Afsana from Azerbaijan
32 year-old Afsana lives in the Fuzuli region of Azerbaijan. She was left by her husband when their two children were still very small. She says it was really difficult for her to carry this heavy burden. But she had to be strong, and her main priority was to survive with small kids. She started small–scale poultry farming. Her poultry farm was providing income from the sale of birds and eggs. It is already 6 years that Afsana has been engaged in this business and it is steadily growing.
In 2016, Afsana joined training on Financial Education and how to start and improve a business conducted by Finance and Social Innovation Consulting (FSIC) and funded by Switzerland.
“The training provided me with broad information about smart borrowing, income and expenses, and financial goals. Actually, after the training I started to go to the market only with the list of goods I should buy, as it was recommended at the training. I was never spending too much on children’s wishes, as I always had limited financial resources. But I had never thought how I could save even more. After the training, I also started to control my utility expenses, and to buy clothes and gifts only during sales season. As a result, I was able to avoid unnecessary expenses and save more. The savings allowed me to expand my poultry farm by buying more chickens. Moreover, I could buy 3 cows from the savings and the loan which I took to start the new business. I learned how to effectively run and expand the business. I learned how to calculate monthly and annual income and expenditure. I understand that if I want to achieve something, I need to identify my financial goal first and then go towards that goal.”
