During my holidays in Pakistan last month I visited Islamic Relief’s micro-finance projects in Ratta and Naserabad, Rawalpindi. Below is an update on one of the beneficiary of Islamic Relief.

After the illness and failure of Aziza’s husband’s business, she stepped in and took control of the deteriorating socio-economic conditions of her household. Aziza’s husband used to own a factory for producing groom wear and formal dresses and supplying to various shopkeepers. Due to various problems, the business had to shut down and Aziza’s household was at risk of defaulting on several formal and informal loans. Nevertheless, Aziza Bibi re-established the same business and brought innovation to get around the problems that caused the previous failure.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The main causes of Aziza’s husband’s business failing were poor staff performance, late payments from customers and her husband’s deteriorating eyesight. Determined to make life better for her children, Aziza began gathering and completing orders from selective buyers who would pay her on time and higher than competitors. Instead of hiring full-time employees, Aziza decided to utilize the vast talent and skills of poor young women in her neighborhood for completing the orders.

Today, Aziza, her children and her husband live a life much better than what they had fallen to after their business’ failure. She attributes her success to the support provided by her husband in all aspects of her entrepreneurial and personal endeavors.

Aziza also brought innovation to the product line that she works on by focusing on specialized products and gaining comparative advantage in them. Now, she makes groom wear (i.e. sherwanis, prince suits and vest coats) for vendors in Mirpur as they offer higher rates and consistent payments.

Aziza Bibi realizes the importance and benefits of having her own shop for retailing the dresses that she produces. She believes this would allow her to cover a higher level in the value chain and increase her marginal profits. This will also free her from the dependency on vendors for payments as she will be able to sell to direct customers on cash rather than on credit.

Having her own shop would also allow Aziza to introduce new products. Some of the line items she wants to start are bridal and formal dresses for marriages. She believes there is not only huge demand for these but also there are lots of skilled and unemployed poor women in her locality who can be utilized with mutual benefits. Aziza also wishes to get insurance services so her family can recover from unforeseen circumstances.

The greatest challenge faced by Aziza was the restarting of her husband’s business after their factory closed down. Aziza sacrificed her social and personal time and dedicated her full efforts in the restoration of their only income source. With her husband’s technical and professional guidance, Aziza was able to initiate a production process using her social network.

Aziza believes that her children would have been begging on the roads had she not been able to re-establish the business. She not only paid off the debts, but also obtained formal loans from Islamic Relief for expanding her business. In addition to providing the income needed for feeding and educating her children, Aziza also provides an ideal role model and inspiration for her children as well as others around her. Her success has made her confidence and self-esteem go up and her husband too relies on her to make the important decisions.

Aziza provides and inspiration of what a woman can achieve even in conservative societies. Women in her neighborhood look up to her and seek her advice whenever they have social or economic problems. She has also generated several employment opportunities for young women in her locality by getting her orders prepared by them. She not only learned the art of embroidery from her husband but also continues to teach and perfect the skills with new products and designs.