Bavarian    Nov 11, 2014

Fraud! Obviously this guy is a shame for both Kenya and for Africa!

Pst.joseph    May 29, 2014

I tried to reach the man but when he realized I am talking on behalf of Zidisha, he switched off his phone

Tobias    Apr 21, 2014

The issue of Francis Mwangi is far above me, may be you engage the Client Relationship Manager who invited him to Zidisha, since the officer knows where Francis is staying and working, which I do not have the facts, his phone is no longer working.

Tobias    Apr 14, 2014

I have tried to call Francis several times, and his line is temporarily out service. All my texts are not replied, The issue can be raised with Collection Africa Limited to follow up the case. otherwise it is proving difficult to contact Francis as they are no other contacts for follow up. Thanks

Kjartan    Mar 12, 2014

Hi Francis,


How are you and your business doing? An update or a small repayment would be appreciated.


Best wishes, Kjartan

Francis    Jan 27, 2014

A lot of thanks to all my current Zidisha lenders who have already contributed to my currently requested loan. I am hopeful that more and more lenders will fund the remaining amount. I am always thankful to all Zidisha lenders for their valued help to us. God bless you all.

Francis    Jan 11, 2014

I wish to clear my loan balance by the end of this month so that I apply for a third loan. Thanks to all the Zidisha community for all the support so far.

Francis    Jan 1, 2014

Happy New Year all zidisha community!! I am still enjoying the fruits of the zidisha loan while still working on repayments. I am hopeful that sooner or later I will be through and get a third loan with zidisha. Have a blessed and productive year.

Francis    Oct 29, 2013

I apologize for October payment delay. I promise to pay by end month. The reason for failure was due to heavy burden in school and college fees for my daughters. Thanks in advance.

Francis    Sep 12, 2013

hi.my name is francis nganga...previous i had a good plan on how to repay my loan buh this was affected after my second born joined a college on pararrell program ..... remember i stated earlier that my first born had already joined narok university to persue a degree in jornalism....it is such a burden since being the breadwinner i have a family of 9....i hereby with that the lenders will bare witb my conditions ...thanku in advance

AWeber    Oct 31, 2012

My name is Andrew Weber and I am currently a Client Relationship Intern in Kenya. I recently was fortunate enough to pay a visit to Francis while I was staying at the Mugaa Secondary School. Francis is a teacher there, but that is far from his only pursuit. He lives in Kianjoya, which is about a 30 minute motor bike ride away from Mugaa. He personally picked me up on his own motor bike taxi and drove me to his village through gorgeous Rift Valley scenery and steep, winding paths. Francis has his hand in many ventures which are improving the lives of both his family and his town as a whole. My first hint Francis's wide reach in the town came during the motor bike ride, when we suddenly stopped along a desolate part of the path so he could tend to some of his goats in the distance. When we finally entered his hometown I witnessed how he did quite a bit more than teach children at the school.

Kianjoya is one of the smallest villages that I've visited so far. It had a pleasant, isolated feel, as children eagerly followed around Francis and his strange visitor through the streets. I quickly noticed that Francis was well-respected in the village, with many people stopping to greet both him and me. Our first stop was Francis’ butcher shop. Francis is active in all phases of the butchery supply chain – he buys goats and raises them for slaughter, sells some goats to other buyers, and sells meat out of two different butcheries across the street from each other. He used part of his loan to build up his second butchery. Before the loan he could only buy about 4 goats at a time, now he buys 20. This increased stock has had an enormous impact on Francis' earnings.

Next Francis took me to his home, where he raises turkeys and chickens amongst other animals, and even has two dogs to help guard his property. Francis has a large family, with some children in university and some just beginning school, so being able to afford school fees is obviously extremely important to him. After he and his wife treated me to some delicious Githeri (a traditional dish of maize and beans), Francis took me to his next and most unique business venture – a small makeshift theatre in the center of town where he shows major soccer matches to people in the area. Like a true businessman, Francis recognized and unmet demand and seized an opportunity. Locals are huge soccer fans, but satellite dishes to show the games are few and far between. So he bought a TV and satellite dish, and built a theatre with stadium-style seating and a capacity of about 50 people. People come from all over the region to pay an entrance fee and watch games there. For major European soccer matches he says the theatre will be standing room only. Some teachers at Mugaa confirmed to me that they've traveled 40 minutes in the dark to watch Man U/Arsenal there. The theatre provides many kids in the area with something to do in the evenings in this quiet town.

