Fiordeliz is a mother of three children. For the past two years, she has been able to support her family by producing and selling empanadas in her neighborhood. While Fiordeliz stays at home to prepare the empanadas and attend to some customers, her husband is responsible for delivery...

The Communal Bank called “SEÑOR DE MAYO” is made up of women who live primarily in El Alto city. The directors of the group are Patricia, Lizbeth and Graciela. The members of the group dedicate themselves to the sales of a variety of products such as: condiments, canned goods...

Genera belongs to the communal bank “Mujeres al Progreso” (“Women Progressing”), located in the Yungay province of Ancash. She is 48 years old and has five children from her marriage. With the support of her husband, who is a public worker, she has also been able to educate her children and start her business...

Miriam is a leader of 5 members of a group. She is 35 and married with 6 children aged between 5 and 18 years. All her children go to school. Miriam takes care of her old parents. She resides and owns a three-roomed house where she is staying with five people. They have electricity and piped water at home. The family gets two meals a day and rarely take tea...

The leader of this group is Barbara Messon Figueora, who appears at the far left in the picture. Barbara is an experienced and confident businesswoman. She owns and operates a successful grocery store in her community, Hacienda Estrella. The entrepreneur started her business some years ago...

Mejra was born in 1969 and she lives in Šerici, a village in Bosnia. She is married and has 8 children. Her oldest daughter is 17 and her youngest son is 4. Her husband earns 800KM/month and they receive 360KM/month in child support from the government, which totals the equivalent of $740 USD/month to support a family of 10...

Mrs. Sokhoun Net is a 29-year-old grocery seller who has been in business since early 2007, selling out of her home and earning around US $4.00 per day. She is the mother of two children, both students who also help her with her business. Sokhoun is married to Mr. Sokaiy Hang, 35, a goldsmith...

Habib is a 60-year-old man who lives in Saida, in southern Lebanon, with his wife and their three children. Habib owns a grocery shop where he sells vegetables and candy. He has requested a loan of $1100 from Al Majmoua in order to improve his assets. Habib has been a micro-credit client for a long time and has always repaid his loans on time...

This is Adama Kamara, Sallay Kargbo, Sallay Kabba, Fatmata Kalokoh and Rugiatu Kanu of the group Malop I. They are local entrepreneurs in the town of Makeni. This is their eighth loan from SMT. With their most recent loan, each of them received 1,000,000 LE. That loan created a meaningful impact in each of their lives...

Unmarried and without children, Mr. Sokémawou KPONKOU has five people in his care. A chauffeur, he currently lives in the city of Aného. Despite his efforts, his job driving vehicles is no longer able to bring in enough income to provide for his family. So he is requesting this loan to buy grinder for chili peppers and tomatoes to increase his income...

Married and the father of three, Mr. Comlan Déo DOMATOH lives in Aného, where he learned to be a chauffeur. And since he doesn't fully work as a driver, he got started in the commerce of wood and teak roof beams that he buys beforehand and resells to carpenters and cabinet-makers...

Alma was born in 1966 and she lives in a suburb of Doboj, Bosnia. She is married and has two children. Her husband is a construction worker, but even though he has a steady job, he still does not earn enough to support their family. As a result, Alma has a vegetable garden and she raises chickens, selling the meat in the local market...

Malaknisa and her husband (who is pictured here because she was away when the photo was taken) are the proud parents of two children. They live in the Azerbaijani town of Khachmaz. Malaknisa was born in 1965, and she and her husband have 10 years of experience in farming. They have applied for a loan of $1,200 to buy fertilizer and seeds...

This is the MADAM Group. All 15 members of the group are employees of MADAM. MADAM, an acronym for Mankindu's Activities for Development Accreditation Movement, is a non-governmental organization based in Makeni that promotes four major themes: (1) agriculture and food security; (2) education; (3) employment generation; and (4) skills training...

The Tropical Communal Bank is represented by Mrs. Jenny. The members already have experience with supportive groups, as most of them were part of the last loan they received. There were some late payments, but the spirit of the most responsible people of the group helped keep them going and they were not defeated by a bad experience...

Bendezu is a member of community bank Las Hormigas, which means “the ants” in Spanish. Blanca is married, with four children. Blanca sells natural products and cookware with the help of her daughter. She also sells vitamins and coffee when she receives orders...

Kosar baji is a wife of Bashir Ahmad. They reside in a city named Pakpattan, Pakistan. She is 40 years old and a very active lady. Kosar baji is a mother of two children, one son and one daughter. Her son is a carpenter. Her daughter reads in the 5th standard grade...

Kurbonhotun Niaytbekova was born in 1976, is married and has two children. Kurbonhotun is a nurse in an Interior Ministry medical center in Dushanbe. She wants to improve her family's living standards, and she decided to do some repairs of their home. She would like to receive a loan of 2800 somoni through Kiva, in order to buy the materials necessary to begin repairs...

