Shahnaz Shoqat Maish Group

I am Shahnaz and I am a citizen of a city named Arifwala, Pakistan. I have been living in this city for the past 20 years. I am an uneducated lady; I couldn’t get education because we were hand-to-mouth. My husband's name is Shoqat Maish. My husband has a very good nature and he is a very kind human being. He is a wholeseller. He collects the stock from the wholesale market and sells on different shops on wholesale. He has been in this profession for the past 10 years. I have six children: three sons and three daughters. None of my children go to school. My elder son is a daily wage labor. My daughter helps me in household work and in the making of embroidered clothes as well. I and my daughters make embroidered cloth and sell it in cloth markets to earn a good profit. I have successfully repaid my two loans from Asasah (a microfinance institute of Pakistan). Now I am applying again for a loan to buy rice to expand my husband’s wholesale business.

I am a leader of a group with a few more women of my locality. Shakeela Shahnaz baji wants a loan to buy groceries for her grocery shop. Anwari baji wants a loan to buy seasonal vegetables to resell. Khalida baji wants a loan to buy material (beads,colored thread and sketches) for her decorative embroidery business.

This is a group loan. The loan funds will be distributed among the group members, each of whom will invest in her own business. The members mutually guarantee one another's loans. If one member does not repay, the other members are responsible.