We had no place to live. We were putting up in a makeshift hut. I had a friend who helped me get a loan of PKR. 60,000. With that money I bought a bicycle and started my small business as scrap collector. Then I took a loan of PKR. 80,000 and paid it back and that is how I kept expanding my business. My current loan is for PKR. 200,000. I don’t even fully understand the growth trends of my business. Now with God’s grace I have 35 people, who collect garbage for me from house to house in exchange for utensils.

At times I need to give advance payments to my collection agents. In case they have a financial difficulty, like they or someone in their family may fall sick, or they may need some money for a family wedding. The request for advance payments and I am always happy to help out.

I have now hired an accountant to keep my business records. By grace of God, I sell 1-2 truckloads of scrap in a month. I manage one scrap yard, my son manages the other. People see my success and ask me how I achieved this. I tell them how microfinance alone has helped me establish my business. What could an illiterate person like me do? Being an entrepreneur is better than doing menial jobs on daily wages. This is my own business. It offers me the freedom that I could not find in a job.

• Took multiple micro-loans to start and expand his business of selling pots against scrap
• Collects scrap from the nearby communities and sells to the wholeseller
• Owns two scrap yards and his son has also joined the family business
• Has been successfully repaying his loan and employees over 30 workers

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