Miralona

Loan description:

MIralona Reyes is 34 and a widow. She has a business directly employing 12 people and indirectly helping many hundreds more. Miralona has three children aged 14, 12 and 5 respectively. The elder two attend school while the youngest is in nursery. Her husband died a few years ago. She lives in the village of Minasupak near the town of Calatrava in the province of Negros Occidental. Miralona is a wholesale trader of various tropical fruits. She acquires the fruits directly from farmers and other intermediaries and then delivers them to a large international company in the town of Mandaue which is 42 kilometres away from her village. The company in turn exports the fruit and also fruit juice to the United States and various European countries. Normally, she trades in coconuts, pineapples and mangoes. Of her 12 workers, 3 are responsible for loading and transporting the fruits. Another 7 are assigned to travel throughout the province buying fruits from individual farmers. Local farmers, particularly in isolated communities, benefit because they have a stable, regular buyer and do not have to search out selling opportunities in the various markets. Miralona has had the business for the last 9 years. She requested a loan of 150,000 Philippine pesos or around $4000 from the microfinance organisation, First Consolidated Cooperative in order to buy another truck to collect and deliver fruits. This will enable her business to expand visiting more farmers. She intends to repay the loan over 12 months.