“A seed is in the beginning very small, but in the end a great tree”. This is Asma Al-Gashm’s lesson in life.
Asma is a thirty-year-old entrepreneur who lives with her husband in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. She is an ambitious woman, who has always strived for excellence. Five years ago she was a teacher and student supervisor at a private school, now she is the owner of Mayar center for tailoring in Sanaa.
Asma started with an idea to start sewing school uniforms for her school while she was working as a teacher. Soon, she started getting calls from other schools requesting her to start sewing for them.
Asma Al-Gashm sewing a hospital uniform. Photo: CARE/Abdulhakim Al-Ansi
This turned into a small business and when it started to grow Asma left her teaching job, rented a two-room apartment and hired two women to help her as the demand for uniforms increased.
During this time, Asma applied for the training program run by CARE International in Yemen. She received training in microfinance, entrepreneurship and was empowered to better manage her enterprise. She also received a loan that supported her to expand her business.
Asma rented a bigger business space with five rooms and two halls. She has increased her staff to 23 workers and her tailoring shop now receives orders for uniforms from different schools and hospitals. She also makes wedding dresses, bags, traditional clothes and accessories.
Asma dreams that one day her store “Mayar” will become an international brand.
For more on our work in Yemen, click here.