All case studies were compiled via interviews by Luke Juran (University of Iowa)
with microfinance borrowers from Mahasemam Women’s Self-Help Cooperative, Tamil Nadu, India.

Name: Uma Age: 38 Married- one son (20) and one daughter (16) Education: 10th grade Business: tailoring and garment production Loan: $119

Uma and her husband were raising a small family solely on her husband’s income. They were able to make ends meet, but life was definitely tough. Uma owned a sewing machine and knew how to sew. With a microfinance loan, Uma thought that she could start a tailoring business. She availed a microfinance loan totaling $119 and set out with her purpose. With the loan she purchased two more sewing machines and hired two poor, unemployed women from the neighborhood to work for her. She began to get contract work from a tailoring shop in the central bazaar. In the morning the shop would drop off garments to be tailored and they would return at night to pick up the finished garments. Now business is so good that Uma and her employees are also making blouses, trousers, and other garments-- she even has her own brand name that she stitches onto her fabrics.

	"Repaying the loan was easy; I paid off the 50 week loan in only 41 weeks. It used to be hard to pay off the money lender. I didn’t have an income before the loan and now I make $47 per week. I want to take another microfinance loan so I can make more money, but also because it allows me to help others when I employ them. The women who work for me help support their families with their salary. I pay them $23 per month. I am awaiting a second loan and I plan to buy two more sewing machines. Then I will be able to hire two more women from the neighborhood. I am happy about what microfinance has done for me. Now my sister and mother have both taken microfinance loans."
Uma holding one of the garments she produced. She’s proud to have her own brand name tag.
	"With our combined income, my husband and I were able to send our son to college. I help my son pay his school fees and I also purchased my daughter’s school uniform and school supplies. She is in a private school now." "My husband supports my business venture; he is a motorcycle salesman. I do not depend on my husband for any form of money. He makes his own money and I make my own. We share money, but we each have our own too. I have also gained personal confidence through earning and spending my own money. If I get another loan I can make even a higher income and give more jobs to more people. Through my business I have learned to manage money, pay my workers, and communicate with the tailoring company that I work with. I keep accounts on my workers about production and salary. I also organize the weekly microfinance center meetings on my rooftop because I have room there."
Uma was able to hire two unemployed women from her neighborhood to work at her entrepreneurship.

Before the microfinance loans Ankamma and her husband had been making pickled mangoes for ten years. She made and packaged the mangoes and her husband sold and distributed them; they earned $95 per month. Since taking the loans they have doubled their income and now earn $190 per month. They used the loans to purchase more ingredients (mangoes, salt, chili powder, tumeric, oil, and garlic) and to purchase more pickling barrels. They used to have seven barrels and now they have twelve barrels; each barrel holds 200 kgs. of pickled mangoes. Ankamma and her husband also started making and selling appalam on the side. Appalam is a dough that is rolled, dried, and then fried to make food similar to potato chips.

"My job was to remove shells from prawns at a nearby shrimp production factory. I was on maternity leave with my youngest son when the tsunami came. He was nine days old at the time. My rented house was overturned by the tsunami and all my belongings were washed away. The government came and gave me $95 in compensation. The Red Cross and some other organizations gave me vessels and jugs for cooking and for water. I built a thatch house and now I own that house, but I still have to pay $2.38 per month as a land-rent fee. When the house was built and when my maternity leave was finished I went back to work at the shrimp factory, but they only gave me part-time work because fishing was hurt by the tsunami and they didn’t need me so much. So I stayed at home and they called once in awhile [by coming to her house] when they needed help."

"One year after the tsunami I heard about microfinance and I took a loan for the future of my children. My work was not steady and I needed financial support. I felt it was a protective move for my family. I used the first loan [$119] to buy the full-day catches from fishermen in my coastal community. I would transport all the fish to the market and sell them to fish vendors; the vendors would then sell the fish to consumers. Sometimes I would sell the fish to consumers too. I kept working at the prawn factory in my spare hours. With the second loan [$357] I was able to clear debts that I had previously taken to support my children and for daily survival. You see, fishing is seasonal and times get tough, so I had debts to pay. With the remainder I was able to invest into buying more fish. Now I built my income back up to what I had made previous to the tsunami, and the income is more dependable too. I find it difficult to pay the loans, but it is much easier than paying the money lenders, and the transactions are much nicer and less intimidating. Even though it is difficult I have never missed a payment and I have never taken another loan to pay off the microfinance loan. I work from 4am-12 pm and then from 2pm-6pm everyday. I work hard to ensure survival. It is only me who provides for the three kids so I have to work hard."

Renuka and her employees stitch the upper portion of shoes and sell them to a company. The company purchases soles from other producers. The company then combines the two pieces to create a finished product and exports them to Europe. Renuka had always been making shoes, but with a series of microfinance loans she was able to turn a business for survival into a profitable business with five employees.

Name: Rabia Age: does not know Widow with no children Education: she has completed 0 years of school Business: sells socks, underwear, and children’s clothes Loan: $76

When Rabia was widowed she was left with absolutely nothing. Her husband’s family took the house, she had no money saved up, she had no children to support her, and she had never held a job in her life. Nobody would remarry her and she couldn’t go back her family because she would be considered a failure in her village. Rabia lived day by day doing odd jobs and most of the time resorted to begging. She was getting two meals a day at the most.

Rabia availed a microfinance loan to sell undergarments and children’s clothes. She now earns between $2.38-3.57 per day and is able to make ends meet. She has gone from begging and living on the street to having a thatch house, three meals a day, and a steady income. Life is still tough, but things have improved greatly for Rabia.