The group Diamé Actions is specialized in offering these services: word-processing, book-binding, and photocopying. The group actively participates in the integration and initiation of the young into computers and telecommunications technologies. The members of the group are requesting this loan to buy reams of paper and computer-related consumables...

Dorah Twebembere is a courageous business lady aged 39. She runs a retail shop in Mbarara Taxi Park that sells mainly clothes and groceries. She is married with 4 children and has basically been running her business for a period of 10 years...

Elsa is a member of the Union II Village Bank. She is married and has three children. Elsa’s husband fixes computers in Huanta, the district that neighbors Ayacucho. He works from home, and his work is well known, since there are few computer repair services in the area. Elsa is requesting a loan of 2500 soles to buy replacement parts for computers...

Mercedes is 41 years old and lives with her two children. Ever since childhood, she has helped her mother handle the family businesses. She currently runs her own restaurant, where she kindly welcomes her patrons. Her 15 years of experience guarantee that her restaurant will do well. One month ago, she decided to open her restaurant in a better business space, where she makes high-quality meals...

Mrs. Lav Lonh is a villager in Tonle village in Takeo Province. She is a farmer who owns a plot of land on which she cultivates rice. She is a 60-year-old widow and the mother of two; one child is employed in a garment factory while the other one stays at home to do the housework...

Mrs. Linh is 30 years old and lives in the Nghe An Province, in Vietnam. She joined TYM in 2005. She has two children who go to school. Mrs. Linh first successfully completed a loan with TYM to start her own family motor-bike repair shop, which is her family's main source of income. With a steady source of profit, Mrs. Linh’s shop is able to provide her family with the stability it needs...

Mrs. Hoang Thi An is 32 years old. She lives with her husband and 2 children in the Nghi Loc district, in Vietnam. She joined TYM in 2005. She currently runs a beauty salon. This business developed well and brought for her family a stable income...

Ouy Vantha, 25, is married and lives with her husband and child in the Prey Veng province of Cambodia. She and her husband earn income making and selling cakes. They are able to make around US$5 per day. The couple is also responsible for looking after their old parents. To make more money, Ouy Vantha is asking for a loan of US$600 to be able to purchase a motorbike for her husband to operate as a motor-taxi...

Babalola sells drinks in her shop and she has been in this business for the past 4 years. Babalola is a LAPO Microfinance client. Babalola lives in Kasidi, Lagos state, Nigeria. She opens her shop by 7am in the morning and she closes by 7pm daily. Babalola is 40 years old and married with 5 children. Babalola is requesting the loan amount of N100, 000 to purchase more drinks to sell...

Bukola lives in Okoko, Lagos state, Nigeria. She sells weavons, hair extensions, and hair cream. Bukola is 23 years old and married with one child. Bukola has been in this business for the past 2 years. She works in her shop from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Sunday. Bukola hopes for a loan of N100, 000 ($850 USD) to purchase more inventory for her shop...

Ashurmamadov Abdumanon is 41 years old. He is married with three children. Abdumanon has been processing and selling dried apricots at the local market for 12 years. His wife is a housekeeper. He has a higher education and works at a hydro-metallurgical factory in Isfara town. The wages that earns from his job are not enough for his family's consumption...

Nofisouth is 30 years old and married with three children. Nofisouth sells drinks and she is also a fashion designer. She lives in Okoko, Lagos State, Nigeria. She is a LAPO Microfinance client. Nofisouth hopes for a loan of N 70,000 ($600 USD) to purchase more drinks and tailoring materials to sell. She is grateful to LAPO Microfinance and Kiva for their financial support...

Mrs Nguyen Thi Hong 31 years old. She is married and has two children. She lives in Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen district , Nghe An province. She has been in TYM Fund since 2002. Her main income comes from raising chicken on a farm and growing rice. As her previous loans have been used wisely...

Mrs Nguyen Thi Tung 44 years old. She has three children, two of whom are grown. She lives with her husband and her children in HungYen commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province. She joined in TYM Fund six years ago. To ear money, she raises ducks and her husband sells pork. Since joining TYM, her family's income has improved...

Mom Sum, 59, is married and has 8 children. She is a housewife, cooking for her family members and taking care of the household. Mom Sum and her family live in the Siem Reap province of Cambodia. Her husband, Tep Van, is 78 years old and earns income growing rice crops and selling them at a market. On average...

Hassan Tipa, age 59, is married and has four children (ages 29, 25, 22, and 15). He has been selling empty bottles for 3 years now. He works from 8am to 5pm daily, and he makes about $292 per month. He hopes to get a loan from Tujijenge Tanzania to increase his capital so that he can buy more bottles to sell...