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Case Studies

Hundred of thousands of AKAM clients have been able to start businesses, weather economic downturns, or expand their business with loans from the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM). The following case studies illustrate some of the work of AKAM's programmes and institutions.

AFGHANISTAN
Ahmad Wali Mirzayee: Advertising and signage company

Ahmad Wali Mirzayee has used AKAM loans to establish a digital printing business in Kabul. Ahmad Wali Mirzayee is a young, 25 year old client of FMFB-A who has utilised his self-taught computer skills and entrepreneurial spirit to start a digital printing and service business that designs and creates advertising for the many small businesses in Kabul. As the security situation improves and business confidence increases, many entrepreneurs are expanding their businesses and quickly coming to see the value in well-crafted advertising and promotional materials. His company produces a range of flyers, posters and signage materials, including advanced front-light, back-light and tri-vision hoardings for urban areas. Ahmad identified this emerging niche market and approached FMFB-A to take on a larger, US$ 20,000 SME loan for the purchase of high-tech fixed assets such as a digital plotter.

His loan has been provided over a longer period (18 months) than traditional microfinance loans and he has access to more flexible repayment options that allow him to better mange his cash flow and working capital. Just a few years ago, this type of business and the import of advanced digital equipment would have been unthinkable, but that has not stopped Ahmad from identifying a business opportunity and pursuing it. Ahmad’s company, Hope Productions, was one of a small number of businesses which was encouraged by FMFB-A to expand its capacity and range of services.

PAKISTAN
Sifat Gul: 2007 Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year

Sifat Gul receiving the 2007 “Best National Micro-Entrepreneur Award Female” at the 2007 Citi-PPAF Micro-entrepreneurship Awards. Like many poor families in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, Sifat Gul’s eight-member family survived on less than US $ 1 a day. They had no land of their own and her husband’s employment was seasonal. The roof of her home leaked during the rains and her children could not afford to go to school. In 1998, determined to help her family, she looked at possible jobs and realized that there were no professional female tailors in the area. She also attended a meeting of her local women’s organisation during which a FMFB-P loan officer informed the community of the financial services available. She received a loan of US$ 30, which she used to purchase a sewing machine, and started sewing clothes for about one dollar each. Despite traditions that held it was improper for a woman to work outside the home, her husband and family supported and encouraged her. Starting as a tailor for women in her village, she has since gone on to provide uniforms to schools and ready made garments to shops. She has borrowed five more times from FMFB-P and has repaid all her loan installments on time.

Sifat Gul now earns eight times her family’s previous income and has saved more than US$ 800. Her two daughters and son are studying in the best private school in the area, the family has improved nutrition, clothing and health care and a new house keeps out the rain and cold. She has also shared her success with the community and started a programme for illiterate girls in the area which teaches them various embroidery and sewing techniques. Several former students work with her full-time, and nine have opened similar training centres in their respective villages. To date, Sifat has trained more than 500 young girls. In 2007, Sifat Gul won the “Best National Micro-Entrepreneur Award Female” at the 2007 Citi-PPAF Micro-entrepreneurship Awards ceremony in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Award included a cash prize of nearly US$ 2000.

EGYPT
Fatullah Hasan: Market stall in Darb al-Ahmar

Mrs. Hanam Ahmad Osman has been able to expand her store with loans from AKAM. Mrs. Hanam Ahmad Osman’s received her first loan of US$ 150 from the First Microfinance Foundation (FMF) in 2004. She owns a small convenience store and is currently selling bread, oil, sugar, and various soft drinks in the Darb al-Ahmar district of Cairo. She has steadily expanded her business from 2004 to 2006. Her last loan for US$ 1000 was in September of 2007.

Like many other merchants in Egypt, she has faced difficulties due to the rapid inflation of food items and other basic necessities. However, she remains positive that she will be able to weather these difficult times and continue to grow her business. As an established client, she may also be eligible for a consecutive loan to finance improvements to her home and she may enroll in some of the BDS classes offered by FMF.

MADAGASCAR
Ernestine Ralafimalala: Kitchen Goods Retail

Ernestine has used AKAM loans to reduce the cost of kitchen utensils by buying in bulkErnestine is a rare example of urban to rural migration. Originally from Madagascar’s capital city of Antananarivo, she moved to the remote town of Mandritsara in the Sofia region when she married in 1991. Shortly thereafter she started a small business selling kitchen utensils. To expand her business, Ernestine took a first loan of US$ 750 from PAMF Madagascar that allowed her to expand her product line and reduce the average cost of goods by buying in bulk. Once repaid, she took a second loan of US$ 900 to further expand her inventory, and hire two employees to sell at nearby rural village markets.

Not even a fire in her main shop stopped Ernestine; her business was able to weather this recent tragedy without a single delay in her loan repayment. She expects to finish rebuilding soon and already has plans for her third loan. In the future, PAMF-Mada hopes to be able to help clients like Ernestine better protect themselves from such risks by offering insurance for business disruption or loss.