Aurangzeb, resident of Kozabakhel, Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was unemployed. Having completed his basic education only he was unable to find a respectable work to feed his family. He explored various channels to seek financial support but the thought of being unable to pay back always hindered his plans. It was in 2019 when the Government of Pakistan launched its Interest Free Loan Programme that he saw hope. He approached the nearby loan centre established by EPS, a partner organization of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund mandated to implement the IFL Programme and applied for an interest free loan of PKR. 20,000.

Aurangzeb possesses good cooking skills and decided to set up a roadside hotel as a means of livelihood. His customers found his freshly delicious, cooked food pleasing to their palate and his business started growing. Soon he realized that despite having a potential of serving more customers he was unable to do so because of shortage of crockery and cooking utensils. It was at that stage that after completing the first loan cycle he applied for another loan. Aurangzeb’s ability to use the loan optimally to grow his business and repay the installments gave him enough confidence to apply for interest free loan for two more times.

Aurangzeb has also expanded the menu at his hotel, other than vegetables and daal he also cooks chicken once in a week on the request of his customers. He finds himself much settled financially and is earning around PKR 800-1200 daily. He believes that the financial support under the IFL Programme has been very helpful to him in not only sustaining his business but also bringing improvement to it.