Paulina Kapalasula is a retired officer of the Research Division of the Ministry of Agriculture. Her research focused on how maize, sorghum, and millet could influence the Tanzanian economy. When her contract ran out, she and her husband, also a retired researcher with the Ministry of Agriculture, decided to use their expertise and open a part-time farming business keeping poultry and cows.

In order to set up this business, she received several loans from SELFINA to buy chicks. Her initial loan was TZS 26,000 which eventually grew to TZS 3 million as her business continued to grow. The prosperity of her company severely increased her income, and the couple was able to pay the school fees of all of her four children. They were subsequently also able to pay for hospital care when Mr. Kapalasula fell ill two years ago. Lastly, they were able to double the size of their home.

Despite her obvious successes, there are still numerous problems faced by Paulina Kapalasula each day. These problems include: lack of transportation, unstable market prices, and the high price of chicken feed. She is now looking to purchase modern packaging machines, which would allow her to package chickens for export. “The purchasing power of people is low here,” said Paulina. “It is difficult to succeed on a small scale, so I need processing and marketing capacity to enter new markets.”