First Step Initiative a micro finance organization first showcased on AfricanLoft in 2008, shares a dream of a better world in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – one woman, one family, one village at a time. Their work centers on providing financing for small business enterprises of the very poor.

With the small personal investment of $3,000 we were able to help 60 women entrepreneurs build their businesses and the success of the project exceeded my expectations. The results inspired me to capitalize on our success and expand our services to reach more people. -- Chingwell Mutombu, Founder, First Step Initiative.

Founder, Chingwell Mutombu, conveys how dreams are being turned into reality; women enrolled in the First Step Initiative are lifting themselves from the cycle of poverty.

“On my trip to the Congo in January I saw so many ways that First Step Initiative is growing. Since last fall, the organization has been expanding its reach by helping launch 60 new businesses each month. By the end of December 2009 we had helped more than 200 women start or grow their existing businesses”, Ms. Mutombu writes in the First Step Initiative newsletter.

“In a span of just six months since my last visit in the summer of 2009. For the first time, I realized that our clients are now becoming key players in their local markets and communities”, she adds.

With small seed loans of $100 each, First Step Initiative has provided their clients with greater opportunities, which now help support other businesses.

“They, and other women, have expanded to the point where they are able to own a medium-sized grocery store, a clothing store, or a restaurant.”

Choucho, one of the women on First Step Initiative’s client list dreams of becoming the first Congolese woman to run a wholesale business, “a Costco of Congo”, in Mutombu’s word.

“Commitment to our cause has made it possible for us to serve women entrepreneurs”, the founder stressed.

With continued help from donors, Ms. Mutombu hopes to help 1,300 new entrepreneurs, “we will increase our client base to 1,600 by the end of the year, therefore impacting the lives of at least 9,600 individuals, as a typical Congolese family comprises six children.”

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