Melinda has been in the embroidery business for as long as she can remember. She was born and raised in Lumban, Laguna, where one of the main industries is to make Barong Tagalog from embroidered jusi. Her own embroidery business has been her family’s alternate source of income for the past 8 years. Her husband works for a company that provides public transport and they have two children who are both in school.

In spite of the means available to them, Melinda’s family still struggles with their finances. Employee compensation makes up 30% of her operational expense, while 64% is from the purchase of raw materials. Completing job orders do not always guarantee income. Payments get delayed, while family and business expense are consistent with schedule.

Melinda heeded the recommendation of a friend and signed up with GPMI with the aspiration to increase her capital so that she can take on projects while waiting for client payments to get updated . The low interest rate and prompt processing of application were key points that won her trust. She was surprised her loan was processed quickly and the terms of payment is not as daunting as she imagined loan payments to be.
Before COVID-19, she saw herself expanding business as job requests come in from outside the province of Laguna. However, the strict implementation of quarantine guidelines severely impacted her business, and made delivery of goods limited, if not impossible.

She still hopes to rejuvenate her enterprise with the lifting of ECQ, continue to provide employment to the locals and eventually proceed with plans to expand her services.