Jewelry that Breaks the Mold

A loan from the LEAD Foundation enables a Cairene jewelry designer and manufacturer to expand his product line. A worker in Ishak Lotfy’s jewelry shop prepares the mold for gold earrings. “The loans have helped me buy large quantities of materials to make my jewelry with,” – Ishak Lotfy, jewelry designer and manufacturer

“There are a thousand workshops in the Khan el Khalili,” explains Ishak Lotfy, a middle-aged jewelry designer. “It’s hard to stand out.” The solution? A 2,900 L.E. equivalent to ($500) loan from the LEAD Foundation that gave Ishak the working capital necessary to purchase enough silver and gold to go beyond his usual custom orders and begin a new jewelry line based on his own sketches. A designer by nature, Ishak relished the opportunity to express his creative side by making rings, pendants and earrings. The fact that LEAD would lend him the money to get such a business expansion off the ground sweetened the deal. A client of the LEAD Foundation for a year and a half, Ishak is now looking forward to his third loan 10,000 L.E. equivalent to ($1750) that he intends to spend on high value materials, such as gold, as a way to increase his profit margin. Three employees work beside him in his small second floor Cairo workshop where he neatly inspects the quality of jewels that leave his workshop. “I feel happy seeing people wearing my jewelry, but it’s always a struggle to stay ahead of the competition.” says Ishak with a smile. Ishak employs three people at his workshop, and hopes to expand his operations in the future.