JWS Pakistan “Success Stories” contains case studies of successful people

Ruqayya Bibi

An Innovative Business of Computerized Garment Designing

Ruqayya Bibi’s inspiring journey began nearly four years ago when she turned to JWS Pakistan for an enterprise loan. With determination and a vision for the future, she launched her computerized garment designing business. Ruqayya’s business quickly gained recognition for its innovative designs, precision and attracted a growing clientele. The income generated allowed her to provide better education and healthcare for her family. With this new initiative, she was able to involve her husband and two sons and provide them a source of earning as well.

As her business flourished, Ruqayya hired 6 women from her community, thus contributing to job creation in her community. Ruqayya’s success story exemplifies how microfinance can empower individuals to elevate their socio-economic status and change their misery into prosperity. Her journey is a testament to the transformative power of entrepreneurship and access to financial services, not only changing her family’s life but also leaving a positive impact on her community.

Business Success Factors:

• Unique Business: Among the many small scale businesses in the region, the idea of preparing jewelry boxes was unique with scatters demand pattern. However, this uniqueness helped her business grow quickly as her business was able to get contracts from leading brand store in various cities.
• New & Innovative Product Designs: Her designed boxes are unique and very different from the available designs in the market. This uniqueness and fine quality of the boxes make her product appealing and generates good sale.
• Linkages with Key Brand Stores: Her business gained contracts from the famous brand stores like DAMAS in Lahore and other shopping malls. This consistent demand helped her to gradually grow her business and improve her production setup over the period of time.

How the Challenges were met?

• Lack of Good Quality Raw Material: Initially she purchased material from the local market, however, she was not satisfied with the quality. She then established links with importers and started importing required material indirectly from China.
• Advance payments for raw material: Material purchase required advance payment to importers and she was already deficit in financing. Therefore, she re negotiated with her clients and started taking advance payment to manage this issue successfully.
• Financial Constraints: Rising from the very poor family, financial constraints was a great challenge, however, she managed to borrow from family, mobilized her savings and borrowed from JWS Pakistan to meet her startup and expansion requirements successfully.

Future Outlook:

• Import Material Directly from China: At the moment, she is importing raw material indirectly (through other persons). However, this creates problem for her as sometime the quality of material is not good and not as per the listed demand. Therefore, she wants to visit china and directly purchase material after inspecting the quality of the material.
• Increase Raw Material Stock: One of the challenges she has been facing is the shortage of material she requires to meet wide range of products. Therefore, she wants to increase her inventory of material to ensure that the required material is available when the order is placed.
• Setup her Facebook Page: She is a literate women (intermediate) and has been into the teaching job prior to her marriage. She is aware of Facebook and wants to setup her business page on the social media to promote her products. This may improve her direct sales to the community and improve her profit margins.

Razia Ashraf

Razia Ashraf’s Journey from a Parlor worker to owner of “Razi Garments”

Razia Ashraf, once a parlor worker, transformed her life with continuous lending from JWS Pakistan. With this support and her accumulated savings, she launched “Razi Garments,” a thriving business in the local market. With her loan from JWSP, she purchased garments, cosmetics and other skin care items in demand among women to set up her small shop in the heart of the community center.

Being a women run shop; her shop quickly became a choice place for women to buy their required items. She emphasized on selling only quality products and never compromised on this aspect. She gradually kept on adding more variety of products and also kept on availing loan from JWSP to provide periodic boosts in her inventory items.

 

The loan empowered her family and improved their socio-economic profile. Her success story showcases how microfinance can break barriers and elevate socio-economic profiles, inspiring others to pursue entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency. With her new venture, she is able to add up to PKR 50,000 to the income of her family on monthly basis.

Business Success Factors:

• Unique Business: Among the many small scale businesses in the region, the idea of preparing jewelry boxes was unique with scatters demand pattern. However, this uniqueness helped her business grow quickly as her business was able to get contracts from leading brand store in various cities.
• New & Innovative Product Designs: Her designed boxes are unique and very different from the available designs in the market. This uniqueness and fine quality of the boxes make her product appealing and generates good sale.
• Linkages with Key Brand Stores: Her business gained contracts from the famous brand stores like DAMAS in Lahore and other shopping malls. This consistent demand helped her to gradually grow her business and improve her production setup over the period of time.

How the Challenges were met?

• Lack of Good Quality Raw Material: Initially she purchased material from the local market, however, she was not satisfied with the quality. She then established links with importers and started importing required material indirectly from China.
• Advance payments for raw material: Material purchase required advance payment to importers and she was already deficit in financing. Therefore, she re negotiated with her clients and started taking advance payment to manage this issue successfully.
• Financial Constraints: Rising from the very poor family, financial constraints was a great challenge, however, she managed to borrow from family, mobilized her savings and borrowed from JWS Pakistan to meet her startup and expansion requirements successfully.

Future Outlook:

• Import Material Directly from China: At the moment, she is importing raw material indirectly (through other persons). However, this creates problem for her as sometime the quality of material is not good and not as per the listed demand. Therefore, she wants to visit china and directly purchase material after inspecting the quality of the material.
• Increase Raw Material Stock: One of the challenges she has been facing is the shortage of material she requires to meet wide range of products. Therefore, she wants to increase her inventory of material to ensure that the required material is available when the order is placed.
• Setup her Facebook Page: She is a literate women (intermediate) and has been into the teaching job prior to her marriage. She is aware of Facebook and wants to setup her business page on the social media to promote her products. This may improve her direct sales to the community and improve her profit margins.