Entrepreneur
Name
Catherine
Member since
January 2015
On-time repayments
165 installments • 39%
About Me
I am a very hard working and focused person, I grew up in a small neighborhood and is the first of four siblings. I had a problematic education as many times I would be sent home from school because of school fee but this never deterred me from getting good grades and making the best of time to study alone.
I have always been self motivated which has helped me to overcome the problems I had to face at a young age and achieve the goals I wanted in life. At a tender age I learnt to make some extra income during the holidays which I would use as part of my pocket money and also add onto my school shopping when I was in high school.
This self driven attitude is what has led me to be able to start up my business and be able to run it little by little and have it grow day by day.
I managed to save up some bit of money and acquire a piece of land which I have been doing farming on but on small scale.
Kenya is a very unique country and there lies opportunity everywhere so long as you can be able to identify your strengths. The people are warm and friendly and always ready to embrace new ideas and also there is a diverse market for any kind of product or service that you can venture into.
I currently have no children but soon expecting in a few months and thus I am working hard to secure their future.
The money I make in terms of profits I invest in a womens group which we are able to borrow some money from but in small amounts. Also some of it I use to venture into new farming equipment which prove to be efficient in my business and also I try and make my home comfortable so that I can have a place to rest after a hard days work.
I plan to be able to expand my business and even get a bigger piece of land eventually and at some point be able to own my own home so that I can have a secure future but this is a step by step action that I am taking to avoid making any major mistakes.
My Business
I am in Agri-business and I have a small farm where I mainly cultivate vegetables like tomatoes and green peppers. I also ventured into mushroom farming just to try and see how well it would do and the results were very fulfilling.
I decided to venture into Mushroom farming because the demand market has been growing steadily considering that now people are looking into healthy living and nutrition and they provide very essential nutrition value of iron and protein. The other reason is because it doesn’t require such a large tract of land to cultivate them thus I can be able to do it even in a single room and grow as much over short periods of time and be able to make great profits.
The mushroom farming cost involves purchasing of the sawdust which is a medium of growth for the mushrooms and also for the spawns [seeds]. Also they require maximum sanitation thus bleach is required to ensure there is no contamination which is an added cost though not as expensive.
The revenue comes from sale of the tomatoes and bell peppers which is seasonal since they are seasonal crops and the sale of the mushrooms which can be cultivated throughout the year.
I also make extra incomes through other consultancy jobs when I am not on the farm which I can comfortably work from home thus I try and make ends meet by ensuring that I have a constant supply of income when the crops are not yet mature. With the last loan I was able to start and run a chicken rearing business which has been doing well and I have managed to pay my loan with and pay part of my school fee as I am currently doing an undergraduate degree which I am on my second year. Also I use the profits to invest in the women’s group that I am in where I can borrow emergency loans in small amounts to cater for some of my needs when I run short of money I also save some little for rainy days and future inputs of the farm.
Loan Proposal
Thanks to Zidisha lending community I successfully started my Mushroom farm and now doing well, I have made sales and paid my previous loan without having trouble and even remained with some money which I decided to reinvest in some other business [chicken farming] as this is also in very high demand especially from the thousands of fast foods in our town and also from the homes.
I am now requesting for funding for the feeds, vitamins and vaccines where the whole project costs $837 and so far I have been able to raise $492. The amount I raised covered the construction of the chicken house $141 and three weeks of feeds $141 as well as purchase of the chicks which was at $0.7 each. The vaccines required are three with each costing $6 thus I need $18 for the three vaccines. Also I need chicken feed worth $47 a bag and so far I have for three weeks and need for four more weeks as the total weeks it takes for the chicks to mature is 7 weeks thus I will need $188. There is also the chicken vitamins that are required for the whole time which costs about $30 and other costs like labor and water and electricity as these are broiler chicken and require a lot of warms for them to grow well. Labor will cost $50 and the other costs estimate at about $24 as well as slaughtering costs which is about $35.
This cost goes for a total of 300 chicks which I have kept and the benefit is that I will be able to increase the income for my farm helper as they will have more work and thus also raise their living standard. Secondly I will be able to meet part of the demand in the market for chicken supply and increase my income by another 15%. This increase will help me to improve the living standards of me and my family as I am soon to have a baby in about 2 months and I am also looking to move to a new house and have a room for my baby as well. It will also give me peace of mind because I will now have several sources of income and I will not have to worry so much about diapers and taking care of my child or becoming a dependent housewife. Part of my proceeds will go towards paying for food and sanitary towels for a girl who is in class five whom I have adapted in Mkuru Kwa Njenga slums.
I hope that Zidisha lending community will once again enable me to embark on this project as they did with the Mushroom and I promise to be committed as ever in my projects so that I can repay on time as in the past and be able to even do greater things through their assistance. I am also requesting this because I cannot currently meet the cost single handedly.
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Loan Info
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$330.00
Date disbursed
Apr 13, 2015
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
18 months
Other loans
Lenders
Plainsboro, United States
Lincoln, United States
United States
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