Woman’s income up from RM1,000 to RM1 million with AIM’s aid
Being mired in poverty, Mariam Hussin did all sorts of jobs, including dealing in scrap metal, to support her family.
“Whatever I could do to make money,” she said. Her monthly income was less than RM1,000.
In 2003, her family was so poor that she could not afford to buy disposable diapers that were on sale for her children.
This, however, inspired Mariam to enter the disposable diaper industry by going overseas to find cheaper diapers that could be resold here.
All this was made possible through the assistance of microcredit organisation Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM).
“I went to South Korea to import their products and distributed them in Malaysia and overseas. The quality of the product was good.
“Transport, food and lodging — from the airport to their factories and then to the hotel, and the next day back to the airport, it was all taken care of,” she said, describing the support given by her South Korean supplier with whom she maintains a close working relationship.
The National Transformation Programme 2016 annual report, which detailed her success story, said Mariam now received up to five containers of disposable diapers from her supplier, which she also exports to Indonesia and the Philippines.
The imported disposable diapers were distributed not only through retail outlets, such as Tesco hypermarkets, but also through online channels such as Mudah.my.
Mariam said AIM had helped small business owners like her by providing promotion and training and raising awareness about her products to other beneficiaries.
“AIM loan repayments are not burdensome either and they give AIM friends the opportunity to n e t w o r k w i t h e a c h o t h e r,” she said.
Never in her wildest dreams did Mariam think she could buy an oil palm plantation, but she did exactly that and more.
“Praise be to God. My monthly revenue is now around RM1 million and I have put my children through university without taking loans, and paid for their wed- dings,” she said.
She advised low-income earners aspiring to be entrepreneurs to take advantage of the facilities and services offered by AIM.
“Sell disposable diapers, which are daily necessities, just like rice.
“I am confident that my fellow Sahabat AIM can succeed the way I have,” she added.