The micro-credit movement across the globe is not simply about money but rather using the money to achieve its respective end. When in the right hands money has the power to liberate the enslaved, to unleash the horizon of dreams and when not in the right hands, has the potential to unleash nightmares. Lessons in economics teach us that for there to be an effective demand the consumer must be willing and capable of purchasing the product. Merely willing but not backed by a capacity to do so is not sufficient to create effective demand. In Pakistan, the importance of the SME sector cannot be over-emphasized since it comprises of almost 90 per cent of all enterprises currently operational in Pakistan. There is no dearth of talent in the country however the talent must be backed by money to tap its true potential. With millions of people living below the poverty line, Khushhalibank with its microfinance programmes has been able to touch the lives of thousands of people across the country. The success of the bank can be ascertained from the fact that it has now developed a large customer base in the poorer districts of the country while the recovery rate of the institution remains above 95 per cent. One such person who has been able to stand proudly on her feet with the help of the microfinance programme is Mairaj Bibi.
As a divorcee and a single parent of a young boy, Mairaj Bibi residing in Sahiwal aged 53, lived through limited resources and barely any support from her relatives. However, her drive and determination to overcome her difficult circumstances led her to fulfill one of her many dreams of opening a small Karyana store. With absolutely no working capital, she mortgaged her jewelry to a local money lender and managed to get some money to start her business.
Initiated with ten profitable product lines she consequently managed to get a quick return on her initial investment. Moreover, her professional conduct, regular timings, dealing in high quality items and concentrating on limited product lines resulted in high sales for the entrepreneur. A month into the business, she was quite confident and financially sound to add further product lines in her small shack store. Having met some vendors, she added twenty product lines on a fifteen day credit system.
Within three months she was able to get good returns from the business, yet it was not very profitable since a major portion of her profit was being consumed in paying interest to the local vendors. At that time, she was taking loans on two hundred and fifty per cent rate of interest from various sources, including family members, and a local money lender. This posed a great danger to her business. Thus, she continued searching for some reasonable source of financing for her business and her quest finally ended when she heard about Khushhalibank’s micro loans on much feasible interest rate, which she availed in no time.
Now after five years in the business, she has transformed her shack store in to a well furnished one, with more than a hundred quality product lines. She has increased her daily sale from Rs400 to Rs3,000. Presently, she is running a sound and well managed Karyana store which she dreamt of a couple of years ago. She is very pleased with life and her son now goes to a good school in the city. “A woman is not made for defeat, women can be destroyed but not defeated,” she says as she continues to make plans for expanding her business.
Mairaj Bibi is a glaring example of the sheer will and determination of the women of Pakistan who are willing to fight against heavy odds. Expanding her business and working with an employee of her own, she continues to believe that there is more yet to come. Her future plans entail opening another small store in her village while simultaneously providing the residents of the locality with the facility of having their products delivered at their doorsteps. “A woman is not weak, she is not fragile and her spirit cannot be suppressed even if she is shackled in chains.”
Instead of accepting defeat, Mairaj Bibi transformed the defeat into an opportunity that will transform her life and that of her children.
