Buy a new photocopier for my cyber cafe
Nicholas
Nairobi, Kenya
100% repaid
Entrepreneur
Name
Nicholas
Member since
December 2014
On-time repayments
115 installments • 44%
About Me
I am a young ambitious IT professional in Nairobi-Kenya and I have always had a passion to venture into the cottage industry. I have a bachelor’s degree in IT and have a temporary day job but I know that in I cannot transfer my degree to my son or daughter, however, if I successfully built a business empire, I can teach my children and leave them with a legacy to help then sustain their livelihoods as well as benefit the generations to come.
The cottage industry in Kenya is largely untapped, with mostly foreigners who have the financial muscle to start large industries taking advantage of the highly uncompetitive industry to produce this highly used commodity. In Kenya, soap has become one of the fastest moving and widely used commodity after cooking oil and salt. The soap-making industry has been dominated by less than 10 players for decades (mostly oil refinery companies since they already have the main soap-making ingredient, cooking oil.
Even so, the high demand from the vast Kenyan population of over 52 million people has stretched these companies hence the reason why they have been propelled into prominence. Assuming that every Kenyan takes a bath at least once a day, and does home laundry at least twice weekly, then you don’t need to be a great mathematician to guess the enormous amount of cash that Kenyans spend on only 10 soap brands. In short, the business is very lucrative even for new entrants like me.
I started the business of soap making last year (March 2021, but the business was not operational until July) mainly because I had (still do have) a big challenge of raising enough capital to buy the necessary equipment and raw materials. A plodder alone costs between KES 350,000 – 500,000, then you need some more money to purchase a three roll miller, (KES 400,000), cutting machine (KES 250,000), Stamping machine (KES 50,000), Automatic labeling and wrapping machine (KES650,000) and other auxiliary equipment like conveyors, vacuum pump, embossing/stamping moulds, etc. In total, to install a complete bar soap production line, you need a capital base of around KES 3 Million! (Conversion rate: 1 USD = KES 110)
However, after consulting with the professionals in the industry, I was advised that I could start off with as little as KES 30,000 ($270). I started by taking baby steps (comparing it to a marathon and not a 100 meters sprint), by starting small, making a lot of mistakes, and learning in the process as I grow.
I started off by buying a few basic pieces of equipment like a scale, a manual sealing machine, a thermometer, a locally fabricated soap mould, and start-up raw materials to make a few dozen of bar soap.
My Business
I currently have two brands in the market; a multi-purpose laundry bar soap and an organic rice soap and I intend to expand to other products like medicated soap, powder detergents, hand wash, shampoos, bleaching agents, and other industrial household chemicals like toilet cleaners, etc.
On average, I produce one carton (12 bar soaps each) per day, making a gross sales of $12 (approx. $240 per month. After expenses (raw materials $160, water and electricity bill $10 per month). My net profit is approx. $70. I use some of the profits to feed my family, pay my kids' school fees, and the rest, I use to buy more ingredients.
Loan Proposal
Dear Lenders,
Zidisha is the best thing that ever happened to me. With the previous funding, I was able to increase my revenue by $80 last month after adding an extra computer in my cyber. I believe if I got more funding and bought a photocopier that is more efficient, I can make profits in excess of $200 per month and my business will continue to expand. I plan to buy a more efficient photocopier machine to handle the ever growing demand from my customers. The cost of the photocopier is $360.
Long live Zidisha. God bless you all!!
Feedback
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Loan Info
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$397.00
Date disbursed
Feb 23, 2015
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
17 months
Other loans
Lenders
North Carolina, United States
Inuvik, Canada
London, United Kingdom
Asheville, United States
Buffalo, United States
Germany
Northville, United States
Mountain View, United States
[email protected], United States
United States
South Africa
United Kingdom
Sweden
United States
United States
Summary
Amount repaid
$463.36
Amount remaining
$0.00
Date repaid
Feb 7, 2019
Status
Fully repaid
Repayment History
| Expected Payments | Actual Payments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8, 2015 | $20.76 | Mar 17, 2015 | $20.76 |
| Mar 15, 2015 | $1.13 | Mar 17, 2015 | $1.13 |
| Mar 22, 2015 | $8.89 | Mar 27, 2015 | $8.89 |
| Mar 29, 2015 | $8.89 | Apr 2, 2015 | $8.89 |
| Apr 5, 2015 | $0.06 | Apr 2, 2015 | $0.06 |
| Apr 12, 2015 | $3.33 | Apr 27, 2015 | $3.33 |
| Apr 19, 2015 | $3.33 | Apr 27, 2015 | $3.33 |
| Apr 26, 2015 | $3.33 | Apr 27, 2015 | $3.33 |
| May 3, 2015 | $0.11 | Apr 27, 2015 | $0.11 |
| May 10, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| May 17, 2015 | $1.67 | May 18, 2015 | $1.67 |
| May 24, 2015 | $1.67 | May 31, 2015 | $1.67 |
| May 31, 2015 | $1.67 | Jun 15, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jun 7, 2015 | $1.67 | Jun 15, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jun 14, 2015 | $1.67 | Jun 15, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jun 21, 2015 | $1.67 | Jun 15, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jun 28, 2015 | $1.67 | Jun 28, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jul 5, 2015 | $1.67 | Aug 13, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jul 12, 2015 | $1.67 | Aug 13, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jul 19, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Jul 26, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Aug 2, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Aug 9, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Aug 16, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Aug 23, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Aug 30, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Sep 6, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Sep 13, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Sep 20, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Sep 27, 2015 | $1.67 | Sep 23, 2015 | $1.67 |
| Oct 4, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Oct 11, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Oct 18, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Oct 25, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Nov 1, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Nov 8, 2015 | $1.67 | Jan 8, 2016 | $1.67 |
| Nov 15, 2015 | $0.56 | Jan 8, 2016 | $0.56 |
| Nov 22, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Nov 29, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Dec 6, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Dec 13, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Dec 20, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Dec 27, 2015 | $0.00 | ||
| Jan 3, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Jan 10, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Jan 17, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Jan 24, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Jan 31, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Feb 7, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Feb 14, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Feb 21, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Feb 28, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Mar 6, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Mar 13, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Mar 20, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Mar 27, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Apr 3, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Apr 10, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Apr 17, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| Apr 24, 2016 | $0.00 | ||
| May 1, 2016 | $22.22 | Oct 28, 2018 | $22.22 |
| May 8, 2016 | $22.22 | Nov 11, 2018 | $0.56 |
| Feb 7, 2019 | $21.67 | ||
| May 15, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| May 22, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| May 29, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jun 5, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jun 12, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jun 19, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jun 26, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jul 3, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jul 10, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jul 17, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jul 24, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Jul 31, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Aug 7, 2016 | $22.22 | Feb 7, 2019 | $22.22 |
| Aug 14, 2016 | $36.30 | Feb 7, 2019 | $36.30 |
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