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Trades & HandiCrafts
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Trading & General Store
Shop
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Basic merchant activity is the lifeblood
of a local, small-scale economy. Maintaining a small shop for general goods, household items and foodstuffs contributes to effective provisioning of small towns and villages.
Shop keepers can make a dignified and satisfying livelihood. Likewise, traders who
specialize in certain commodities can expand their business with planning and assistance.
SABA loans help provide motivated merchants with enough capital to establish viable
trading businesses and maintain general stores and small shops.
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Success Story: Ghulam
Nabi borrowed Rs 10,000 and opened a general merchandise store in his village. He
has paid off the loan and expanded
his merchandise variety. He told us that his
average daily profit is Rs. 300 and his store is open daily with a half day on Friday.
That amounts to earning Rs 9,000/month or Rs 108,000/year, which is remarkable for
a person who was previously unemployed and had no prospects. Mashallah he is engaged
in a respectable trade and improving his living standard.
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Success Story: Mr.
Abdul Rasheed, from a village in Azad Jammu Kashmir, obtained a loan of Rs. 50,000
from this Trust to increase the variety of products at his small shop. Ever since
he started his trade 15 years ago, he has not been able to purchase a large variety
of items available in the market. Secondly, the cost of transporting goods from
Rawalpindi to his village reduced his profit margin. Now, he is able to buy larger
quantities of goods, which helped reduce the transportation cost on items and hence
increased his margins. Alhamdulillah he has paid off the loan successfully. He is
now
better able to look after his family and provide
education to his children.
Many other people in the surrounding area are now interested in starting this type
of business by obtaining a loan from Saba Trust. |
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Fabric Business
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Trading in fabrics is an excellent business venture in villages and small towns, where raw fabrics and materials are
likely to be purchased and sewn into garments by hand by local consumers. With the
help of
SABA, fabric merchants are earning enough to fulfill their needs and their
children’s educational expenses. At the outset, merchants often
use bicycles to
move from venue to venue or home to home to sell their wares, thereby saving on
the cost of monthly rent for a shop. Once established, they can consider opening
a shop.
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Success Story: Mr.
Nasir in Chuck No. 82 received a loan of Rs. 9,000 two years ago. Alhamdulillah
he has paid off the loan and is currently in the process of opening his own fabric
shop. |
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Bull Carts
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Bull carts are used to transfer goods,
crops, building materials, heavy objects, and other items from one place to another
in villages and small towns. Motor vehicles are either not readily available in
small villages or are simply too expensive for humble workers and laborers to afford
and maintain.
A person who has a bull cart can earn enough money to meet his daily
expenses for his family. SABA loans money to industrious individuals who wish to
make a living in this fashion. |
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Success Story: Nasar
Hussain obtained a loan of Rs 8,000 to start his business. He has been making payments
on the loan successfully after meeting his family needs, and he has told us that
he is also able to send his children to school.
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Cabinet Maker & Cabinet
Shop
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Woodworking is quite prevalent in Pakistan.
The availablity of natural resources and a tradition of
quality craftsmanship has
made cabinet-making a profitable venture for skilled individuals. SABA Trust encourages
the training of gifted craftsmen who take pride in their work, and offers loans to those who wish to become cabinet-makers and woodworkers.
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Success Story: Mr
Aftab Ahmad took a loan of Rs. 10,000 and used it to acquire training and to buy
the tools necessary to become a carpenter. With Allah’s blessing, in less then one
year he has not only paid the loan but saved some money after meeting his family
needs. When we met him recently, we learned that he has opened his own cabinet-making
shop and has hired some help. |
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Embroidered Handicrafts
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Tilla embroidery is a very famous Pakistani
handicraft. Many families in the interior of Punjab are engaged in this business,
producing a variety of tilla products. This can be a profitable business, and SABA
Trust has provided several families with loans to establish a tilla workshop. The
families are easily paying their installments and also making adequate profit.
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Success Story: Aasia
Begum is a resident of a Jagiot village who was doing some Croshia handicraft work. She started this effort by buying small quantity of thread worth about 40 to 50
rupees, knitting a small Croshia
item, and then selling it at the market, and earning
about 10 to 15 rupees. She continued for several years in this manner, until she
came across Saba Trust and obtained a loan of Rs. 3,000, a big amount to her. She
purchased a big quantity of thread and made many Croshia items. She was successful
in increasing her profits and has an established business. She now sends her children
to school, which was not possible previously. She has since sent several other girls
to Saba Trust to receive similar loans. |
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Shoe Store
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Virtually any business is a good venture
for motivated individuals who show aptitude and have a desire to work hard. SABA
Trust loans money to persons who wish to establish stores specializing in certain
time-honored commodities such as shoes and sandals. |
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Success Story: One
humble individual from a poor family had no capital with which to start a business.
He obtained a loan of Rs. 6,000 from Saba Trust and started a small shoe store outside
of his house. He persevered and now his store is well known in the village and he
is earning enough money. He is able to send his children to school and save some
additional money as well.
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Knitting
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Empowering women is an important goal
of Saba Trust. Helping women take advantages of their skills and earning power helps
build self-esteem, and leads to a ripple effect as women seek to empower others
in turn. Saba Trust loans money to women seeking to establish a home-based sewing
or knitting business.
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Success Story: Mrs.
Maqsood Begum took a loan of Rs. 25,000 from Saba Trust in order to purchase a knitting
machine. She got off to a good start with a small contract for school sweaters.
Next, satisfied with her great performance, the school gave her a bigger contract.
She returned
the loan through monthly installments and she now proudly owns the
knitting machine. The loan gave Mrs. Begum an opportunity to earn while remaining
at home, which enables her to raise her children and get them a good education.
She was so impressed with the program that she is now loaning money to another family
to buy a knitting machine. |