A Grocery Shop That Grew

For more than a decade, the Bibi family ran a small neighbourhood grocery store in Lahore. The shelves were thin and they could never afford to stock the items families asked for most. A microfinance loan of 40,000 rupees changed their scale. They bought fresh flour, cooking oil and staple goods in bulk at wholesale rates, and added a cold drink refrigerator for the summer months. In six months, sales grew nearly sixty percent. The family now employs their younger cousin and is planning a second shop. "We never imagined our corner store could support two households," says the father, Muhammad Younis.