Zarina's story

Mother of two Zarina took out a small loan of A$635 to grow her waste recycling business. It’s now a sustainable business that provides her with a steady income, while reducing the amount of waste going to landfill or being dumped in her community.

 “Metal, iron sheet, plastic, empty milk containers, cardboard, we buy it all, and sort it, and then we sell it to different warehouses,” Zarina said.

Zarina and her husband Imran rise at 5am, collect their water for the day, and have breakfast. They do their ‘namaz’ prayers (Muslim prayers), and light incense for the gods before opening their workshop for the day.

Her husband goes out to pick up scrap and waste, and they work hard sorting the items and reselling the sorted items, working until 7pm. Sometimes they rely on day labourers to help in the business, but they do most of the work themselves. “We get everything done, no job is too difficult,” said Zarina. Their hard work has proven profitable.

With the income from her business, Zarina can cover their household expenses, cover unexpected expenses when they come up, and she is also able to pay for her children’s education. She’s putting her daughter Mehzbin through college and supporting her son Khalid’s high school education.

With subsequent loans Zarina has continued to grow the business, ensuring her family will be taken care of.

We want our children to get ahead in life after being educated. I don’t ever want them to experience the problems we have faced,” said Zarina.

Measuring transformation through microfinance

Opportunity is committed to measuring and reporting on how microfinance is supporting families to transform their futures. We use our own Social Performance Management framework for monitoring and sharing our successes and challenges, and reporting on the impact of support.

In 2022, Opportunity participated in the inaugural 60 Decibels Microfinance Index. The study’s findings were incredibly heartening, even in the wake of the economic impact of the pandemic. The study surveyed 18,000 clients of microfinance organisations, including 1,000 clients of four of Opportunity’s microfinance program partners in India and Indonesia. We have committed to year two of the survey, and look forward to sharing the results in 2023.

Results of the study in 2022 found that:

9 out of 10 people reported improved quality of life thanks to accessing a loan

2 out of 3 people accessing a loan through our partners would not otherwise have been able to access financing for their small business

7 out of 10 families have increased their savings – allowing them to be more resilient and protect families against future shocks

Learn more about how microfinance helps break the cycle of poverty for low-income families.