Entrepreneur
Name
James
Member since
February 2015
On-time repayments
290 installments • 54%
About Me
My name is James Kariuki, born in Nairobi city in the sixties and brought up in Nyeri County. Nyeri is in the central highlands of Kenya where farming is the main activity of the local community. My father was a businessman while my mother was a housewife engaging in farming of coffee and tea.
I went to primary and later secondary school in Nyeri and later joined a technical college where I did a course in building construction. I did not get a job related to the course I did and I decided to start a hardware business where I sell building materials such as pipes, taps, locks etc. This is what I doing to date.
I am married with two children, a boy and a girl and they are both in college after clearing their secondary education.
My Business
As stated above, I am in hardware business specializing in plumbing materials. I started this business in Nairobi but later relocated to Mombasa. I started as a hawker where I would sell the hardware items from door to door but with hard work and serious savings, I managed to establish a store which serves as an outlet for my hardware items. However, I still have a challenge in that my store is in upstairs and therefore no visibility. I mostly rely on my loyal customers, referrals and occasionally a stray buyer.
For this reason, I have started another hardware store in a place called Ukunda – 20 Kilometers from Mombasa where I am operating from down stairs and the visibility of the business is excellent. This is a much smaller town but my market share is good due to low competition in this field. My main challenge right now is to buy adequate stock for this new branch since getting credit from the local lending institutions is very difficult and also very expensive.
I want to leverage on Zidisha loans to grow my business and take it to higher heights.
Loan Proposal
As mentioned earlier, I deal in selling of hardware items - mostly construction materials. The business is doing well due to rapid expansion of Mombasa city where the business is located. I opened a new branch recently which is being run by my wife and it is picking up well.
I have planned to boost the stock of this new store so as to attract new customers. Therefore, if I get funded, I will spend the money as follows:
1. Buy 1 dozen hammers at a cost of USD 40
2. Buy rolls of electrical cables at a cost of USD 80
3. Buy plumbing materials at a cost of USD 75
From my experience, the above are fast selling items and I will be able to sell them withing a short time. This will increase my profitability and contribute to further growth of my business.
Feedback
Positive
3
Neutral
None
Negative
None
Loan Info
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$189.00
Date disbursed
Jul 25, 2015
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
4 months
Other loans
Lenders
Canada
Norway
Ask James a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.
Loading...