Fabric for my clothing business

Rael

Nairobi, Kenya

99% repaid

Follow Rael

How it Works

Entrepreneur

Name

Rael

Member since

February 2015

On-time repayments

227 installments • 39%

About Me

I was born and raised in Nairobi. I met my husband in college and after we graduated we got married. Our wedding ceremony plans were tight due to budgetary constraints. My husband-to-be asked me to make my gown! I did, and that saved us thousands of shillings. Then many friends began to ask for gowns too. Our first baby came and when I wasn't nursing her I was working on several dress designs fro my new clients. I realized I had a God-given talent and immediately set forth labor charges. Today, ladies bring in their fabric and we discuss the dress design and charges , then I sew the dress in three days. Although this has worked, there is still greater potential in buying the fabric myself and making all-size dresses, boys' and girls' outfits for sale in and out of Nairobi. We have seven kids and I love looking after them while working from home. I don't have a maid. Our teenage daughter Michelle loves what I do and has began learning the ropes. Our garage serves as my studio (we don't have a car). My husband doesn't have a regular job. He is training for Christian ministry. All my earnings go into our upkeep and I am unable to raise my own stock. I am happy to learn about Zidisha because this is just what I need.

My Business

Besides the occasional wedding gowns, I design and stitch dresses, make earrings and necklaces to match, handbags, curtains, aprons, bed covers, seat covers and pillow cases. Ladies love the African "kitenge" for weddings. This has been my most popular line of production. I charge an average of $20 per dress. This brings me a monthly income of $270 although in a good month I can make up to$400. All this goes towards our upkeep.

Loan Proposal

I will use the money to buy fabric to make ready-made outfits for sale and beads for my accessories. This will give me a greater profit margin in expected sales. For example, the average outfit earns me $20 in labor charges. If the fabric was mine, I would sell the dress at $50. The amount of material to make this dress would cost $19, leaving me a much better margin that just the labor charge.