Erika Estefania

Erika Pazmiño is 22 years old and from the smal town of Catamayo in southern Ecuador.

At the beginning of the school season, the first thing Erika does is to make a budget of the materials she needs to invest for the manufacture of school uniforms. She specialises in making school and sports uniforms. This is the most intensive period of the year for her as she needs to work hard to complete orders. She starts early each day and always has to take on temporary assistants to help her. Erika actually started working as an apprentice when she was 11 years old at a local sports uniform workshop. She continued with her studies and obtained a diploma as a dress maker. About two years ago she decided to start her own business with help from her parents. She is part of the Textile Association of Catamayo and is now acting as the secretary of the institution. With the profits she has bought a total of six sewing machines, each performing slightly different functions. Erika reckons that she makes a monthly profit of around $400. She requested a loan to buy another industrial sewing machine for $800 as well as a large quantity of fabric. She expects to repay the loan over 15 monthly installments.