Forced by circumstances
Mae Sheil is a young mother married to a pastor in Bago, Cebu, the Philippines. This region was devastated two years ago by Typhoon Hayan. Unemployment is very high in the aftermath of the typhoon. Mae Sheil and her husband struggle to make ends meet with one of them working as a pastor. They are so poor that they temporarily live in the church that supports them. If they can stand on their own two feet, they will look for a place to live elsewhere.
Business training and Market research
Mae Sheil participated in the Start Your Business training with the idea of starting a food stall. She hopes that will make it possible to support her family. Halfway through the 5-day training, she showed the trainers a photo of one of her competitors’ food stalls. When she was working on her market research, she suddenly jumped up from her chair and ran over to this competitor and started asking him the questions she had learned during the training. She came back with valuable and useful information that will help her start her business.
The MBC helps her to complete her business plan so that she can apply for a loan from a microfinance organization. She has high hopes for this opportunity and is full of hope that this business initiative will lift her out of poverty.
