Sajida wants a loan to buy groceries for her grocery shop. Nasreen wants a loan to buy material (betel nuts, betel leaves) for her Pan Shop. (Pan is an Urdu word used for betel leaves in Pakistan.) Asia wants a loan to buy plastic baby toys for her toy-selling business. Shahnaz is the group leader of the afore-mentioned ladies. They all come from a city called Lahore, famous in Pakistan for its historical places and its Punjabi foods.

Shahnaz is a 43-year-old woman. She is an uneducated lady because her parents couldn’t afford her education expenses due to lack of financial resources. She has a two-room brick house in which she has been living with her family for the past 22 years. She has given birth to three children: two boys and one daughter. Her sons work in a gas station on monthly wage. Her daughter is 16 years old and reads in 9th standard. Her husband's name is S. A. and he is a driver by profession and drives an auto-rickshaw (a local three-wheeled motor vehicle).

Shahnaz is a very hard-working lady. She does embroidery on different items such as tablecloths and pillow covers and sells her embroidery at the market. She does this work to supplement their income. She is applying for a loan to repair her husband’s auto-rickshaw because it’s creating a problem and if it isn’t repaired soon the chances are its engine might seize up which would be a great loss.

This is a group loan. The loan funds will be distributed among the group members, each of whom will invest in her own business. The members mutually guarantee one another's loans. If one member does not repay, the other members are responsible.

Note: Shahnaz is seated second from left holding a piece of embroidered cloth.