Moussa is 30 years old and was born in Maradi, in central Niger. He now lives in Niamey, the country’s capital and largest city. Moussa is not married, but has 14 brothers and sisters. He is finishing his degree in communications at Abdou Moumoni University, and currently works as an English teacher at L’eau de Vive school, earning CFA 95,000/month, though the pay is not always steady. He speaks Hausa, French, and English, and is eager to move into private business to test his entrepreneurial skills.


BUSINESS PLAN

With help from 50/50, Moussa plans to open his own clothing retail business. Moussa plans to travel by bus to Lome, Togo (round-trip 36,000 CFA) to meet with potential suppliers and make an initial purchase of approximately CFA 50,000 worth of clothing to begin his inventory. Moussa estimates that shirts and pants that are available for purchase at CFA 1,000 in Lome can then be sold for CFA 1,500-2,000 in Niamey. Likewise, shoes that sell for CFA 3,000 in Lome can fetch CFA 5,000 at market prices in Niamey. He plans to seek out the most fashionable and popular styles that would sell quickly at the market in Niger.

After the initial trip to build relationships and reach agreements with several suppliers, Moussa plans to increase his profit margin by taking two steps aimed at reducing the costs associated with each subsequent shipment that replenish his inventory of clothing: First, he intends to send money via Western Union to his mother (who lives in Lome) in order to pay his suppliers; Western Union typically charges 10% on such transfers. Second, he will then have the next batch of clothing sent to him via public transportation, paying a small fee for carrying the cargo. Whereas the overhead costs for his first trip were CFA 36,000, his next shipment (and each subsequent one) of CFA 50,000 worth of clothes will incur overhead costs of only CFA 15,000.

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