Jessica

Loan description:

Jessica Cuenco is 41 years old and married with three children. Her children are ages 11, 10 and 9 and are all currently studying at the local elementary school. They live in the neighbourhood of Campokpok, which is in the town of Tabango, Leyte province. In order to assist her 41 year old husband, Lyll, to earn income for the family, Jessica established a small grocery store in an area adjacent to their house five years ago. Initially she just sold a few commonly purchased products like snacks and canned goods, but through her hard work and good management her business has grown and she is now able to offer a wider variety of basic commodities such as eggs, bread and condiments. She has also decided to sell a few vegetables particularly bitter gourds, Chinese cabbages and other leafy vegetables. It it the location of Jessica's store, almost 3 kilometres away from the centre of town, that has given her the opportunity to successfully expand in this way. She has recently purchased a small refrigerator where she places all the drinks she sells. Jessica employs one relative who helps her on a regular basis. The microfinance organisation, Omaganhan Multi-Purpose Cooperative, has decided to support Jessica's business by approving a larger loan to help her finance the acquisition of more consumable merchandise and vegetables in bulk. She assures that by buying in bulk she will be able to sell the products to her customers at a much lower price compared to other stores. The income she makes from the business is for the education of all her three children. Jessica hopes that her business will become even more successful and one day grow into a large mart. She intends to repay the loan over a period of six months.