Rental premises for my cereal business

Wairimu

Nakuru Rhonda Estate, Kenya

113% paid forward

Entrepreneur

Name

Wairimu

Member since

October 2014

On-time repayments

411 installments  •  83%

About Me

I am Wairimu Gathii, a second born in a family of 4.I am now 31 years old, and my son is 9 years old.

I graduated from University in the year 2014, and enrolled for a series of short courses to prepare me for life as a business lady.

Having completed schooling, I now have more time to focus on my business, which thanks to Zidisha, I was able to start, and grow to the successful enterprise it now is. For that, I shall remain forever grateful.

My story is that of inspiration and hope that one can rise from nothing and make something out of themselves with determination and selfless help from a few individuals, such as Zidisha did, and has continued assisting me with finances and encouragement.

I hail from a single parent background and it is my mother who has single handedly worked to bring up my siblings and i and give us an education. She recently acquired a diploma in community service.

I have continuously striven to raise my son with the values that my mother and indeed my donors in Zidisha have inculcated in me. That selflessly assisting each other in our own small ways can help make this world a better place, by assisting one determined and driven individual at a time. Thank you Zidisha for helping this one girl from a remote part of the world make a difference for herself and her community.

The idea to get into business is in order to raise my family's living standards having been brought up in an environment of apparent lack though not permanent lack.

In order to start my business in the formative stages, i had to approach a local community leader to give me a boost for a start up small scale business, and food being a basic need, was the most viable kind of business for me. The community
leader therefore gave me a few kilograms of cereals to start with, before i could figure out a way to get on my feet. I remain grateful for the kindness of that particular community leader.

What is unique about the land where i live is the fact that the land is fertile and arable and the landscape is simply breathtaking.

I love nature and taking in the Beauty of God's handiwork is simply phenomenal. I take long walks just to appreciate the beauty in almost everything I see. I love doing retreats with friends and take lots of pictures. I also love interacting with people and i do not pass by an opportunity to make new friends. I love dancing, am not a good dancer though, and dance moves especially the new and upcoming, which i am forever trying to nail, have proved quite elusive. I am also quite recently trying to learn a new language.

Did i also mention that i love books?, a good book can keep me hooked all day long, a hobby i like to believe significantly alters my vocabulary for the better. My current read is 'The river between' by Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

I always strive to encourage my son and indeed my younger siblings to apply their best efforts to any task they set their minds to, and to claim success against all odds. My son claims he wants to be a pilot when he grows up, i told him he can be anything he wants to be, but he gotta keep his grades up. I got him a kite, just to keep his goals and aspirations in sight, i mean, gotta start with a kite before graduating to a pilot, right?

I am a bubbly person, highly motivated and self driven.

My Business

I am a medium scale cereals trader(though not so medium now, thanks to zidisha) mostly selling to the ultimate consumer as my business has not expanded enough to make me a supplier.

I mostly trade in dry grains namely maize, rice, beans, green grams, lentils, to name but a few.

I conducted market research and did due diligence whereby I discovered that food products are very unlikely to lack a market because they are basic necessities.

The target group for such kind of commodities is virtually everyone. Another motivation is that I wanted to contribute to food security (albeit in a small way), and ensure it`s done by ensuring that my customers are always well supplied.

As previously explained in my former applications, operating costs of this business comes with the fact that I have to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar by paying what is due from me to the local government authorities(you know what they say, the only thing as sure as death are taxes). I also need to operate with a license and the backing of the health sector, seeing as the handling of food items is a matter of public concern.

My monthly revenue has stagnated at an average of $ 175 and comes purely from selling the grains. My monthly costs go up to averagely $100 or more given the current Covid Situation, leaving me with a profit around the neighborhood of $ 75-80 per month. The profits I get to glean from my business go my son's education, and towards meeting my family's expenses.

I am grateful that through my small business I have been able to uplift both myself and those around me.

Project Proposal

Hello,

I had to move out of the premises I initially used for my trade so as to cut costs given the downturn that came with Covid 19.

Now that normalcy is slowly being restored, I am ready to re-let the premises so as to take my business off the ground once more. I would be grateful for your help.

This will assist greatly in improving the business and with it promote decent livelihood for myself and my family.

Thank you.

Feedback

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Project Info

Project Type

Pay It Forward

Disbursed amount

$1,117.00

Date disbursed

Dec 22, 2021

Backers

M

marycb

United States

D

Davieboy

Melbourne, Australia

ErikN

Stockholm, Sweden

T

Tallago3

Munich, Germany

E

EveleighT

Arlington, VA, United States

JimVandegriff

Trinidad, California, United States

J

Jeb33red

Bourne end, United Kingdom

Cloudways

Malta, Malta

S

SvenWaage

Stavanger, Norway

ads68

Melbourne, Australia

Ingela

Falun, Sweden

nakamura

United States

mikeice

Kohler, United States

Scotts5320

New York, United States

sderickson

Berkeley, CA, United States

B

bscent

Hong Kong

PolarBearCapital

United States

Isaiah

Nairobi, Kenya

Dave Bogard

New York, United States

Franmiguel

Perth, Australia

Lotus Flower

United States

Kevin

San Francisco, United States

V

Vivek

Arlington, VA, United States

TH

tom hd

United Kingdom

Framework Eyewear

Utrecht, Netherlands

Nancy

Mwotot-kapenguria, Kenya

John Minges

United States

Daniel

Ngong, Kenya

Rune Fick Hansen

Ballerup, Denmark

James

Irigu-ini, Kenya

Jes-c

United States

SA

Shar Alamdari

Los Angeles, United States

MP

Matt Patton

United States

Ed

Howells, United States

John

Eldoret, Kenya

Vratik Krocik

Prague, Czech Republic

R

RMIM

United States

KA

Khaled Asmri

Saudi Arabia

JH

Joseph Hwang

Houston, United States

E

EJOBIV

United States

David

Kisumu, Kenya

Ryan Agnew

Australia

Shervin

San Francisco, United States

Priscilla

Greater Accra, Ghana

Edwin

Embakasi, Kenya

Peter Collins

Darmstadt, Germany

Rahab

Mombasa, Kenya

Tim

Utrecht, Netherlands

Dao Nguyen

austin, United States

Christine

Nairobi, Kenya

R

Roman

Germany

Bernard

Masimba, Kenya

GF

Gammon Family

United States

M

Melissa

United States

Nchetachukwu

Lagos, Nigeria

M

Mike

Wyncote, United States

EG

Erik G

Switzerland

EH

Ed Hendrickson

Ames, Iowa, United States

Babbitt Family Foundation

Reno, United States

Sherif

Ilorin, Nigeria

Bealiah

Sunyani, Ghana

B

Barbra

United States

Mary

Accra, Ghana

Yeboah

Techiman, Ghana

James Knode

Richmond VA, United States

JM

Julie Miller

United States

Kurtis Miller

Kelowna, BC, Canada

Anya

Redmond, Washington, United States

Mercy

Nairobi, Kenya

Jesus Figueres

Valencia, Spain

Peter

Mombasa, Kenya

Alfred

Greater Accra, Ghana

Solomon

Koforidua, Ghana

Rosemary

Accra, Ghana

Dorcus

Nairobi, Kenya

LC

Lin Clark

United States

Matildah

Copperbelt, Zambia

A

Anonymous

United States

Emmanuel

Accra, Ghana

Alexander

Kumasi, Ghana

Mbun

Accra, Ghana

CW

Cindy W

United States

Eunice Gyanwaa

Accra, Ghana

Collins

Bungoma, Kenya

Ebenezer

Accrah, Ghana

Ask Wairimu a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.

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