Secondhand Dreams: Philomena Saved Her Family’s Land with Partnership

Twenty kilometers east of Nairobi’s city center lies a market which never sleeps. Every hour of every day, the bustling Githurai Market serves local Kenyans a cornucopia of goods. Thousands of traders stand behind tables brimming with mountains of colorful fruit or at stalls draped in fabric, jewelry, and more. Philomena is one of those traders. 

For nearly a decade, Philomena sold secondhand clothing from the market, but profits were only enough to get by. Philomena knew her two children deserved the best life she could provide them. So, she and her husband shouldered the burden of an additional business: a taxi service, which they launched in early 2020. But when the pandemic struck just two months later, business crawled to a halt.  

By 2022, things looked dire. What little income they made was scarcely enough to feed their family and pay rent on their house. Additionally, Philomena and her husband still owed 79,000 shillings ($610 USD) on their car. Unable to pay off the loan, they faced losing their familial land, which had been used as collateral to secure the loan.  

One bad thing after another, and now Philomena faced losing nearly everything.  

The Right Partner 

A friend introduced Philomena to Adjacent Possible Finance (APF), a microfinance institution and local partner of Partners Worldwide that seeks to empower local entrepreneurs and communities through access to credit. Earlier that same year, APF began piloting PW’s FinAccess initiative, which purchases loans from lending partners in our network to increase their lending capacity. 

Through APF, Philomena accessed a flexible loan for $3,200 USD, which enabled her to pay off the initial, higher-rate loan on their car. Now, her family’s land was no longer at risk of being seized. The remaining balance from the loan was used to stock her second-hand clothes business. 

An Investment in the Future

Investing in her business has already paid off. With newfound access to capital, Philomena purchased clothing that helped her stand out from her competition, driving sales and increasing her profits. The combined income of Philomena’s two businesses is enough to support her children and provide for their education.   

Philomena plans to purchase even more stock in the future, maximizing her shop’s available space. And she intends to construct a family home on her empty lot—a dream finally made possible through partnership.