Insirah

Loan description:

Insirah Sultan is 43 years old and married with four children. Her eldest is 18 years old and at college, the second is 15 and attends high school, while the youngest two, aged 12 and 9 respectively, are in primary school. Her husband Salic, is 45 years old, and is a civil servant in Maranding, in the town of Lala in Lanao Del Norte province. For the past six years Insirah has managed a family business which sells 'dry goods'. These include school stationary, computer accessories, various household items, gifts and cosmetics. She considers her shop is a 'one-stop shop for housewives'. The business has an excellent location - in the town centre next to the public market. Insirah even sells wholesale to those customers wanting to buy large quantities. She employs two male shop assistants who move heavy items and boxes. She has been a regular client of the microfinance organisation, Maranding Women Investors Multi-Purpose Cooperative, for about five years. In fact, Insirah has already received and repaid ten small loans. She sought a much larger loan this time in order to buy more stock for her shop. If her business continues to grow she might take on more staff to attend to customers. Insirah also has a savings account with the same microfinance institution and even uses mobile banking. The loan is for 12 months.