Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Fall 2006 : Um Khaled: Successful Product Reseller
Um Khaled: Successful Product Reseller
Um Khaled's loan from Grameen-Abdul Latif Jameel Initiative partner, Al-Tadamun, provided her with capital to increase the inventory of her store and generate greater profits.
Um Khaled lives in the area of Egypt known as Geziret Dar El Salam and has struggled throughout her life to care for her three children. Since becoming a client of Al-Tadamun, a Grameen-Abdul Latif Jameel Initiative partner since 2002, Um Khaled has gained the opportunity to improve her family’s well-being.
Like many other borrowers, Um Khaled’s husband does not have a secure income. Um Khaled decided she had to earn money somehow, so she began a small business buying household products from a wholesaler on credit and selling them at a profit to neighbors.
Before joining Al-Tadamun, Um Khaled was charged high interest rates by her supplier, and she did not have much choice regarding the products she could buy. The supplier claimed that because she was buying on credit, she had to accept the products he chose to give her.
Al-Tadamun field staff reached out to Um Khaled and encouraged her to join. The access to credit gave her the opportunity to escape the predatory lending of the wholesalers. With the capital provided by her loan, she could choose the best products – increasing her profits while reducing the interest she paid and allowing her to maintain a better inventory of products. Um Khaled is thankful for the increased profits from her business, and proudly points out that “I can now pay my children’s school fees and provide regular meals for my family.”
The Grameen-Abdul Latif Jameel Initiative is an alliance between Grameen Foundation and the Abdul Latif Jameel Company that works to strengthen the microfinance sector in the Middle East and North Africa. With the support of the Grameen-Abdul Latif Jameel Initiative, Al-Tadamun has significantly increased its client outreach to over 10,000 new families.
Grameen Foundation : Resource Center : Print Newsletter : Fall 2006 : Um Khaled: Successful Product Reseller
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
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