But as FINCA manager Ayzhigit Sydykov said, once a client gets money it's all in his hands.
"If he uses the money wisely and pays it back, he can apply for more and the terms of repayment get better," he said.
Esen Shabiyev, 30, got US$400 from FINCA two and a half years ago when he had a small photo shop in Bishkek that he ran with his wife Gulya. "I read magazines, surfed the Internet, looking for business ideas," he said.
Since then, he has bought a digital camera, seven PCs, a scanner, a laser printer and now runs a computer center with five employees. And he has plans to expand even more: starting computer courses and a computer service center.
Since Ermatova's first credit, the assortment of goods at her stall has grown and she has fewer worries. Her children are fed and the family -- originally from Osh, one of the poorest areas in the south -- has bought an apartment in Bishkek.
"Things are much better now. I was really desperate three years ago," she said.
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