Third Day of Interviews with the Women Entrepreneurs

A good number of women were waiting for us, as we began our 8:00 session and this continued till 3:30. To date, it appears we will have 123 women that we believe are qualified and are interested in Fondespwa. Most of these women can neither read or write but are very market savvy. Every Wednesday and Saturday and often on Tuesdays they are at the market selling their wares. The competition is intense, so product and price differentiation is key. But they know how to do it and frankly fight hard to win every sale. They are tenacious. In my meetings with them, they are often low key and differential but once we begin speaking about their business and how they conduct it, they become animated and strongly opInionated. They are certainly passionate. This afternoon, my usual interview "room" was barred shut over the lunch hour, as a metal door was cemented in with our three chairs. "Adult" chairs by the way are at premium at a children's school, so we used little kids chairs for the next few hours. You just make due and frankly it was funny. There are a number of aspects of meeting with these courageous women that stands out but one that is so simple, impacts me. During the interview, I ask for their identification. Never once has a woman taken out her purse and showed it to me. Their ID card or weathered paper birth certificate is folded, wrapped in plastic and then wrapped further with a cloth. Watching them carefully unravel it for some reason, always shakes me a little.