Buying a pickup for cereals transport from farmers

Serah

Kiptangwanyi, Kenya

Funds disbursed

$0 to go

100% funded of $1,418 goal

0

days left

Entrepreneur

Name

Serah

Member since

May 2012

On-time repayments

69 installments  •  25%

About Me

I am single with 8 children four of them who are schooling. I live in Kiptangwanyi shopping center about 43km from Nakuru town. I live in my own plot which is plot number 21. I operate cereals shop at the shopping center. I buy cereals mostly maize and beans in wholesale which I later resell to neighbouring major towns also in wholesale with a good profit.I am well known in this area and sometimes I do travel a lot to take my cereals to other towns. This is a business that I do operate with all my heart as I have been able to educate all of my children from the revenues that I get from the business

My Business

I operate cereals shop at the shopping center. I buy these cereals in wholesale and distribute them to major towns in large quantites especially in Nairobi where I have many customers. The main challenges that this business encounter are lack of enough capital, poor roads especially during the rainy season and drought. I hope that the loan I am going to get from Zidisha organization will be of very great benefit in improving my business. This will be of very great help towards the appearance of my business. I already have plans that I know will change my business to the best in terms of service and offering quality products.

Loan Proposal

Dear Lenders,
I wish to thank you all lenders for your continued support in my business. I have been able to improve my business using the loans that I have been getting from Zidisha microfinance. I wish to use this loan that I will get from the organization to purchase a second hand pick up that I will be using transport cereals from farmers. I usually use hired vehicles to transport the produce from farmers which is quite expensive. I thus wish to reduce this cost and take advantage to transport large quantities of cereals. I will also provide transport means to other cereal buyers.

Feedback

35

None

1



Loading...

Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$1,418.00

Date disbursed

Aug 13, 2014

Repayment status

Late

Projected term

11 months

Lenders

J

jeffb

United States

J

jobo

Darmstadt, Germany

D

Delph007

Den Haag, Netherlands

A

arenk

Karlsruhe, Germany

S

sendai

Saint Paul, United States

G

garrybuck

Oro Valley, United States

J

JBosshardt

Redmond, United States

J

jonase

Boise, United States

ErikN

Stockholm, Sweden

F

Fiodal

Helsinki, Finland

J

javakonsole

Berlin, Germany

dsmart978

Bondurant, United States

J

JakeA

Wellington, New Zealand

rodcul

Altea, Spain

P

PeaceandLove

Morro Bay, United States

C

cjmenchaca

Austin, United States

H

Halli

Bottrop, Germany

S

sglobal

Philadelphia, United States

J

jjonas

berlin, Germany

J

Jazzie

Oklahoma City, United States

F

fisaire

Ithaca, United States

G

grahamfamily

Guildford, United Kingdom

Cloudways

Malta, Malta

D

Dadiolafs

Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

P

penguin3694

Chicago, United States

DennyC

Rostock, Germany

R

rpmccarthy

Sydney, Australia

T

the0bauman

Hillsboro, United States

lorello

Vicopisano, Italy

A

Austin

Long Beach, United States

Taata

Multia, Finland

K

keane2097

Ranelagh, Ireland

M

mmcclu111

San Francisco, United States

L

LeegleechN

Sunnyvale, CA, United States

ads68

Melbourne, Australia

M

michaelangers

Toronto, Canada

P

Patrick5678

Beijing, China

McDermotts

South Moreton, United Kingdom

Bhayl

Stavanger, Norway

C

caseygoff

George Town, Cayman Islands

S

shimrod

Zagreb, Croatia

J

jjoshua2

Hanover, United States

Vintagebeeinc

Youngsville NC, United States

basicus

Cairo, Egypt

fairspirit

Utrecht, Netherlands

camilberlin

Berlin, Germany

Bobrm2k3

Charleston, United States

N

nba1999

Beijing, China

C

caz32

chertsey, United Kingdom

JPadgett

Chandler, United States

GarmdGriek

Oslo, Norway

greensheep

Jakarta, Indonesia

gseletko

South Perth, Australia

Sarasota

Sarasota, Fl, United States

S

Spelbreker

Zwijnaarde, Belgium

Lambie

Perth, Australia

S

seikatsu

Palo Alto, CA, United States

Matthieu

Switzerland, France

H

harrymore

Townsville, Australia

ShaneHeneghan

Galway, Ireland, Belgium

markpearson

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

J

jinx83

Brisbane, Australia

B

boingrid

Norrköping, Sweden

HealthcareProvider

Baltimore, United States

H

Haavard

Bergen, Norway

E

ecarlsonbast

San Francisco, United States

pvilliger

Zurich, Switzerland

Matching Fund

Sterling, United States

M

microlender

United States

M

mb210047

Miamisburg, OH, United States

cc5alive

Los Angeles, United States

R

Rootdet

Fairfax, United States

bcortazar

Peckville, United States

D

dagjomar

Trondheim, Norway

L

leumasmc

United States

R

rbaxter

United Kingdom

P

PDNS1401

United States

P

Panda6689

United States

A

AlphaAres

Azerbaijan

Vesa

Helsinki, Finland

D

DStateDDB

United States

Loungin

United States

Mikers

Netherlands

Bryan

Houston, United States

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

Please log in to comment.

  • AlphaAres    Feb 10, 2015

    Hello, how are you doing? Will you able to post something about your situation and how business is going?

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Samuel    Dec 19, 2014

    I phoned Serah today at 9.57am . She kept hanging up the phone on me. I hope she is in a meeting and will call me back later.

    VM Shehi.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Samuel    Nov 10, 2014

    I phoned Serah 2 days ago . She says she has not recovered from her loss. Additionally, the drouught situation in her area is not helping.
    Serah tried to access a commercial bank loan to clear a portion of her current Zidisha loan but was unsuccessful. Bank says she should have saved with them for 6 months before now to access a loan there. This reminds everyone how important Zidisha is to many.
    I cannot promise lenders repayments in any immediate future. Maybe we give Serah enough time to recover. Let's say till early 2015.

    VM Shehi.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Samuel    Sep 24, 2014

    I phoned Serah today at 1.02pm. She says she is yet have any money for repayments.

    She promises to start repayments earliest November 2014. She complains that the current drought in her area won't help the situation.

    We have to be very patient with Serah through this difficult time.

    VM Shehi.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Sep 18, 2014

    My thoughts are with Serah today. I have heard the dreadful news about her being duped by fraudsters and loosing the loan money and a significant amount of her savings, the detail of the story is really quite tragic. I have been talking to @samuel Shehi who has been in touch with Serah directly. My heartfelt thanks go to Samuel for being such a kind spirited mentor. Apparently Serah is willing to pay the loan back at a trickle rate whilst she deals with the police to try to recover her funds. It is my hope that someone from [email protected] can help and I shall email the link to this loan page.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Samuel    Sep 17, 2014

    I phoned Serah today at 4.05pm. She was too afraid to talk with a stranger. She dropped my calls twice.

    I have however talked with her CL who explained the non-repayment. Apparently, Serah could be unaware of the new weekly repayment arrangement. She had been used to the previous monthly repayment system.

    I believe her CL will be in touch with her comfortably ( as she is known to her ) & explain the repayment changes.

    Sorry for the confusion here, lenders.

    VM Shehi.

    Log in to reply • Share
    • McDermotts    Sep 17, 2014

      Thank you so much for explaining Samuel, your help is much appreciated. I am glad that Serah is ok and that this was a misunderstanding. What is a CL?

      Log in to reply • Share
      • Samuel    Sep 17, 2014

        You're welcome McDermotts!

        CL =Community Leader.

        On the darkside though, she has just phoned me explaining that she'll have to repay from other sources as she was duped by people known to her ( i suspect the usual sale brokers here). Alleged persons collected money from her promising to get her a vehicle.
        She is currently following up the matter with the police to recover her lost funds.

