Bassam Abed Rabbo

For two years, Bassam struggled to keep his small, frozen foods grocery store alive! He worked alone; kept an improvised, often inaccurate, inventory system; and would hope to sell enough product to customers, who had the choice of three other similar stores, on the same street. Keeping his doors open was a daily strain!
When a Tamweelcom manager dropped into his store, one day, on one of his frequent visits to other businesses along that street, Bassam decided to “hear him out”. With his first loan of JD500, Bassam bought a new freezer and expanded his selection of frozen foods; he bought frozen meats which he cut and packaged, according to customer request. And heeding the advice of his Tamweelcom manager, Bassam introduced sales prices which attracted more customers.
Bassam repaid his loan; and with the support of his case manager, Bassam obtained a second loan of JD1200 and opened another grocery store, four meters up the road. The second store specialized in yoghurt, cheese, pickles and processed meats. He hired three employees for both stores; and an accountant for the separate administration of each store. Five years later, Bassam is planning to open a third store, a butcher shop for fresh poultry. His case manager continues to visit him, regularly, to offer advice and support.
“The hard times are over”, Bassam says with clear optimism; “So much has come out of nothing”. The case manager is obviously affronted by this last statement. “Not from nothing, Bassam”, he corrects him; “it was your hard work, good sense and total commitment. So much has come out of that”!