With today being Giving Tuesday, we wanted to take a moment and highlight one of our KIVA loan recipients. CloudVO’s KIVA team, Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs, helps entrepreneurs to have a similar chance at chasing their dreams and working for the future. Working with KIVA has allowed CloudVO to support business owners in countries with limited economic opportunities, and we could not be more proud to share another loan recipient given that today is all about giving back.
Meet Ahmad. He is from Ramtha, a city in the far northwest of Jordan. Ahmad is 40 years old, owns a grocery store, and lives with his wife and four children. He used to commute to work outside of his hometown, leaving his family alone. Given the instability in Jordan, Ahmad started to think twice about leaving his family alone, eventually causing him to make a career change.
Ahmad opened a small grocery store beside his home, where he worked hard to create multiple departments. He currently sells food supplies in one department, provides smoking and the staff of “Argeelah, Sheesha” (flavored tobacco) in the second department, and a butcher in the third department.
Ahmad’s grocery store is the only source of income for his family. With goals to improve his family’s living conditions and to buy necessary stock, Ahmad applied for a loan to stock his store and expand his inventory. Some necessities included soft drinks, chips, candy, etc., along with meat for the butcher. Ahmad asked for a loan of $1,450, which was fulfilled one year ago, with the help of 34 lenders.
The loan is special because it empowers Ahmad, who lives in Jordan, a country with limited economic opportunities, to help his family and his business. Regional instability has caused Jordan to be excluded from global investments for several years, which makes this loan extra special.
