JOSEPHINE ALIMA: Peanuts Business Earns More than Peanuts
Josephine Alima and her husband acquired an exclusive recipe for peanut biscuits as payment for a debt owed to them. Mrs. Alima had a vegetable-selling business at that time, but she started baking and marketing the peanut biscuits following the recipe she had received. She sold them in small quantities at the local school canteen, groceries, and supermarkets.
The peanut biscuits became a winner among merienda (snack) fans in the community. Demand was so strong that Mrs. Alima decided to close her vegetable stall and focus on producing the biscuits full time. Very soon, she found she needed additional capital to cope with the increased demand.
Buoyed by the positive reaction to her biscuits, Mrs. Alima applied for a loan at the First Isabela Cooperative (FICO) Bank. Through its participation in the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program, FICO had developed and designed a loan product to help microentrepreneurs expand their businesses.
Mrs. Alima availed herself of the bank’s MABS-designed loan, borrowing 25,000 pesos initially. She used the money to convert a section of her house into a mini-bakery and hired additional workers.
Profits resulting from the brisk business have enabled her to purchase additional equipment and ingredients. Now on her third loan, she is building a bungalow that she hopes will house her family and accommodate the business expansion.
Josephine Alima’s exceptional business management capabilities, and her drive to succeed were recognized recently when she was named Citibank’s “Microentrepreneur of the Year” for 2002.
Recent Comments