        Thank you. This is the second time we're interacting. I remember you from Amos Shutu's page!

        I'll see how I get Bayle to assign me Serah as her VM.

        VM Shehi.

        Log in to reply • Share
        • McDermotts    Sep 17, 2014

          Hi Samuel, yes I remember you too from Amos's page. Thank you so much for your support. I am very sad to hear about Serah's plight. I do hope that the police are able to help her. It is important that Serah keeps us informed of her progress with the police and any case and also that she doesn't jeopardise her existing business to pay back this loan. You may be able to see that I prepared a profit & loss summary for Serah and I was concerned that she needed the new venture to be successful as she could not afford the loan from her existing business. please pass on my best wishes to her and I hope this gets resolved soon. Thanks Jim

          Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Sep 7, 2014

    Hi Serah, do you have a problem with your first repayment? Did you manage to buy the truck? Please can we have an update. Kind regards Jim

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 13, 2014

    Congratulations Serah on getting the loan! I'm not sure how the system works but it says you have an 11 month loan of 1418USD. Didn't you request a loan of 2361USD over 24 months? Does this mean that it wasn't fully funded but you got to accept it anyway on a shorter term? Are you still able to buy the vehicle and run it with the reduced loan?

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 11, 2014

    It does answer my question Serah, thank you. I shall lend some more to see if we can get some more people interested in this loan. You are a highly rated Zidisha debtor with a sensible business proposition to expand your current service. I wish you good luck.

    Log in to reply • Share
    • Serah    Aug 12, 2014

      Dear Jim,
      Thank you so much for your lending. My loan is almost expiring. I am just hoping to see my loan fully funded. I am positive and eagerly waiting for my loan in order to start working with the amount. The business is currently doing well and the amount will be of very great help at the moment.
      Thank you

      Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 11, 2014

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 11, 2014

    Hi Serah, I couldn't upload the .XLS spreadsheet so I have uploaded a picture of it. I hope it makes sense. My aim was to ensure that you knew you could afford to pay the loan.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 11, 2014

    2 page pdf of spreadsheet added as Excel would load.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 11, 2014

    Dear Serah
    Thank you for explaining the numbers I requested so promptly. I have attached a spreadsheet of those numbers for you to see. I think I have interpreted them correctly. For the loan cost, I am assuming that you didn't add them into "Other Costs". I used todays exchange rate and took the (total loan + total interest + total cost) and divided by 23 months then converted to KSH at the rate at about 88 KSH per USD. If this is correct your break-even income is around 77,000KSH per month, which is substantially less than the 100,000KSH per month you anticipate. If you continue at your current rate of 70,000KSH per month you will be making a loss, as soon as you get over 77,000KSH you will be making a profit. Would you be able to explain a little more about how sure you are about the increase from 70,000KSH to 100,000KSH. If you are sure of this increase I would be happy to lend some more to help you reach your total. Kind regards Jim

    Log in to reply • Share
    • Serah    Aug 11, 2014

      Thank you Jim,
      I hope to correct on the information I shared. The current amount of income is 70000ksh and what I am anticipating to make per month during the period of my loan is 100000ksh. This is as result of increased volumes of cereals that I will be transporting using my own truck as well as I will be hiring my truck to other cereal buyers. Therefore am expecting an increase of 30000ksh per month on my income to 100000ksh up from 70000ksh thus I can afford the proposed amount of loan. I hope this answers your question.
      kind regards.

      Log in to reply • Share
  • McDermotts    Aug 8, 2014

    Dear Serah
    I would like to fund you some more but I would like to see some information first if you are prepared to share.

    Income:
    What it's the monthly income of your business likely to be during the period of the loan. For example. 2000 per month for 24 months is 48,000. Could you also explain about this income and what may change or be a risk. For example, 1,500 of my monthly income is from my store and 500 is from my visits to neighbouring towns. If the rains are bad this town income can drop to 50 or 100. My numbers are just an illustration please show your numbers.
    If I had the new truck I would secure the 500 and may be able to grow this to 750 by visiting 3 more towns.

