Teresa Joana Tito, lives in Beira, with her husband and young children. Before training at Young Africa Beira she sold fruit and vegetables in an attempt to satisfy her families financial needs. However, she did not earn enough to make ends meet. Her husband was also unemployed.

As her dream was always to run her own take-away, Teresa enrolled in the Catering course at Young Africa Beira. She attended training from January to June 2018. During the training she received practical and theoretical lessons, entrepreneurship training and life skills education.

During the course she found out about Young Africa Beira’s micro-credit programme, funded by Irish Aid and SERVE. The programme offers graduates the opportunity to receive interest-free loans to start their own businesses. She submitted her business plan (developed with information obtained during entrepreneurship training) and all other documents for review. Her plan was approved.

After a market assessment, she opened her take-away in a busy catchment area close to the local university. With the income she generates through her take-away she can pay for her children’s school fees, look after her family’s needs and she has also started to rebuild her home following the devastating Cyclone Idai