Extraordinary Woman: Meet Queenfrida
As a young mom also caring for her sick brother, Queenfrida was unable to complete her education. She felt trapped in poverty. Today, she runs a booming daycare business serving more than 170 children. Read her Extraordinary story.
BY EMMA MBAGA AND SOLOMON WILLIAM
This story is the first of five in our Extraordinary Women series. Learn more about our Extraordinary Women campaign and help us raise $1 million for Extraordinary Women.
Queenfrida is a 36-year-old woman from Mwanza, Tanzania. Educated through secondary school, she had an opportunity to pursue higher education in India. But before she could go, tragedy struck Queenfrida’s family.
Her father had passed away, and her mother had left the country to find work. She lived alone with her siblings. Queenfrida’s older brother became very ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. With no one else to stay home to watch her brother, she stepped up.
Soon after, she became pregnant with her first son. Life became even tougher when her younger sister died by suicide while in college. Queenfrida had two more children, and caregiving duties kept her busy.
In 2012, Queenfrida heard her neighbors talking about BRAC. At the time, there weren’t many financial institutions providing loans to women with no collateral or existing businesses where she lived. So she applied for her first loan of TZS 200,000 ($80 USD). She struggled—but managed—to repay her loan.
Queenfrida’s microfinance group was made up of seasoned businesswomen, and they guided her. Along with financial literacy lessons from BRAC, her second loan was much more fruitful. She received TZS 400,000 ($150 USD) the following year and had a new business idea to invest in: a daycare center.
Queenfrida reflects, “I was able to utilize my second loan well because of the financial education we received in our group from BRAC.”
Queenfrida has always loved children, and she saw an opportunity during her group meetings. Many women brought their children with them because they didn’t have someone to leave them with.
Queenfrida started small. She used her loan to take a course in daycare center management and rent a room, where she watched the three children of her landlord and her neighbor. Slowly, more parents enrolled their children.
Eventually, she needed more space… a LOT more space! Today, Queenfrida’s daycare welcomes 172 children in ten classrooms. She’s now building a primary school to have even more space and an opportunity for children in daycare to seamlessly transition to school.
There wasn’t any childcare in her village, so Queenfrida started a daycare.
Queenfrida’s daycare fees are affordable to local moms, at just TZS 10,000 ($4 USD) per month. Supporting children in need is important to her, too. She partners with a nearby orphanage and cares for those children free of charge. Most of them are living with HIV/AIDS or disabilities.
A lot of Queenfrida’s daycare expenses were spent on supplies, uniforms, and backpacks. She realized that she could cut down on those expenses by producing them herself. So she used her latest BRAC loan to start a stationery and tailoring shop.
“I have been with BRAC for 12 years because the process of getting a loan is very easy,” Queenfrida reflects. “The terms and conditions are friendlier, the interest rate is manageable, and I do not need to put collateral to access a loan.”
Queenfrida surveys the site of her future primary school. A loan from BRAC is helping her bring this dream to life. Eventually, she wants to run a secondary school, too.
“What keeps me going is seeing what I have been able to accomplish, considering where I have been,” Queenfrida shares. “Also, the recognition and encouragement I receive from people around me gives me peace—and the will to strive to achieve my dreams.”
We have no doubt that she will!
Around the world, 1.7 billion people, more than half of whom are women, don’t have access to financial services. In 2023, BRAC worked with 10.7 million microfinance savers and borrowers. Nearly 90% are women working to grow their businesses.
This season, we’re on a mission to raise $1 million for Extraordinary Women like Queenfrida. Will you join us? Donate today to help more Extraordinary Women like Queenfrida become financially independent and uplift their communities.
Emma Mbaga is Communications Manager and Solomon William is Communications Officer at BRAC Tanzania Microfinance Limited.