“With traditional methods, we struggled to process 50kg of groundnut into about 25 litres of groundnut oil and 25kg of groundnut cake per day. In 2017, we received a 5-year grant from the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), to boost our production – with technical and programmatic support from @DDINigeria.

With this investment, we modernized our production, acquired new machines and sourced sufficient raw materials to scale up production; we started processing up to 5 bags of groundnut (500kg) to get 200 litres of groundnut oil and about 225kg of groundnut cake per day.

That progress was truncated when the pandemic hit: we were unable to go to the market to purchase raw materials (groundnut); access inputs for rainy season farming; sales of groundnut oil reduced to retailing within the community and neighbouring villages; and everything was beginning to look like they were not going to meet the 5-year target. We had just completed production of groundnut oil; our customers had collected our products on credit. One of them contracted the virus. Most of them were unable to repay. Our sales reduced from selling in jerry cans of 25 litres to selling in bottles.

Thankfully, we got another intervention from USADF – as part of its Capital for African Resilience-building and Enterprises Support (C.A.R.E.S) COVID-19 Program which aimed at providing financial and technical assistance to help African enterprises and entrepreneurs mitigate and adapt to the effects of COVID-19. When we heard about the intervention, we were very happy; people in the community and the local government at large were celebrating with us because the assistance came to save our enterprise.

For us, this intervention, among other things, boosted our working capital and enabled us to purchase a delivery van to maintain physical distancing and less contact. With the C.A.R.E.S Fund, we bought raw materials (groundnut); our working capital which had dwindled was boosted. Now we are fully back in business!

On behalf of members of the group, I wish to express our gratitude and appreciation for the assistance given to us under the USADF C.A.R.E.S program which has benefitted us significantly,”
– Jummai Yakubu Kangire, President, Kangire Yamma Women Groundnut Oil Processing Cooperative Society (KYWMCS) in Kangire, a community in Birnin Kudu LGA of Jigawa State.