Buying new shoes and school items

James

Githima, Kenya

100% repaid

Follow James

How it Works

Entrepreneur

Name

James

Member since

August 2014

On-time repayments

46 installments • 91%

About Me

I m a family man of 50 years who has a wife and six children. My education level is secondary but i did not complete because of school fees in late 1970s. I started as a local casual labouror where i saved enough money start small hawking business. later a opened a small malimali shop in in 1999 which picked up very well. however, demands from my schooling children and intertribal wars made it difficult to sustain the business but i am still selling shoes and school uniform in kianjoya. I have not been able to sell new shoes for a long time, i only sell mitumba shoes. mitumba shoes are second hand shoes from abroad which i buy in bales, repair them and resell them to local people. I use earnings to pay school fees for my children, to feed my family and to support my elderly parents whenever they are in need. I spend my free time listening to local music.

My Business

my business can be described as mainly selling old (second hand) shoes. these shoes are imported by able dealers who sell to us in bales. we repair them and sell them to customers. my business is based on the belief that people will always wear shoes and thus demand for shoes will always be there. however, some seasons are better that others. per month i am able to get a profit of about 120 dollars. the challenge we face so much is the changing life in kenya. people now want new shoes and clothings. this is why i want a loan to improve my capital base so that I am able to buy new shoes and school items that are rather costly in the near future. The profit i get is enough to pay the loan i really believe.

Loan Proposal

I intend to buy two more bales of mitumba shoes so that i increase capital for my goals in future. mitumba shoes are second hand shoes which i sell to local people. 1 bale is about 2000 but the prices can be negotiated. my goal is to be able to sell new shoes in the near future because life is changing quickly in kenya. thanks to all lenders and zidisha.