Commercial photography

Maurice

Nairobi, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Maurice

Member since

February 2015

On-time repayments

23 installments  •  65%

About Me

My name is Maurice Momanyi. I was born in Nyanza in Western Kenya where I was brought up. I then moved to Nairobi 16 years ago in search of greener pastures. Earlier, I had visited many other local urban centres in Kenya trying to earn a living after completing high school.

I trained in journalism through hard-earned savings, after which I came out as a writer and photographer. Currently I contribute to a local weekly where I get paid on commission basis.

I managed to buy a camera which I use to do my work. I combine news coverage with photography which enables me and my family earn our daily bread.

I am married with two children aged - both boys - aged 8 and 10 months.

My Business

My Business

My business deals with freelance writing and photography. I also take pictures during different social accasions at a small fee. I have done this work for the last 10 years and I am well known within my area of operation.


I attend press conferences and seek exclusive feature stories which I contribute to print media. I make an average net profit of $150 per month.

I, though, face a number of challenges the main one being lack of capital to expand the business. The equipment for this job are costly and getting credit locally is difficult.
As you may remember the first loan I got of KES 5,068 was fully repaid, though a membership fee of KES 1000 and a member's loan deposit of KES 3,000 was automatically deducted, leaving me with only KES 1,068, which couldn't do me much.

Now I'm intending to switch to video work after I entered into a contract with a local television station that is based in the coastal county of Mombasa where I'm expected to be corresponding from the capital Nairobi. This agreement requires me to acquire my own video camera for it to succeed.
The amount I have at hand (KES 95,000) cannot be enough to get one. I need KES 250,000 for the same. This means I have a deficit of KES 155,000, which I thought Zidisha could grant me.
I basically need USD 1000 (KES 135,000) to go for the 3CCD video camera to be able to embark on my work.

Loan Proposal

On securing the loan, I will add it to my little savings and use it to buy a new camera that will give me best results in the course of my work. This is because some clients find my pictures to be not of good quality enough for them to buy. So I hope the camera I will acquire will enable me produce photos of good quality and so appeal to my clients. In a week, I generate an average of $50 with my current camera and trust that the new one will make me earn more owing to the quality of pictures. My projection is that my weekly earning will double to at least $100 once I start using it. I also envisage that the more sales will enable me get my own portable picture printing machine which will reduce expenditure arising from hiring one or paying for studio services. I also spend in buying envelopes or nylon papers for wrapping, while eventually many pictures remain uncollected. This means that on acquisition of a better camera, I stand assured that majority, if not all pictures will be claimed by owners. In the long run if my business grows well, I intend to open my own photo studio where I will be purely printing for photographers around my locality at a fee.

Feedback

1

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$50.00

Date disbursed

Jul 25, 2015

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

2 months

Other loans

Lenders

Paul Buchheit

Mountain View, United States

Ask Maurice 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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  • Maurice    Aug 31, 2016

    I handed over my business tools to a relative who unfortunately has not been able to manage it well, hence reducing income drastically. This is because in the month of July 2016, I happened to get a job that gives me salary at the end of every month, meaning I have to wait for a month to receive my wages amounting to USD200 (approximately KES20,000), which also goes to many other bills! I will try my best to be paying KES5000 every end of the month, precisely every first Sunday of the month, beginning this coming Sunday 4th of September. Kindly bear with my adjustment and thank you for your patience.

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  • Maurice    Aug 22, 2016

    Sorry for the late repayment, am looking forward to paying the entire overdue amount by Sunday, September 4, 2016. Please bear with me and I appreciate your kindness and patience. Thank you

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  • Maurice    Jun 8, 2016

    This is the camera I bought with the loan and gave the other one to a close relative to take pictures with elsewhere to earn a keep busy after high school and earn a living. Thank you and hope to be working together longer. God bless you all.

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  • Maurice    Jun 6, 2016

    Thank you for the loan I received of KES19,718. I used added to it and bought a better camera plus external flash gadgets because the one I had was not producing good results. It costed me KES96,000 (USD950). Thank you and hope to work with you for better!

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  • Michiel Rauws    May 16, 2016

    Hi Maurice, it seems like you're doing great work.

    Did you explore if you are able to sell your footage to international NGO's, and spread awareness and earn money at the same time?

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  • Maurice    May 13, 2016

    As mentioned earlier elsewhere in my profile, I had received KES 5,068 and KES 1000 and another KES 3000 was deducted as membership fee and member's loan deposit respectively (then having been a first applicant). So I remained with only KES 1,068, which could not assist me much apart from helping me pay for picture printing and purchase of wrapping paper. The entire loan of KES 5,068 was, however, repaid fully in ten installments (as can be seen from my repayment history).

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