Senada Musić

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Senada Musić by Zene za Zene, a partner of Women for Women International in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 12 months, Zene za Zene, a partner of Women for Women International will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

When I enter Senada`s store, I feel reminded of a thrift shop where one buys sequined dresses and feather boas for Halloween. The store is clean and well-maintained, but there can be little order to a selection of clothes ranging from orange turtle necks to faux alligator skin boots.

Senada has striking green eyes, and she looks relaxed and happy among her customers. She explains that in the past, her primary business was selling used clothing. But the low margins led her to pursue other options, and she decided to make traditional table cloths, as her mother and grandmother had done before her.

This particular type of table cloth is extremely rare in Bosnia, as the required weaving machines are no longer manufactured. Senada, who inherited such a machine from her mother, has now been making the table cloths for 4 years. They are wildly popular, and Senada is overwhelmed with orders. She continues to work in the used clothing store by day, but now also works to weave the table cloths from her kitchen at night.

Senada requested a $900 loan through Women for Women International (funded on the Kiva website) in order to purchase additional wool and cotton, with the intention of expanding her business. She is satisfied with how her business is developing, and hopes to take an increasing number of orders from outside Gračanica.

I am attaching a photo of Senada with her daughter, insider her store which is also the bottom floor of her house. In the photo, her daughter is holding one of the white table cloths that Senada made and is now selling from her store and at the local marketplace.