‘From nothing’ to success in animal husbandry through microcredit
By Barat Azizov
”…. Before the loan, we had nothing, not even a cow; nothing but a small monthly allowance provided by the government for Internally Displaced Persons. More than 10 years have passed since we took the first loan. Today, our lives have improved, and we even bought a car. All these changes happened thanks to loans provided by AzerCredit and our own persistence”, says 45-year-old Khalide Ahmedova.
Khalide Ahmedova, 45, her husband and four children live in the government-built settlement for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Geranboy district, Azerbaijan. Her husband became disabled after a car accident 16 years ago in which his hip and leg were broken.
Khalide was born in 1965 and lived with her family in the Kelbejer district of Azerbaijan until the occupation in 1993, during armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The family had no choice but to leave all their belongings and property and flee for their lives. They lived in several places and after the ceasefire in 1994, the family settled in Geranboy, a frontline district, where the Azerbaijani government built a large IDP settlement.
In addition to coping with the harsh conditions of life in an IDP settlement, Khalide’s husband was badly injured in a car accident. With his hip bone and leg broken, he was unable to walk.
Supporting the family became Khalide’s responsibility and she worked hard to help her family survive through those very hard times.
Life took a turn in 1998 when Khalide joining a female loan group, through World Vision’s partner microfinance organisation AzerCredit, which enabled Khalide and her family to start an animal husbandry business.
The second and subsequent loans were used to purchase more animals and fodder.
Now, they own a herd of cows and sheep of their own.
”Since we live in a rural area, the only source of earning is agriculture activity. The monthly IDP allowance that we get from the Government is perhaps enough to survive somehow, but is not sufficient to enable us to live a normal life”, explains Khalide.
With the first loan they bought three calves and slowly built up their own business.
“The loan helped us to rise from poverty when we were having hard times and when our children were still too small to work and make money. Things got easer when our elder sons grew up and we helped them to launch their own business, again with the help of business loans from AzerCredit”, says Khalide.
The family bought an old tractor and water tanker truck which they use to sell water to other families in the settlement.
And the family purchased a number of items for their home provided by the Government in the IDP settlement, with the income generated from the loan.
“Though nobody is educated in our family, I am glad my daughter, who is 15 now, shows a deep interest in pursing a higher education. With the increased income, we were able to hire tutors for her”, says Khalide.
Animal husbandry is the only source of income in the IDP settlement where no arable land is available to grow plants or cultivate crops.
Khalide’s family managed to triple their family income since her first loan and they now have six cows, ten sheep, a ”Lada” car, a tanker truck, and a tractor . The family is planning to expand the business, invest more in the animal husbandry and apply for another loan which will be used to purchase more cattle and fodder.
And further still, the family will use income generated by the business to pay for treatment for Khalide’s husband to improve his mobility and even enable him to walk again.
”Loans from VisionFund AzerCredit helped us to get started and get out of poverty. We started with a very small number of animals and expanded our business quite well. In addition to cattle breeding, I have helped my elder sons to start other small businesses”, adds Khalide.
VF AzerCredit currently has 34,194 loan clients (including 14,701 female clients) with a loan portfolio of US$24,880,497.
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