Khalid Zydane at his Shawarma Restaurant. Photo: CWS
Khalid Zydane, 35, is a refugee who rents a small room in Dar es Salaam’s Kariakoo area. This area, known mainly for its extensive market that spans several city blocks, contributes substantially to Dar es Salaam’s food provision as well as small-scale economy.
Prior to participating in the CWS Urban Refugee Self-Reliance Program, Khalid was employed by one of his friends, who paid him a small stipend. He expressed concerns that the wage was not enough for him to rent a room, so he used to sleep in the streets and was homeless.
Today, Khalid is a proud employer of two Tanzanian assistants who help him in preparing shawarma. He earns on average 500,000 TZS or 225 USD per week – about 2,000,000 TZS or 900 USD per month.
This change was possible thanks to the CWS Urban Refugee Self-Reliance Program. Khalid attended the CWS orientation workshop and individualized financial literacy training, which equipped him with business knowledge and skills that helped him to have the idea of running his own shawarma restaurant.
To start, Khalid borrowed capital from his friend to open his own shawarma restaurant. Later, CWS helped him to access subsidized credit from a microfinance institution amounting to 3 million TZS or 1,354 USD for the purpose of expanding his restaurant. With enough resources, Khalid has expanded his restaurant by renting another room for storage and has also increased the number of chickens and other materials that are used to prepare shawarma.
Khalid has managed to repay his loan amount of 251 USD. He also has rented a house for 135 USD per month. He now runs his life smoothly.
Khalid expressed his gratitude to CWS Urban Refugee Self-Reliance Program staff for helping him improve his self-esteem and self-confidence that enable him to see life in a positive light and have helped him manage and expand his shawarma restaurant.