Unlock Potential

Janet Jolly Sephora

YOUR GIFT COULD PROVIDE LIFE-CHANGING FINANCIAL TRAINING AND BUSINESS SUPPORT

Will you unlock the potential of more people like Janet, Jolly and Sephora?

This Christmas your gift will go even further. A private donor has offered to match any donation you make*. This will double the impact of your gift and enable even more people to access life-changing training and business support need to build a secure future.

Meet Janet

Unlock PotentialMeet Janet

A DETERMINED FARMER & SCHOOL FOUNDER

Janet thought that it was impossible to start her own business. Today she owns two. She first became a smallholder farmer, producing coffee, maize and beans. This provides a steady income for Janet, her husband and her two children.

Janet also has a teaching certificate and keen interest in education. She thought that she would need to move to a big city to work in a school but our training motivated her to establish her second business, a local nursery school. She took out a loan to start it up.

Meet Jolly

Unlock Potential Meet Jolly

A HARDWORKING HAIRDRESSER

Jolly is a single mother who used to struggle to pay her childrens’ school fees. On receiving a loan, through Opportunity International, she was able to buy equipment such as a chair, cabinet and dryer to set up her own hair salon.

Seven years on the business is thriving and she now owns her own home. All of her four children attend school, and she also employs one other person.

Meet Sephora

Unlock PotentialMeet Sephora

A RESILIENT REFUGEE ENTREPRENEUR

Sephora is 18 years old and lives in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement with her parents. She is a member of the ‘Unleashed’ youth entrepreneur group who have received support from Opportunity International to develop and build sustainable livelihoods.

Along with other members of the group, Sephora received financial training and a loan to develop several treatment products and awareness-raising around women’s health issues. Sephora says: “I have personally learned many new skills, including design, manufacture, mixing of cosmetic and medical ingredients and marketing. I have many hopes for the future."

Patron HRH The Princess Royal

A quote of support from our Patron HRH

Last month I had the privilege of visiting Opportunity International’s work in Uganda and meeting some of our clients. I heard first-hand the powerful impact Opportunity International programmes are having on people’s businesses, their families and their wider communities. Access to financial services changes lives. I’ve seen it for myself.

Whilst visiting the Nakivale Refugee Settlement I met Sephora, a remarkable young woman who, thanks to the support from Opportunity International, is now part of a thriving youth enterprise producing products and raising awareness around women’s health. Sephora is one of the many clients who told me how access to financial training, loans and savings have transformed her life.

The last few years have been challenging for us all, and for many still are. Thank you for your continued commitment and generosity which makes Opportunity International’s extraordinary work possible. From our Christmas appeal this year we hope to double the number of life-changing opportunities we can provide to people like Sephora.