During winter's long nights, Taldykorgan becomes a city of kerosene lamps and candle light. The downward spiral of the economy as industry after industry closed in Taldykorgan has resulted in major constraints on the growth of small business. However, the plant closures and small salaries have pushed some of the most skilled, capable and well educated people to open small businesses. It is precisely under these conditions that microenterprise programs thrive. People take microlending programs extremely seriously, in part because they realize that they are living without a social safety net and they have no other alternatives.
Participants have a great determination to make their businesses succeed.
Now, the harder I work and the more clients I have, the more I will be paid. This makes me feel that I can reach my full potential. We never tried to realize our full capacities in the old regime. The fact that family businesses can be passed on to the next generations is also highly motivating. Although the KCLF's first business loan groups formed in March 1996, until recently Kazakstani law and banking regulations had prevented the KCLF from making its first loans.