Shereen, a 35-year-old mother of four from the Minya governorate, is a proud landowner. She recently purchased her property using earnings from her clothing store.

A few years ago, Shereen was not the same woman who runs a village fashion enterprise and serves as the sole breadwinner for her family of six. Shereen used to rely on her husband to provide the essential needs for the entire family until one day he had to quit working due to a series of health problems.

For the first time in her life, Shereen felt obligated to sustain the family financially. 

After learning about a HANDS-sponsored program offering microloans to people wishing to start small businesses, Shereen applied for a small loan to open a shop selling ready-made clothes.

At the beginning, Shereen’s goal was only to earn enough to support her family. However, two years later, her hard work was paying off. The success of her store not only enabled her to support her family but also sparked her entrepreneurial mindset. She applied for a larger loan from HANDS local partner organization to expand the fashions available in her shop.

As her business flourished, Shereen was able to purchase a small piece of land in town, opening doors for expansion of her store or other business investments. She is incredibly thankful to be living a far more stable life than she had ever anticipated. And all of this can be traced back to the moment when Shereen applied for a microloan.

HANDS is so thankful to our dedicated donors for your generous support, which makes such opportunities possible for hardworking and entrepreneurial Egyptians like Shereen. With your partnership, we look forward to continue empowering aspiring business people in the most under-served communities in Egypt.