Esther

Rongai, Kenya

3% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Esther

Member since

March 2012

On-time repayments

70 installments  •  6%

About Me

I was born in 1984 in Kandutura village Rongai district in Nakuru county. I was educated in the same locality at Kandutura primary school. I joined Mama Ngina secondary school for form four level up to 2000. in 2001 I was employed in an electrinics shop.up to 2008 when I manage to open my own business. I have been blessed with 2 children a boy and a girl. I do live in Rongai town near mbuguas street opposite Rongai market.

My Business

I started my own business in 2008 of electronics of which I have enough experience for I have done it for a long time. My business is in Rongai town opposite Rongai post office ave. What I get from my business enables me pay house rents and family expenses.

Loan Proposal

buying stock eg. cables, bulbs, meter, meter box, switches, pipes mini-trunking and the rest of the money will assist in renovating the house. whatever I will bu with this amount will enables me serve my customers well for they will get everything they want..Now I will be ready to face other who do the same business who challenges me. Because of Zidisha, i will my goal.

Feedback

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$1,200.00

Date disbursed

Aug 17, 2012

Repayment status

Late

Projected term

67 months

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Ask Esther 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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  • analinjsaturria    Jun 12, 2013

    Dear lenders,
    Here is the latest on Esther and her sister:
    Esther messaged us last week to update us on how things are going.
    In an attempt to help Esther, her sister tried to get back to work before the time recommended by her physician. As a result, her wound (which hadn't fully healed) reopened and she was readmitted to the hospital. She is feeling better and resting in order to recover. Esther reports her business is not performing as well due to a lack of customers.
    While we have made Esther aware of her available option in regards to proposing a new repayment schedule, she has chosen not to exercise these options (rescheduling) for now. Esther is currently assessing her financial situation to determine a payment plan she can commit to consistently in order to catch up with her loan repayments. She is in contact with one of our Volunteer Mentors in Rongai for further assistance.
    Thank you for your concern for Esther and her family!

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  • analinjsaturria    Apr 30, 2013

    Dear lenders,

    This is Analin Saturria McGregor, Communications Associate at Zidisha. We received an update from Esther yesterday about how things are going. Sadly, her sister's recovery is taking longer than anticipated and she is still in bed, feeling very weak. This means that in addition to taking care of her sick sister, Esther has taken her sister's two children under her care. That includes providing for them financially, with all that entails. Given that Esther has children of her own, and is a single mother, this is a difficult time for her financially.
    We've put Esther in contact with one of our Volunteer Mentors in Rongai to provide follow up and coaching on how to manage her loan repayments in the upcoming weeks and months, considering the constrains she is currently facing on her work time having to take care of her sister and her two kids, in addition to her own. We hope to continue updating you on Esther as time goes by and report better and better news as her sister recovers.

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    • MakeSense    Apr 30, 2013

      Hi Analin,
      Thanks for keeping us up to date.
      I think something that zidisha should work on is to have a button somewhere so we can go to forgive all or part of a loan if we want, without having to contact zidisha for it. Every lender can decide for himself, based on the info we receive from the borrower or from representative in the country.
      I think I am not the only one who does not want to receive interest when somebody is honestly in trouble. In this case Esther has made efforts to keep us up to date, and I think the story is true.

      MS

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      • Hope2012    Apr 30, 2013

        Hi
        I seem to remember in the zidisha forum that they had that before but other borrowers started delaying repayments in the hope that someone might let them off, or complaining that they had effectively been penalised for paying back their loans.
        Please do tell esther not to worry though, she is under enough pressure as it is, and certainly for me, the delay or small loss is not a problem when it is from genuine people.
        I do hope her sister recovers soon. Esther sounds like a great relative to have on your side.

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  • analinjsaturria    Apr 22, 2013

    Dear lenders,
    This is Analin Saturria McGregor, Communications Associate at Zidisha.
    Esther has let us know via SMS she was taking care of her sister, who recently underwent surgery. Her sister's surgery went well and she has been released from the hospital. Esther expects to get back to work in the next few days and resume her repayments accordingly. We're glad to hear Esther has been able to support her sister during this time of need. Esther, we wish your sister a full recovery and best of luck to you!

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  • MakeSense    Mar 29, 2013

    Hi Esther,
    Good to see things are improving for you and you made first payment.
    Wishing you well.
    Keep us posted on your progress.

    MakeSense

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  • Esther    Jan 24, 2013

    Dear Lenders,i am very sorry for not making the promise as i said,this is because my mum was ill during the last two months.I would like you to be patient till mention date.i he=ave been to the job for about two weeks.So i will try my best to make sure to keep promise as i said earlier.God bless you.

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    • AnnaChristina    Jan 30, 2013

      Thank you for responding Esther. It is good to hear from you.
      You and your mother are in my thoughts and prayers.

