Tarana Osmanova

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Tarana Osmanova by Norwegian Microcredit LLC (Normicro) in Azerbaijan. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 12 - 16 months, Norwegian Microcredit LLC (Normicro) will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Tarana’s pharmacy is actually a small veterinary pharmacy that serves Agsu’s agricultural sector. The inside of the pharmacy is neatly arranged and the outside is attractively decorated with paintings of farm animals. It is located on the main street of Agsu City, across from the busy bazaar.

Her Kiva-funded loan was used to purchase larger stocks of medicines to prepare for the summer. Summer is the season when chickens are raised, and chickens are highly susceptible to disease. I have been told by Azerbaijanis who raise chickens that these birds require a good deal of attention in order to stave off illness. In the winter, the livestock focus in Agsu is on sheep and goats.

While I was in her pharmacy, a customer came in to purchase medicine for his sheep’s hooves. Tarana knowledgeably explained how to care for the problem and dispensed to him an orange-colored tonic with applicators. Tarana says that she is not experiencing any significant difficulties in her business and she looks forward to this summer’s expected profits.

- - - Regional information: Agsu is a geographically diverse region in central Azerbaijan with dry plains as well as forested hills. The region’s struggling economy is primarily reliant on livestock sales and the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. Secondarily, privately-owned retail and service-oriented businesses serve as sources of employment. Many businesses are seasonal, as they are dependant on the agriculturally-based industries. The unemployment rate is high and incomes are minimal. - - -