Ana María Blanco de Avedaño is a mother of four daughters who lives in Bogotá, Colombia. In 1988, she got a job as a "house mother" with the Colombian Institute of Family Well-Being and started a kindergarten and daycare center. In 1993, she decided to move the preschool into her home, but she had no money to pay for the remodeling that was needed or to buy furniture for the children.

Anastasia Ndanu is the proprietor of the Kuwait Fuel Station in the township of Mbumbuni, in Kenya. In addition to fuel, Ndanu also sells kerosene for domestic use. Mbumbuni township has no electricity so most of the area residents depend on kerosene for lighting and cooking.

Hellen Kabutha runs a fishing enterprise in the village of Malindi, in Kenya, which she started with her husband, John. Kabutha joined Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) in 2002, through her Tujengane Women’s Group. An affiliate of Women's World Banking, KWFT provides small business loans to nearly 100,000 women entrepreneurs operating in the formal and informal sectors.

Joyce Wafukho is a mother of five who grew up on a farm in western Kenya. As a young woman raised in proximity to the farming business, Joyce noticed that there were no retail hardware stores in her area, and aspired to start a hardware business. In 1994, Joyce invested her entire savings to buy a small amount of inventory, and launched her business in a rented space.

The following video highlights some of KASHF clients.

Oyunchimeg Dendev is a seamstress and mother of five in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. In 1995 she left her low-paying factory job to start a tailoring business in her home using one manual sewing machine. She sold her products on the street, as she could not afford to rent a stall in the market. In 1996, her husband lost his job and joined her in the business.