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    • Hope2012    Feb 11, 2013

      No problem and thanks for keeping in touch. Hope your mum feels better soon. Best wishes

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  • Cordula    Jan 19, 2013

    Dear Esther,

    how are you? Hope you are fine and your business is well. We haven't heard from you in a while and I'd be glad to get an update about how things are going. I wish you all the best!

    Best regards, Cordula

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  • Esther    Oct 17, 2012

    I humble request for two more moths,for the job is very low in sales.Secondly i have been renovating my rental shop to surf mere customers,by painting and madding more shelf's,by doing so the business will hold large quantity of stock.Please let me not let fall while asking your self what is wrong with me.

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    • AnnaChristina    Oct 17, 2012

      Thank you for your message Esther!
      I have confidence in your ability, and wish you success.
      Ann

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    • Hope2012    Oct 17, 2012

      Thanks for keeping us up to date, that's no problem. I have every confidence in you and hope you are enjoying your work. All the best

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    • Markus    Oct 30, 2012

      Dear Esther,

      How are you? Hope you are fine. Giving you some more time for repayment is fine with me. Hope you are now on a good way to boost your business.
      Can you give us an update?

      Looking forward to hearing from you,
      Best Regards, Markus

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    • Markus    Oct 30, 2012

      Dear Esther,

      How are you? Hope you are fine. Giving you some more time for repayment is fine with me. Hope you are now on a good way to boost your business.
      Can you give us an update?

      Looking forward to hearing from you,
      Best Regards, Markus

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  • Cordula    Aug 23, 2012

    I wish you much success with your business! Sincerely yours, Cordula

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  • Joshuabryan    Aug 10, 2012

    Best of luck with your business, I hope it's a huge success. With respect from Joshua (UK & Japan)

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  • Esther    Aug 9, 2012

    I am glad to the second loan.i hope Lenders will fund my loan so as to uplift my business.

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  • COOPITALIST    Aug 8, 2012

    Wish you all the best in your business, Ms. Njeri. I look forward to hear of your progress.

    Sincerely,
    WONGNOW

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  • Emerald    Mar 9, 2012

    I am glad to be the first to fund this loan for Ms. Njeri. Good luck!

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  • Tilius    Mar 8, 2012

    I may be a geek but I just feel that 1% is too low rent for this. am I wrong?

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    • Charmonica    Jan 26, 2013

      Hi Tilius,

      Whether or not it's too high or too low is determined by the lender community. The fact that Ester has raised the loan at this rate means that by definition it can't be too low.

      However, I agree that for Zidisha to survive as a long term proposition making significant impact, rates need to rise to a point where loans can be made with some expectation of profit, and thereby start attracting significantly more lenders, as opposed to the expectation of some charity, which is the prevailing mode today.

      There is obviously a dilemma here though as we don't want to impose rates that borrowers cannot pay off. I think time will tell on this though. I hope we will see a slow, steady rise in rates over time. I don't know if Zidisha is tracking average rates, but it would be interesting if they published this data.

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      • MakeSense    Jan 28, 2013

        Hi Charmonica,

        I think lenders should be able to break even or make a small profit, but of course we are not here to suck the blood of people in developing countries.
        In order to break even, a certain minimum interest rate will be needed, to compensate for our currency risk and for the inevitable write downs of some loans to do not get repaid..
        Breaking even or small profit on our lending also means that we can continue to lend the same money indefinitely, which implies it can get (re)used many times over the years. That's the main difference with traditional charity, where the same money can only be given once and then its gone.
        Obviously lenders are free to lend at 1% or even 0%, but in the long run that means they will have less money to lend out in the next cycle, so in a way that doesn't help in the longer turn.

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      • MakeSense    Jan 28, 2013

        Hi Charmonica,

        I think lenders should be able to break even or make a small profit, but of course we are not here to suck the blood of people in developing countries.
        In order to break even, a certain minimum interest rate will be needed, to compensate for our currency risk and for the inevitable write downs of some loans to do not get repaid..
        Breaking even or small profit on our lending also means that we can continue to lend the same money indefinitely, which implies it can get (re)used many times over the years. That's the main difference with traditional charity, where the same money can only be given once and then its gone.
        Obviously lenders are free to lend at 1% or even 0%, but in the long run that means they will have less money to lend out in the next cycle, so in a way that doesn't help in the longer turn.

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        • Charmonica    Jan 28, 2013

          Hi MakeSense,

          I agree that - for now - breaking even is what we should be aiming at. However, my point is that it's up to the lenders to determine whether Zidisha stays as "just" a charity, or in fact becomes an economic force in its own right. Zidisha's management are naturally rather circumspect about this, but I would think that over time, we will see more ambitious and risky projects needing funds as Africa starts (and indeed it is starting) to become economically powerful. For this, interest rates will need to rise.

          In generations to come, it may well be people like Esther who will be lending to *us*, and not the other way around :-)

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