Artak is a proud owner of an in-house workshop where he crafts various pieces of art from wood. He lives in the Armavir region of the Republic of Armenia with his wife and 3 kids. During his whole life Artak has believed that success is given to ones working hard, rather than those looking to others to get ahead.

For about 10 years Artak was employed by a barrel factory, making a wide array of barrels of diverse capacities. Being the only breadwinner for the household Artak was working day and night to make the ends meet. All his earnings would go to cover kids’ college expenses, utility expenses, food expenses and other ones necessary to provide the minimum living conditions for the family.

However, like many others Artak was also dramatically impacted by the technological progress and the automated method of wood manufacturing which resulted in the handwork being forced out of the market and myriad of workers being laid off. Among those, Artak was left without employment opportunities with all the cares of a big family on his shoulders and no one to lend a helping hand.

Hopefully, this was when Artak heard about FINCA from a friend who encouraged him to become a member of their group and apply for a loan at FINCA. Having dreamt of starting his own business for a long time, Artak knew that this was the opportunity to make his dream come true, hence, he accepted the friend’s offer.

The initial loan allowed Artak to acquire the necessary equipment and materials to start making backgammon boards. At first Artak could only afford purchasing low-cost materials. However, when the first profits started to appear, Artak applied for another loan at FINCA which enabled him to buy higher quality materials. Thanks to his hard work Artak was able to expand his in-house workshop. Later on, aiming to boost the business productivity, Artak started sharing his expertise with his wife. Together they managed to enrich the range of works with various icons and canes making each piece stand out in the marketplace. Moreover, those works turned out to be highly demanded in the Russian market which allowed Artak’s family to start exporting the works.

For the time being Artak is in the 5th credit cycle and is using his most recent loan, which is 6 times larger than the initial one, to continue boosting the family’s output. With FINCA’s next loan Artak hopes to start exporting his works to Greece. Thereon, he is aimed at applying for another loan to build an outside and better equipped workshop which would turn his business into a more profitable one, as well as create job opportunities for his fellow citizens.

Artak is very pleased with his experience at FINCA and proud of the changes FINCA has made possible for his family. And even though he always knew he needed to rely on his own skills and hard work, he says he’ll never forget the close working relationships he has with FINCA and the support they’ve provided on his way to success.

He says ““FINCA enabled me to create, work, live and support my family in my home country. I am so grateful to FINCA for believing in me and helping my dream come true”.