Trying to establish a successful business in a country hit by the tsunami, civil war, and ethnic division might be too much to expect from anyone. Doing so with a significant physical disability would make it seem next to impossible. Don’t tell that to Rasanayagam Baskaran. Rasanayagam has one arm. He is the father to two disabled children. Yet, he is one of the most successful chicken breeders and retailers in his region of his war torn country. He started with just 20 chickens – now, with access to loan capital and basic business training from PEER Servants’ microfinance partner, he generates profits of $250 per month. He provides employment for three other family members. How did he do it? Innovation, honesty, and excellent customer service.
Chickens used to be only sold whole in Rasanayagam’s village. He studied the condition of his people and knew he could significantly open up his market if he decided to be the first to introduce selling the chicken in parts. The product would become more affordable to the materially poor, and those who preferred certain parts of the chicken could order what they liked. His business boomed. Now, with one arm, he was struggling to keep up with the demand. That’s when he created an innovative means to hook up his motorbike to the trailer used to carry his chickens to market. It even allowed him to cater to weddings and other celebrations in his region. Rasanayagam, a Hindu, is always very honest with his clients and, even when he runs out of chickens, he will purchase them from other suppliers to meet the needs of his customers. His customers have become the best advertisers of his business. Rasanayagam has his sights set on future business growth. He has already added firewood as a product for his customers to be able to cook the chickens. Soon he will add ready-to-cook vegetables to make the meal complete. He can now meet the medical costs of his disabled children. “When we first met Rasanayagam, we weren’t going to make him a loan because of his disability,” noted the local loan officer. Now, with Rasanayagam as one of their most successful clients, they’re certainly glad they did. |
Victor Antoci’s business is manufacturing high-quality cement blocks for construction projects in his native Moldova. He started his cement block manufacturing back in 2006. Through a series of growing amounts of loan capital and basic business training offered by Invest Credit (PEER Servants’ Moldovan microfinance partner), Victor was able to buy additional materials and machinery and grow the business. He now employs two men full-time and many others week-to-week. His excellent repayment record has allowed him to access over $18,000 in the 4 loans he has received from Invest Credit. There’s much more to Victor’s life than his business success. He takes great joy in creating a means wherein others in his village can provide for their families and improve the community. One of his employees lives in a 2 room house with his wife and 5 children – Victor is committed to providing that employee free concrete blocks to expand his home. The recent economic downturn has hit his construction-related business hard – yet, he has made significant personal sacrifices to continue to pay the salaries of his employees. Victor, back when business was better, even donated all of the concrete blocks to build an orphanage in his village.
Victor is also a pastor. Despite business demands, he still visits church members on most afternoons and inmates in the local prison. There is great synergy between the business and the church – the business creates income that fuels many of the church’s ministries; the church and Victor’s impeccable reputation in the community allow the business to be associated with trust and integrity. While times are tough, Victor has not dimmed his vision to be an agent of transformation in his community one bit. He is trying to build the business by reaching out to underserved adjacent villages, adding window and door production, and renting out some unused business space so that others in his community can start a small business. He knows that ultimately God is in control, and thus he continues to dream of ways he can influence his community and church through his business. |
Mrs. Kikielomo Oluwasegun’s first loan from Good Seed Enterprise Development, PEER Servants’ microfinance partner in Nigeria, was for $75. With that she was supposed to have received 150 chickens – she received only 75. Refusing to be discouraged, Kikielomo worked hard to build the business. She maintained an excellent repayment rate and received three more loans – the current one for almost $2,000. In just over a year, she had a poultry farm with over 2,000 chickens!
Kikielomo chose to pursue a real niche in the poultry farming business. She uses her expertise to effectively manage the high risk of raising chickens from birth to three weeks and then sells them to other farmers. In addition, she sells smaller table-sized birds to restaurants and hotels to serve to their more upscale clientele. But the real niche for Kikielomo is what she does with the business profits: Kikielomo subsidizes Diamond Private School, a school she started to provide affordable and quality Christ-centered education for 150 less-privileged children in a high density slum. Given her commitment to improve the community, many farmers, restaurants, and hotels are eager to do business with her. Kikielomo has used the profits from her poultry business to build a two-classroom block, buy books, and build desks. She now employs 9 teachers at the school. The school is located in a community where many of the parents cannot afford to send their children to school and even if they could, the quality of education in the government schools is very poor and Christian moral values are not emphasized. Kikielomo is much more intent on giving these children a solid academic and spiritual foundation than she is in benefiting personally from her business success. Kikielomo’s vision is for 7,000 chickens, thereby allowing her to build a bigger and better school for the neighborhood children she loves so much. And where will all of those 7,000 chickens live? Kikielomo is already planning to turn her modest home into an expanded chicken coop – she and her husband will move to take whatever steps are needed to use her business as a means to bless her community. |
