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KASHAF SILAYEE CENTRE
NAZIA ZULFIQAR
Resident of Abidabad, Karachi, 38-year-old Nazia Zulfiqar is married to a garment factory worker. They have six children; three sons and three daughters. They married off their eldest daughter, Sonia, within the family at the age of 16. It was already difficult being a child bride when she became a mother as well. After the birth of her son, her husband threw her out of the house. Now, Sonia and her 4-year-old son live with Nazia and her family.
Since Nazia never went to school,she had no prospects of securing a job. However,she had sewing skills which she thought of putting to use.
They live in a rented house and the financial conditions of the household were deteriorating day by day with only one earning member in the family. When Sonia returned home with her infant, Nazia had to even pick jobs as a housemaid to earn money for her grandkid.
Nazia got to know about HomeNet Pakistan (HNP) through Fauzia, social mobilizer of HNP. She wasn’t sure how HNP was going to help her since she was uneducated and had never dreamt of earning money on her own. However, when she attended the first
meeting and heard about the Financial Inclusion of Home-based Workers’ Enterprises through Business Booster Loan and Trainings (FBLT) program, which focused on helping home-based women workers’ financial inclusion in society, she realized it was not
about degrees but about her skills and will to change her circumstances.
Nazia joined the FBLT program and completed its Foundation Level Training in which she learnt about organizing her work and structuring it as a business. This included creating their brand’s identity, bookkeeping, managing inventory and expenses, ensuring profits,marketing,etc.
After the completion of this training, Nazia started ’ Kashaf Silayee Center ’ from home.
Nazia started off by stitching coats for men but it paid very less, making it difficult for her to earn enough to support her family. Hence, she shifted her focus to sewing curtains. Curtains are not stitched in usual tailoring shops. So, she found her niche in curtain sand started investing more time in it.
Nazia,from her Foundation Level Training,learnt to minimize her expenses and set realistic prices for her products by adding everything from material to electricity costs to her labour. This helped her thrive in the business. “I used to stitch clothes and would earn PKR300 or even PKR 200. Then, I had to wait for someone to give me more clothes. But with curtains, I get the order in bulk hence my earnings are better, ” shared Nazia.
Her husband helped her get in touch with shops in the main market that sell curtains. They send her the fabric in bulk and she stitches it for them to sell in their shops.This way both of them make a profit.
Where Naziahada good idea about her niche, she had some issues in implementing it successfully. The roof of her house leaked during rains which used to damage the curtains, especially paste lones but they didn’t have enough resources to get it fixed.This is where HNP stepped forward and helped her acquire a loan of PKR50,000 through HBL Microfinance Bank.They not only guided her towards them but also supported her in preparing the documentation and guarantor,opened her bank account and taught her to use an ATM card. Nazia utilized the loan amount to get her roof fixed so she could complete her orders throughout the year without any hindrance and also invested in buying a better sewing machine.
JOURNEY TO FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Today, she earns approximately PKR 40,000 to 50,000, which she then uses to pay the rent of her home, get the water tanker for her place, and raise her grandchild in a better way. Where they had to ask relatives for loans every month to make ends meet, they are now able to manage their expenses without any outside help.As for the bank’s instalment,her husband has taken the responsibility to pay it every month so she can focus on her business in a better way.
“More than anything, HNP has taught us to be fearless.We learnt that if we are going out of our homes for work or meeting new people, it won’t harm us, ” said Nazia. “Their training and assistance have given us the confidence to make a name for ourselves and take charge of our lives. They have developed and polished our personalities.”
VISION FOR BUSINESS EXPANSION
Nazia plans to expand her business and introduce more articles to her portfolio like bags, purses, pouches, embroidered clothes, and laptop bags ,to attract more customers. Her long-term aim is to buy a small house with her savings so they don’t have to worry about the rent every month. It gives her immense joy to see herself and her daughter being financially self-sustained so their families can grow without worrying about their future.
KASHAF SILAYEE CENTRE, KARACHI, PAKISTAN
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