Francis has proven that he possesses the drive, business acumen, and intelligence to succeed. With each new Zidisha loan Francis should continue to improve the lives of those around him through his many ventures.

Francis    Aug 8, 2012

I have already paid the amounts that were due in May,June and July but the repayments are not captured in my account.My next repayment is due on August 15th.Please guide me on what to do next.

Francis    Apr 15, 2012

hi, i am kindly requesting to lengthen the repament term to one and a half years, reasons being 1. i am required to buy a harddisk sony 60 DB camera worth ksh 30,000 for my daughter to use in her attachment as a jounalist at ktn tv (she is currently a 3rd year student at moi university). 2. being the planting month most farmers who are my customers r pressed hence my businesses are down.

Francis    Mar 14, 2012

thanks once again zidisha as a whole. 100% raised

• LadyofHats    Mar 14, 2012

  good luck with the slaughter house.

  Log in to reply • Share

Francis    Mar 13, 2012

doing fyn, wish u the best

Francis    Mar 9, 2012

hi,lenders, 23%raised, me love this.

Francis    Mar 6, 2012

thanks to my lenders,

AchintyaRai    Feb 7, 2012

Hello Lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai. On Sunday (5th Feb 2012) I went to meet Francis Nganga Mwangi at his business premises in Kianjoya.

Like many Kenyans, Francis does a number of things and runs a number of businesses. He is a teacher at Mugaa Secondary School (where I am staying), he runs a butcher shop in Kianjoya, he has a cereal store, his wife runs a general store and he also manages a DSTV Room (which I will talk about shortly).

He used his Zidisha loan for his butchery. He used the money to buy livestock and also to renovate his shop.

The thing that stood out the most about Francis in my mind was his moral standard. When he opened the door of his DSTV room for me to see, I exclaimed “Oh you have a video room!” (having seen similar arrangements elsewhere in rural Kenya). Francis corrected me in a slightly offended tone and told me it was a ‘DSTV Room’ and not a video room. I learnt from him that he does not play movies in his DSTV room because he is a teacher. He has taken a subscription to satellite television for which he pays 6900 Kenyan Shillings a month, and the only things he shows in his DSTV room are football matches (not American football, Soccer). Having talked to people who run video rooms I know that a video room would be a much more profitable proposition. A video room charges 30 shillings per head, doesn’t pay any monthly subscription and is also able to sell the CDs/DVDs at a profit. Francis’ DSTV room charges 40 shillings per head (for English Premier League, it’s less for others), pays a monthly subscription of 6900 shillings and there is no income from used CDs or DVDs, yet Francis doesn’t budge because he is a teacher and it is his moral duty to prevent students’ minds from being corrupted.
The only other thing he shows apart from football matches is Kenyan plays, which are part of the school Swahili curriculum.

Francis has eight daughters and one son, all studying. With his next loan he plans to extend his DSTV room to make it bigger, because there is an ever-increasing demand, which he is not able to meet. He plans to make the room bigger and also buy another TV screen.

An interesting thing I noticed in Francis’ ‘DSTV Room’ was his speaker, which was made out of a Jerrycan (picture attached)

Achintya
Mugaa Village, Kenya
7th Feb 2012

Francis    Nov 5, 2011

If wishes were horses even the beggars would ride ,that is the situation am in i want to pay but not able, currently i am pressed because my daughter reported for her second education year at the university of narok a constituent of moi university. due to the high cost of living here in kenya, i had to pay kshs 15000 for the first term, plus ksh 5000 used in budget for the whole term totaling to kshs 20000. also as teddy onsario confirmed i have seven children considering all are in school currently i am pressed because my business is a bit down compared to past months. hope to cooperate with you.Am making a special request to reshedule my loan fn mwangi

Francis    Sep 10, 2011

currently i am pressed because my daughter reported for her second education year at the university of narok a constituent of moi university. due to the high cost of living here in kenya, i had to pay kshs 15000 for the first term, plus ksh 5000 used in budget for the whole term totaling to kshs 20000. also as teddy onsario confirmed i have seven children considering all are in school currently i am pressed because my business is a bit down compared to past months. hope to cooperate with you. fn mwangi