Place: Lombok, Indonesia Age: 48 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 61 € More than 27% of the total 241 million Indonesians live in poverty. However, there are large regional differences. While in Java, the country’s main island, about 23% of the population live in poverty, the proportion of the poor population in some […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 48 Business: Delivery Service Loan: 90 € Susanna heard about us from her niece Sarah, who at the same time is her neighbor and just received her second micro loan. After presenting a promising business plan together with her loan application, the Project Life Subic team and […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 41 Business: Warung Loan: 35 € Update June 2019 Mawati received another loan in order to further increase her business About Mawati In addition to rice, spicy food, dreamlike temples, picturesque beaches and the tropical climate, the well-known warungs – mobile stalls and food kitchens – are also […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 53 Business: Minimart Loan: 35 € Many Indonesians have less than two euros to live each day. With the money, they often barely manage to pay for their accommodation and meals. To help these people live better and independent lives, we launched a new program in April 2017 […]
Place: Selong, Indonesia Age: 47 Business: Street Vendor Loan: 67 € Life hasn’t been easy for 43-year-old Murniati. After a short marriage, her husband died, leaving her alone with a son. The physically strenuous work in the rice paddies of Lombok helped the single parent to feed herself and her child, but […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 33 Business: Warung Loan: 35 € Originally from the island of Lombok, Mainim decided to move to Bali last year, because after the earthquake of 2018, Bali’s already impoverished neighbouring island fared even worse. The 33-year-old has rented a spot on the road around Denpasar and now sells […]
During our stay on the Indonesian island of Lombok, we also visit Raodah in the village of Jurit Baru. The 39-year-old’s home sits on an unpaved road, with the village mosque 50 meters away. The sun has just set and the muezzin calls to prayer, so we have to speak very loudly to understand each […]
Ort: Denpasar, Indonesien Alter: 23 Geschäft: Cracker Verkauf Kredit: 2 x 35 € Vielen Indonesiern stehen pro Tag weniger als zwei Euro zum Leben zur Verfügung. Mit dem Geld schaffen sie es oftmals nur knapp, für ihre Unterkunft und Mahlzeiten zu bezahlen. Um diesen Menschen zu einem besseren und unabhängigen Leben zu […]
Several powerful earthquakes shook the small village of Sapit in the east of the Indonesian island of Lombok last year. Many buildings were damaged or destroyed. Residents in the region were panicking, many have lost confidence in a “safe” home. Even half a year later, most people don’t dare stay in their homes. Instead, they […]
Two of our micro-borrowers live about an hour apart. Angelo and Sarah both grew up in poor conditions in the Philippines. Sarah lives in Olongapo City and Angelo in Subic. Beyond their living conditions, the two have one thing in common – they both successfully participated in our training program! Both wanted to provide for […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 42 Business: Streetfood Loan: 2 x 35 € Update January 2019 After Ekta repaid her first microcredit, she received a second one. About Ekta Denpasar is not only the capital of the island of Bali, it is also the economic and social center. Almost 500,000 people live there, […]
The small village of Kelayu is located in the highlands of the Indonesian island of Lombok. The houses huddle on the steep slopes and rice terraces at Sambalun Mountain, the small neighbour of Rinjani volcano. The inhabitants are rice and cattle farmers. If you want to go to Kelayu, you have to leave the asphalted […]
A few months ago, several strong earthquakes shook the Indonesian island of Lombok. First aid reached the victims quickly and the locals could soon begin to rebuild their homes. The economic life in the small villages, however, came to a complete fall for a few weeks. Together with our partner organisation Gema Alam, we gave […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 45 Business: Offerings Loan: 2x 70 € Update December 2018 In December, a lot of Hindu Holidays were coming up. In order to satisfy the higher demand for offerings, Wardani received a second micro loan of 70 Euro. About Wardani Wardani is from the Balinese capital Denpasar, Ardiasa […]
In the village of Wanasaba we visit Kasmiati. Since our partner organisation Gema Alam does not carry out projects in Wanasaba otherwise, Kasmiati is the only participant. She heard about Gema Alam’s projects and the micro-credits because she is a member of a village cooperative in the neighbouring village. The small hut consists of a […]
title photo by Conweimar Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 47 Business: Coconuts Loan: 2x 70 € Update December 2o18 Shortly before our visit of Sutri’s store, Sutri received another micro loan. This helped her to order in bulk and ever since, a delivery truck comes by her shop every day. This makes her […]
