Zoila rosa

Loan description:

Zoila Rosa Díaz Requelme is 57 and a widow. She has three adult children. Doña Zoila is originally from the rural parish of 'Lauro Guerrero' in the district of Paltas. She is the third of 12 siblings and from a low income family. She was unable to study beyond the first year of secondary school because her parents could not afford it. Doña Zoila started working life as a domestic maid for a doctor and remained there for 19 years. Eventually, she moved on and started a market stall in the 'Gran Colombia' market in the provincial capital of Loja, a business which she continues to run to this day. Doña Zoila sells cooked grains and pulses such as maize and beans. Although her business has been quite prosperous she has suffered in her personal life with the death of her husband and problems with one of her sons and attempted robberies. Doña Zoila requested a loan because she wanted to buy several 100 kilogram sacks of maize and beans - she is short of cash and also by buying in bulk she receives a discount. She will then cook and sell them. She will also use part of the loan to buy new kitchen utensils and pots - she undertakes the cooking at home and then takes the items to the market to sell each day. The loan is for nine months.