---

Guest post by: Grameen Foundation Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

Muazzam Jan’s house is filled with dozens of beautiful vases and other decorations. Her oldest son’s backpack sits nearby, ready for him to go to school along with her two other school-age children; her youngest will soon join them. Muazzam now runs a successful business in partnership with her husband. But not too recently, Muazzam’s life looked very different.

Five years ago, Muazzam and her husband moved from the countryside to a village just outside Islamabad, in search of better opportunities for their family. They went into business together, buying vases and other household decorations in Islamabad and then selling them from a cart they rode around the village. However, profits were small as products were not available at good prices in Islamabad. Muazzam struggled to make ends meet, and she was unable to send her oldest son to school when he reached five years old.

When Muazzam got her first loan from Grameen Foundation partner the Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (UPAP), she and her husband were able to start making the 160-mile trip to Lahore to purchase products at much better prices, increasing their profits substantially back in the village. With Muazzam’s second loan, they increased their inventory, and with the third loan, they hired someone to assist them.

Muazzam used her most recent loan to rent a shop in town. With the new shop, Muazzam and her husband no longer have to travel around the village on their cart. They are taking their business to new heights, transporting larger, higher-end vases and decorative items from Lahore to establish their new shop as the leader in their village. Their colorful inventory overflows their shop and fills the living room of their house as well.

Since building her business with help from UPAP, Muazzam has used her profits to buy a TV and a carpet for her home, and she credits her loans for enabling her to keep her three oldest children in school. Muazzam’s oldest son (now 10) could finally begin school when he turned seven, after Muazzam had taken out a loan and generated sufficient income. Muazzam dreams of one day owning her own shop and home.

Related Articles

  Perceiving Victory
  Uganda Success Stories
  12 Questions You Must Ask Before Doing SEO
  The Village: Gaming to Overcome Poverty in Africa
  Creating and Using a Victory Journal
  Grameen Foundation partners with local Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda to Relaunch Village Phone Initiative
  When buying a business you can ask for vendor finance
  The Journey to Success - Persistence
  Home-based Business: Floating Flower Candles II
  Making Soup from Stones
  Work Hard and Make It Happen
  Save Money with Vendor Consolidation
  Overcoming HIV and Building Her Community
  How My Company Got Started
  Vendor Credit Lines Are Essential To Any Business Seeking Financing
  Success is your Baby
  Service Continuity -- Key Factor To Consider While Selecting Your Outsourcing Vendor
  Change Partners and Dance: Getting Customers to Reconsider Existing Vendor Relationships
  Synchronization -- Key Factor To Consider While Selecting Your Outsourcing Vendor
  Persistence is the Choice of the Successful

Related Forum Posts

Re: Marketing to Wealthy Consumers
Re: Ideas For Business
Re: How can I promote my site?
Adventure travel to Africa.
Re: At first, dreams seem Impossible, then Improbable, and event

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Biggest Domain Name Myth

Bad Economy? Now is the Time to Buy a Business

10 Common Business Planning Errors

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.