyse doesn’t have a physical location but is saving towards that goal now that she has learned more about budgeting and also how to set goals and work towards them.