Early this year two of Togo's biggest markets, Kara and Lomé, were devastated by fire. The fires, which occurred 48 hours apart, destroyed both marketplaces and the hundreds of businesses that lay within their walls.
Lendwithcare’s microfinance partner in Togo, WAGES, told us that the fires were a huge disaster and that many market vendors had lost everything – some lost all their money as well as their stock since they had kept it in the marketplace for safekeeping. A large number of the market vendors, particularly in the Grand Market of Lomé, are clients of WAGES and were faced with the added stress of how to meet loan repayments without a way to generate an income. In this short video update, we learn how WAGES helped clients to get their businesses back up and running as well as reworked repayment schedules (often pausing repayments) to give time for businesses to recover.
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| Watch video here or click picture to view This film was shot and edited by Fiona Molloy and Nik Wood www.nikwoodtv.co.uk |
None of the businesses destroyed in the fires of Kara and Lomé belonged to lendwithcare entrepreneurs since the vendors in these two markets tend to have bigger businesses than those typically supported through lendwithcare. However, some lendwithcare entrepreneurs will have experienced a knock-on effect since many buy their stock from vendors in Lomé market.
With the assistance of organisations like WAGES, most of the vendors are now trading again and the government is in the process of building a new permanent place for them to trade.
Update from the lendwithcare.org team & WAGES staff
You can support dozens of micro-businesses like those in Togo by going to www.lendwithcare.org today!
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