Gertrude
Mombasa, Kenya
100% repaid
Name
Gertrude
Member since
May 2015
On-time repayments
168 installments • 53%
My name is Gertrude Masiga, born on the west most county of Kenya - Busia. Busia is on the border of Kenya and Uganda and there is a lot of cross border trade between the two countries. It is an an area endowed with natural forests and rivers but sadly some have disappeared due to human activities occasioned by rapid population growth. In spite of all those issues, it is a nice place and I hope to return and settle there some time.
I lost my both parents at an early age and I went to live with my aunt in Mombasa town which is on extreme south of Kenya. This is where I did my primary and secondary education and I will forever remain grateful to my guardian who paid for my education and upkeep.
My aunt is not a person of means and that is the far she could afford to educate me. Without any other formal training, I resorted to using my hobby - hair dressing to make money. I am talented as a hair dresser and I do plaiting effortlessly and this has earned me many clients across my area.
I am a freelance hair dresser and I walk from house to house while attending my clients. I normally communicate with them using my mobile phone and I go to them since I do not have my own business premises. Plaiting is very common in our region and over 50% of women and young girls have braids or cornrows at any given time.
My charges range from $5 to $10 per head. I can do 1 or 2 heads per day depending on the complexity of the job to be done. This is what brings food on the table and I am glad that I due to my good work, I now have many clients due to referrals.
In spite of my relative success, moving from house to house is very inefficient because of the time lost while moving around. Ideally, this work should be done in a salon but I am yet to get funds to enable me rent a saloon, For this reason, I have come to Zidisha to ask for credit which will enable me take my business to the next level by opening a hair salon.
I need to buy some equipment for my hair salon so as to increase efficiency. Due to lack of some basic tools, I can only do limited work on my clients and this has limited my profitability. By buying tools such as a hair drier, a sink, and a set of towels, I will be able to do more services and attend to more clients.
By buying the above items, I expect to double my income and this will make my business have a strong foundation in readiness for more expansion in the new future. Thank you.
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Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$190.00
Date disbursed
Dec 31, 2015
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
11 months
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