L.A Sunil (Age 49) lives in the area of Helamada in the Galigamuwa PS of Kegalle district. Sunil is a father of two children and Helamada is his wife’s hometown. About 3 years ago Sunil had been running a small tea boutique in Homagama, however this venture was not successful and subsequently went bankrupt. Shortly afterwards, the family arrived in Helamada with only their personal belongings. In order to support his family Sunil worked as a temporary labourer. However, his sole ambition was to start his own business.
Obtaining a loan from family and friends Sunil purchased a small plot of land close to a stream in the Helamada area. Initially Sunil had obtained sand from the stream and sold this sand as a livelihood. With the money he obtained from this, he was able to construct a small home for the family. With some of his savings and utilizing the natural resources in his property, Sunil was able to commence manufacturing of concrete poles. Sunil purchased the molds for his concrete poles through various creditors and since he was in debt to several people, he was facing difficulties in obtaining further credit for his business venture.
During this time he came to know of the Berendina Microfinance Institute (BMI) and in 2010 he obtained his first loan from BMI of Rs. 25,000 and purchased required molds and raw material for his business venture. With the help of his wife Sunil successfully expanded his business and obtained his second loan of Rs. 50,000 in 2012 and also his third BMI loan of Rs.75,000 in 2014 for business expansion purposes.
Currently, Sunil is able to earn over Rs.50,000 per month through his business and among his products are concrete rings, poles and stones and is now a successful businessman in his area.
Talking of his future plans Sunil stated that he hopes to also purchase a vehicle to transport his products and also provide permanent employment to another person through his business. Sunil expressing his gratitude towards BMI states “the coming of BMI to my village was like a god coming to my village, I would not be a successful businessman today, if not for BMI’s assistance”.
