Nelta Munhaque's story of change

NAMPULA - Twenty-eight (28) year old Nelta is a mother of three children and lives in Nampula City of Mozambique. She is a member of the Nampula Women’s Credit Cooperative which has the purpose of making savings and granting loans.

After attending an ILO training course on Business Management; A Step Forward for Increasing Household Income, Nelta had access to a loan of 50,000 Meticais granted by the Nampula Women’s Credit Cooperative.

She used the loan to set up her own transport company, providing taxi services and employing two full time drivers.
Nelta’s income has significantly improved reaching up to 80,000 Meticais a year, from which 50,000 Meticais are her gross profit.

“Life has improved. I have managed to buy another vehicle and build an extension to my house. In my opinion, the key to success for a company to operate well is to love one’s work, to know your goals properly, and to know how to manage the business, separating the costs of the business from those of the family.” She explains.

When she set up her company, there were various reactions. She was confronted with some of the typical gender stereotype issues in the world of work.
“Often society doesn’t believe that women can be as successful in business as men, and for me it was no different...” she described.

However, with determination and diligence to her work, Nelta has been successful to apply the principles learnt from her training opportunity with the ILO and now defies the odds in the transport sector business in Nampula.