Asma Begum used to run a Banarasi sari workshop in Mirpur for some years, while her son worked at a nearby bulb-manufacturing factory. As her son had developed the technical proficiency to make bulbs, they decided to start a bulb business of their own. In order to take the first step, Asma Begum needed start-up capital. She had heard of Shakti Foundation’s microfinance program from her neighbors and approached them for a loan. Shakti Foundation granted her a Tk. 50,000 loan. She used the money from the loan to buy all the required equipment and machinery to manufacture bulbs.

Asma now runs a successful business that makes unique, colored bulbs that are used as nightlights. The product is made and assembled entirely by hand. Having acquired the technical know-how to make dim bulbs from her son, Asma has trained her staff and now employs 8 people to manufacture the completed bulb. She has set up their business on the top two rooms of 540 square feet, four-story building that she now owns.

Demand for their handmade bulbs has grown in two years with customers in Dhaka Chowk Bazar, Rajshahi and Dinajpur. They sell on average 1200 bulbs daily, for Tk. 100 each, earning approximately Tk. 1,20,000 per day. Her take home profit after employee salaries, operational and vendor expenses averages Tk. 50,000 a month. Her business’ success has driven Asma Begum to now plan on increasing production and grow the business