A few months ago, several strong earthquakes shook the Indonesian island of Lombok. First aid reached the victims quickly and the locals could soon begin to rebuild their homes. The economic life in the small villages, however, came to a complete fall for a few weeks. Together with our partner organisation Gema Alam, we gave […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 37 Business: Sari Sari Store Loan: 83 € Subic is a municipality in Zambales province and the site of a former U.S. military base at Subic Bay. Our micro-borrower Carina lives among approximately 100,000 inhabitants of the city. The 37-year-old mother lives in a small one-room-home with […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 32 Business: Hijab-Shop Loan: 67 €; 67 € Update November 2018 Oktavia’s strategy worked and her increased product variety also attracted more customers. As she is selling more now, she also needs to have more items in stock. With another micro loan, we enabled Oktavia to increase her […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 33 Business: Sari-Sari Store Loan: 90 € 33-year old Royane lives together with her family in their own home in Subic. Owning property is quite uncommon for most of the population due to high levels of destitution. Her husband Benwil works as a grinder and makes approximately […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 32 Business: Tailor shop Loan: 2 x 35 € Update November 2018 Unfortunately, Miswaras was not able to buy all materials she needed, as prices had increased significantly. Therefore she first wanted to repay her loan and then receive another one in order to buy the rest. Über […]
Place: Barretto, Philippinen Age: 31 Business: Sari-Sari Store Loan: 90 € Olongapo is a city in the Southwestern part of Luzons, the largest island of the Philippines. The city is close to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which, until 1992, was a US marine base. The people there live in deprived […]
Place: Olongapo, Philippines Age: 22 Business: Clothing Store Loan: 90 € Similar to some of our other micro entrepreneurs, 22-years old Angelie lives in Olongapo, the largest Filipino city close to Subic Bay. Angelie lives there with her husband and four children, who are aged between 1 – 6 years. At the moment, […]
Place: Olongapo, Philippines Age: 50 Business: Sari-Sari Store Loan: 50 € As eldest sister and mother, Amy takes care of her youngest sister and her youngest brother, as well as her two sons, her daughter (29) and her granddaughter. This mix of generations is typical for a Filipino family from the […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 37 Business: Grocery Store Loan: 90 € After the separation from her husband, the 37-year-old Loren now lives together with her four children in Subic, a Philippine municipality in the province of Zambales. There, they inhabit a house with a small sales room, in which Loren sells […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 51 Business: Warung Loan: 3 x 71 € Update November 2018 In the past months, prices for gasoline increased in Indonesia, too. This meant rising prices for the ingredients of Nursiya’s warung. But while others had to close down their businesses, Nursiyah acted smart and reduced her product […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 25 Business: Banten Loan: 2 x 71 € Update November 2018 The couple was able to fully repay their loan in time. Now, six months later and cautious as they are, they want to take the next step and increase their business activities even further. Therefore they received […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 45 Business: Offerings Loan: 4 x 71 € Update September 2018 Aryati received a fourth loan – her business is improving continuously. Update July 2018 It is always difficult for us to determine the income changes of our participants. On the one hand, they usually do not account […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 43 Business: Tailor shop Loan: 3 x 71 €; 100 € Update November 2018 The sharp increase in prices gives most micro entrepreneurs a hard time in Denpasar, this includes our program participants, also Lodiwika. For her to still be able to buy wholesale, we gave her a […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 52 Business: Restaurant Loan: 35€; 52€; 71€; 71€ Update April 2018 After four years, Sutarmi has decided to close her curb-side stall on Bali, as the competition was getting too strong over the past six months. Even with a subsidiary, she barely made any money. Instead, she opened a […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 63 Business: Warung Loan: 3 x Update September 2018 We gave out our 125. micro loan to Rati in September. For her it was the third loan which she will use to expand her little Warung a bit further. Update May 2018 Rati repaid her loan in time. […]
Place: Baretto, Philippines Age: 25 Business: Tailorshop Loan: 100€; 2 x 166€ Update September 2018 Now, Jenifer received another micro loan as she was not able to fulfill a large order without immediately getting an additional machine. Update June 2018 Jenifer cancelled a third loan application. She had saved enough money to […]
During his stay in the Philippines, Director Tobias Schüßler was able to visit Catherine as well. „In 2014, she was the first to receive a GMI micro loan,“ he explains. „Over the years, she improved her skills a lot. Today she is really confident and without outside help, finds new ways to sell her products.“ […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 55 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 3 x 71 € Update July 2018 First the orders increased and now also the profits rose by approximately ten percent. Supriyadi wants to increase her business further and therefore got another loan. Update May 2018 After the loan was fully repaid, the […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 41 Business: Lieferant Loan: 71 € Like so many others, Herman and his wife Fitriana left their home in an economically disadvantaged region of Java and moved to Bali. However, they had to leave their older children at Herman’s mother’s house, so they could continue their education. Living […]
