A Bigger Place
Megdalia Maldonado runs a clothing shop in a small room off to the side of her home. Inside her shop are piled high mountains of clothing shipped to her town in Honduras from the United States. T-shirts, pants, sweaters, skirts, dresses, and shoes balance precariously on her many wooden shelves and hang from racks along the walls. There is barely room to walk around in the store. Megdalia looks around and smiles. “My clients keep telling me I need a bigger place.”
Megdalia has owned her store for nine years. She was initially receiving loans from a different bank in another town (Banco Velo en Danlí) but when she heard of FINCA she decided to give it a try since it was located in her hometown. In January of 2013 she became a member of a group of six clients and received a loan of L 6,000. Because of her subsequent AA credit rating, she was able to receive another loan 6 months later, this time for L 30,000. In June of 2014 she received another loan of L 30,000 which will last her for ten more months.
Megdalia says that she has loved everything about FINCA, especially its ability to help her save up some money. In the future she hopes to move her shop to a larger space, because as she says, “I have so many clients that I don’t fit here anymore.” Her plan is to keep working hard every day in order to continue improving her life. Above all, her faith in God keeps her motivated.