    Cost of sale:
    What it's the monthly "cost of sale" of your business likely to be during the period of the loan. For example. The cost of the products that I sell each month is 1000 per month for 24 months is 24,000. Could you also explain about this cost and what may change or be a risk. For example, the cost of the products is very stable and I do not anticipate them going up during the period.

    Other running costs:
    What it's the monthly "running cost" of your business likely to be during the period of the loan. For example.
    Rent and property cost like tax and maintenance
    Vehicle costs
    Any other big bills .

    The running cost of the business each month total 500 per month for 24 months is 12,000. Could you also explain about this cost and what may change or be a risk. For example, the running cost is very stable and I do not anticipate them going up during the period.

    Profit and affordability of loan
    Income: 48,000
    Cost of sale. (24,000)
    --- margin --- 24,000
    Running Cost (12,000)
    --- profit --- 12,000

    Loan repayment 3,000

    I hope you are able to show these numbers for your business.
    Kind regards
    Jim.

    Please feel free to ask for any help from me.

    Log in to reply • Share
    • Serah    Aug 11, 2014

      Thank you Jim,
      I wish to share the following information as you requested. My monthly income during the loan period is 70,000 ksh per month.
      The income is from sales of cereals to other towns and using my truck will increase the income due to reduced costs of transporting the products to the town. Thus the expected income form the sales of the cereals is 100, 000ksh per month. The cost of the products is 45000ksh per month.
      other running costs of the business include, vehicle maintenance, paying the driver, rent which amount to a cumulative total of 20000ksh per month.
      The expected net profit from the business is 35000ksh per month.I hope this answers some of the questions you raised. Am looking forward for your funding. kind regards

      Log in to reply • Share
  • starsailorcolo    Jul 19, 2014

    Thank you. God bless you, your family and business. It was nice to support you. Keep working on it

    Log in to reply • Share
  • ads68    Apr 20, 2014

    Hi Serah, how are you going? It looks like you're making good returns now and repaying quickly - please let us know how you are faring!

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Serah    Jul 30, 2013

    Dear lenders,
    I take this opportunity to reschedule my loan repayment. i wish to request for two more months.I am currently stocking the business and this is harvest time for beans in this area. At this time am purchasing lots of beans which I will resell later from the months of September. I therefore wish to request for this additional time which I know will help me a lot in my business.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Serah    May 28, 2013

    Dear Zidisa Lenders,
    I have been doing well with my business and the price for my cereals that I bought over the season has been good. I took most of my cereals to Nairobi where the prices for beans and maize is good. This has enabled me make some good returns and therefore I will be able to repay my loan well ahead of my repayment schedule. I am now planning to purchase more cereals in the coming season with the third loan that I will get from Zidisha. May God bless Zidisha forever.

    Log in to reply • Share
  • Serah    Dec 14, 2012

    Dear Lenders,
    I would like to repay all my outstanding loan at once. This is because I have made some returns from my current sales of maize that I took to Nairobi recently. This has given me an opportunity to repay all the amount at once. I am grateful that the loan has assisted me a lot and my business is good at the moment. I am hoping that the second loan will take my business to the next level.

    Log in to reply • Share
    • Hope2012    Dec 14, 2012

      That's great congratulations and best wishes for your business

      Log in to reply • Share
    • share    Dec 16, 2012

      I'm glad to hear that your business is doing so well that you were able to repay your entire loan very quickly. You've met your obligation. For that reason, I'm happy to participate as a lender on your current loan.

      Log in to reply • Share
  • Serah    Dec 14, 2012

    Thank you Cordula, My business is doing well. I have improved the status of my business since I got the loan from Zidisha organization. We are now preparing for Christmas and business is good. best wishes to your family too

    Log in to reply • Share


Loading...

Loading...

Loading...