We introduce you regularly to the stories of the people who have received micro loans from us for their small enterprises. But what happens when the loan is paid back, maybe even a second or a third one? How do our participants go on with their lives? I would like to show you with an […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 31 Business: Bakery Loan: 71 € For the first time, we are helping a baker, Nur Walidaiyah. Contrary to western bakeries, her products are based on rice instead of wheat. And as it is normal in Indonesian family businesses, her store, in this case her bakery, is […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 49 Business: Straßenstand Loan: 71 € Dewi and her husband both work very hard to take care of their three children. Toni sells sunglasses whereas Dewi operates a Warung, a typical Indonesian kiosk. Together, they earn a daily per capita income of 1,70€. Since the living costs […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 37 Business: Laundry Loan: 71 €; 71 €; 71 € Update March 2018 After fully repaying a second loan, Eka asked for and received a third as the number of clients increased a lot. Update January 2018 Thanks to larger bulk packs, Eka was able to reduce costs […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesien Age: 35 Business: Selling Crackers Loan: 35€; 35€ Update November 2017 It’s “Galungan” soon, a big hindu ceremony. Similar to our Christmas, people are buying a lot of things for friends and family. In order to make use of the increased demad, we give Indhartik a second micro loan. […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesien Age: 52 Business: Straßenstand Loan: 71 € Sri and Sutoyo moved from East-Java to Bali with their daugther and two sons in 2008, because the shoe factory where she worked shut down and she could not find any work elsewhere. Sutoyo started working as construction worker and Sri helped […]
Place: Suela, Indonesia Age: 25 – 40 Business: Various Loan: 5 x 135€ Five of our borrowers are living in Lombok. However different their initial situations are, they all have a common goal: together with ‘FORUMULA’, their village cooperative, they would like to build a tourist information center where one can […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 67 Business: Road Stall Loan: 5 x 35€ Update February 2018 Rasmini receives another microcredit. Update Dezember 2017 Rasmini was able to repay all her micro loans in time. Now she receives a fourth loan. Even this time the senior citizen does not want to take a bigger risk and […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 59 Business: Gasoline Loan: 35€; 53€; 53€; 71€; 71€ Update May 2018 Rising oil prices made the gasoline prices clim in Indonesia, too, especially over the holidays. We therefore gave Seni another micro loan so that she would not have to close her second gas station. Update January 2018 Seni […]
Place: Matain, Philippines Age: 32 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 192€; 96€ Update November 2017 The latest trend in the Philippines: Hello Kitty products. The single mom knows how to make use of this opportunity and also produces Hello Kitty bags. For a bulk order of the respective materials she received another micro loan. […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 48 Business: Biscuits Loan: 35€; 35€; 53€; 71€ Update February 2018 Nothing is greater for us than hearing that our participants start helping others with their skills. Sriami realized that she reached her capacity for producing even though demand was still high. She could now hire her first […]
Place: Pringgasela, Indonesia Age: 70 Business: Weaving Loan: 135€ 70-year-old Komala lives in her deceased husbands’ house, located in Pringgasela Selatan together with her daughter. In her early years, her mother taught Komala sewing and natural dyeing, using natural ingredients of the tarum tree. This is an Indonesian plant which grows in coastal and […]
Place: Olangapo, Philippines Age: 55 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 192€; 96€ Update October 2017 In the strictly catholic Philippines, Christmas season traditionally starts in September. This is the best time to sell, so Emencita wants to increase her production to benefit from the situation. In order to buy in bulk in Manila, she […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 54 Business: Curbside stall Loan: 35 € 54-year old Sutri and her husband Gundara are originally from Karangasm, eastern Bali. They have three children. After their wedding in 2000 they moved to Denpasar. Sutri makes “Banten”, traditional offerings which are used in Hindu rituals. She delivers them […]
Place: Peringgasela, Indonesia Age: 39 Business: Weaving Loan: 135€ Update December 2018 It took almost one year until Sri repaid her loan as planned. Now she received a second one in order to expand the village shop further. About Sri 39-year-old Sri lives with her mother in Peringgasela Selatan. After graduating in 1998 she […]
Place: Selong, Indonesia Age: 29 Business: Warung Loan: 15€ 29-year-old Muslihan lives as one of six daughters with her parents in a small apartment in Selong. She recently received a micro loan from us. In this interview you can read what she utilized it for. Gema Alam: Telll us some thing about yourself. […]
