Muktamoni lived in a rented house in Boardbazar, Gazipur, with her husband for about ten years. From a young age, she dreamed of becoming a beautician while continuing her education. But her path took a different turn—her father was a candle maker, and she often had to help him, putting her dreams on hold. At the age of 17, while in 11th grade, she married Joy Mahmud Liton, another candle maker her father knew from Dorikhorbona village in Rajshahi’s Boalia Upazila. In just four years, Muktamoni became a mother of two.

Her husband’s candle-making business struggled due to a lack of investment, making it hard to support their growing family. Desperate to improve their situation, they searched for a loan with reasonable terms to increase their business capital and boost their income.

That’s when a chance encounter with a Palli Bikash Kendra (PBK) officer changed everything. After discussing their options, Muktamoni and her husband approached the Boardbazar branch for a loan. She initially secured a loan of 2 lakh taka, which allowed them to expand their candle-making business. With this boost, Muktamoni diversified their products to include candles needed by garment factories for threading, which significantly increased their profits.

As the business grew, they needed a trade license to expand their market. They registered their company under the name “Lirik Mombati House.” With the business flourishing, Muktamoni’s elder son enrolled in Shahin School, and they began supplying candles to nearby districts like Narsingdi. Muktamoni’s experience from working in her father’s and her husband’s candle factories helped the business grow quickly once they had enough capital. She continued to take loans—first 3 lakh taka, then 4 lakh taka—and repaid them on time. Now, she is on her sixth loan of 7 lakh taka.

The business’s expansion was remarkable. What started with just three employees now has nine, and the number of machines has increased from 10 to 50. Muktamoni pays her workers 60,000 taka in wages and 67,000 taka in loan installments. After covering house rent, education expenses for her children, and other family costs, she still has a net profit of 50,000 taka. They recently bought a plot in Rajshahi, and the business’s capital has grown to 60 lakh taka. They source raw materials from Dhaka’s Chawk Bazar and supply their products to Gazipur, Narsingdi, and Comilla.

Muktamoni now dreams of sending her two sons to prestigious institutions like BUET for their education. She also envisions building a factory shed on a 15-katha plot in Gazipur, where 50 workers will be employed.

Muktamoni and her family credit PBK for their success, grateful for the accessible loans that helped them build their capital and expand their business so rapidly. They know that without PBK’s support, their journey might have been much harder. They are deeply thankful to PBK for their crucial role in this transformation.