Meet the Clients Felicia

Country: Rwanda

Felicia is a farmer living in Rwanda. Through training in finance and agriculture, as well as access to loans and savings, she has been able to invest in her farm. Now, she is an independent earner in her household and is able to provide for her children. 

Felicia is a smallholder farmer, wife and mother to three children in Rwanda. Before, Felicia would work hard on her farm to produce just enough food to feed her family but didn’t have the means to invest in her farm to expand it. Her husband was the sole earner, and she was reliant on him to buy essentials for their home.

Felicia saw exciting new prospects when she joined a farming cooperative. Opportunity provided Felicia and her cooperative with training in agriculture and finance, as well as access to loans and savings. The group opened an account with one of Opportunity’s financial service partners. The group were also given mentors who taught the women how to invest in their farms.

Before I joined the cooperative, I was leading a less-than-ideal life. I didn’t have any money. But ever since I joined, I’m now confident, I have developed.

Felicia learnt how to take out a loan, how to save and how to plan her finances. She is now confident using financial services and can manage her money wisely. Training in agriculture taught Felicia new farming techniques, helping her get the most out of her land and ensure her farm can withstand the impacts of climate change.

With loans she acquired with the help of Opportunity, Felicia was able to purchase chickens, cattle and more crops. Now she has surplus produce to provide an income. New livestock also increases her income and provides her children with nutritious meals.

I didn’t know that eating eggs was a thing. Every meal I give to the children consists of eggs. Now I also get milk for my children from home whenever they want it.

Felicia is also now the President of her farming cooperative. She leads her community and is passing on the knowledge and skills she has learnt from Opportunity. She is inspiring other women in her community to follow in her footsteps.

With simple access to finance and training, Felicia has grown her farm’s prosperity and put her on an equal footing with her husband as a provider for their family. Her children are now well-fed with nutritious meals, and Felicia can look for new opportunities for herself, her family and her farm.

“Through the trainings by Opportunity International, I too was able to unchain myself because, traditionally, a woman stayed at home. If I was not part of Opportunity International, it would have been awful because we didn’t have trainings, we didn’t know the benefits of working with banks.

Now, I can do anything.”