Place: Selong, Indonesia Age: 30 Business: Warung Loan: 14€ As a small neighbouring island of Bali, the island Lombok receives only little attention. With its magnificent nature, high mountains and friendly inhabitants, Lombok is equally charming. Thanks to our partner organisation Gema Alam we got to know 30-year old Yon. His parents moved […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 48 Business: Warung Loan: 35€; 35€ Update November 2017 With one month delay, Sulis fully repaid her second micro loan. Update August 2017 Sulis tried to track the success of her first loan. The stunning result: from her 35€ investment, she made a profit of 35€ after full repayment! Motivated by her […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 39 Business: Lieferservice Loan: 35€; 2 x 50€; 2 x71€ Update December 2017 Before her first micro loan, Rumini was able to deliver to five curb side shops. Now the number rose to seven. After her return from Java, the situation went back to normal, therefore she is now confident […]
Place: Olongapo City, Philippines Age: 30 Business: Street Food Loan: 125€ Cindy lives with her 11-year old daughter Charlotte in Olongapo City in the Philippines. The 30-year old never had an easy life. With her husband and her daughter, Cindy lived for a long time at her parents in one of the cities […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 44 Business: Food Delivery Loan: 35€; 71€, 71€ Update November 2017 Victor repaid his third microcredit one month later than expected. He is now able to send his children to a better school. Update August 2017 After repaying his second loan, Victor’s income increased another 15%. Distributing to more roadside […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 23 Business: Warung Loan: 35€ As a small island in the midst of the Indian Ocean with breath-taking beaches, friendly inhabitants and a unique culture, Bali attracts many tourists as well as inhabitants of the neighbouring island Java as does the 23-year-old Debaya, who moved to Bali together with her […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 47 Business: Small Restaurant Loan: 137€; 135€; 135€ Update Juni 2017 To further improve her business, Gendriani received a third micro loan of 135€. Update Mai 2017 Gendriani repaid her second micro loan on time. Update April 2017 To take part in a Hindu ceremony in her home town, Gendriani […]
Today we visit Nur A’Iniah. She is one of last year’s participants who conducted a two months course to learn how to sew and make traditional balinese clothes. On our motor bikes, Gusti from WKP and I leave one of the crowded main roads in the Indonesian city Denpasar and enter areas with more and […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 54 Business: Foodstall Loan: 135€; 135€; 135€ Update March 2017 After she was able to repay the previous loan earlier than planned, the successful entrepreneur receives a third and last micro loan from us. Now she also sells jackfruit. During our visit, she happily explains Director Tobias Schüßler how she came […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 60 and 61 Business: Warung Loan: 135€; 135€ Update June 2017 Asmawati and Edi received a second micro loan in order to further improve their small restaurant. Update May 2017 Asmawati and Edi repaid their micro loan in time. About Asmawati and Edi It is 30 years ago that Asmawati and […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 52 Business: Delivery Service Loan: 142€; 178€; 135€ Update May 2017 Hermanto repaid his last microcredit in time! Update March 2017 Hermanto received a third and last microcredit from us. He used it to make another large bulk order. Update Dezember 2016 After a dramatic motorcycle accident Hermanto was not […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 38 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 96€ Update May 2017 Aireen fully repaid her microloan in advance. About Aireen Aireen lives together with her husband and three children in Subic, Philippines. Until recently, the woman had to stay at home and take care of the family as her husband lived abroad for […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 33 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 96€ North of Subic Bay, not far from the international cooperations in the freeport zone, the small town Subic with its 90.000 inhabitants is located. This is where Alimie lives together with her husband and child. Her husband’s unemployment is a big financial challenge for […]
A transparent evaluation of our programs is especially important to us in order to guarantee sustainable programs in Indonesia and the Philippines. Our first impact study shows positive results in Denpasar, Indonesia: Yenni’s Warung In order to provide for her living after the death of her husband in 2015, Yenni (51) decided to open a […]
Place: Subic, Philippines Age: 19 Business: Tailor Shop Loan: 98€ So far, April is the youngest participant in our program. Furthermore, she is also the first one to take up study at university as it is her dream to become a teacher. With the microloan she bought a sewing machine as well as cloth […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 51 Business: Diner Loan: 135€; 135€; 135€ Update January 2017 Yenni repaid her third micro loan. Her daily income now averages 5,35€. That is a 78% increase when compared to before the first microcredit! Update October 2016 Yenni applied for a third and final loan after having repaid her first two micro loans in […]
Place: Denpasar, Indonesia Age: 34 Business: Kerbside Stand Loan: 102€; 135€ Update June 2017 Risa received a second micro loan from us! Now she finally hopes to turn her dream of her own small shop into reality. Update March 2017 Risa opened her small kiosk in order to provide for her family after Hermanto’s […]
On this page you can read about our former project participants and find out how a micro loan changed their lives.
