The Linens Lady

As the sole breadwinner in a family of six, a group borrower relies heavily on her small business venture. Gamalette Assem Aly relies on her linen business to support her husband and five children. “If LEAD wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be able to work,” – Gamalette Assem Aly, of the microfinance institution she borrows from

Gamalette Assem Aly can be considered the linens lady in her town of Moustorod, located in the outskirts of Cairo. Thanks to a loan from the LEAD Foundation, Gamalette has started her own business of buying cloth from suppliers, and cutting and sewing it into bedding, and selling it to her neighbors. “People in town buy from me because I have good manners, fair prices, and they know I am very honest,” she remarks. “If LEAD wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be able to work,” explains Gamalette, who is now on her second loan from the Foundation, valued at 500 L.E. equivalent to ($90). As the sole breadwinner in a family of six, Gamalette’s modest linens business is critical to the family’s wellbeing. “My biggest expense is my children’s education,” says Gamalette. “I use my profit from the business to cover these expenses. The most important thing to me is supporting my family.” Gamalette and four other Moustorod women make up a group borrowing unit, where they take collective responsibility of guaranteeing each other’s payments. This mechanism reduces the Foundation’s risk of lending to woman with very little collateral because it relies heavily on the women’s social obligation to each other to repay on time. In addition, grouping several small valued loans together reduces the transaction costs faced by microfinance institution. “I plan to buy a second sewing machine with my next loan so that I may hire a full time employee,” explains Gamalette, who has visions of growing both her business and her profits.