Sidney    Feb 5, 2013

Hi lenders. I request that you please allow me to reschedule my loan repayment dates according to the Zidisha agreements. This is due to some minor business instabilities here and there that are not uncommon to small ventures. I will start my repayment immediately the above said dates are due. Please allow for the delay that has been caused by this postponement. My appreciation and gratitude for your patience and God bless.

Sidney    Dec 7, 2012

Hello dear lenders. Am glad to inform you that your help is really going far, in terms of improving the setting of my business. Am just requesting for some additional grace period so as to allow for my long run expansion plans of the shop to fine-tune into my repayment schedule. Am asking for this extra time so as to bend the said plans, which have been stretched slightly, due to some minor unanticipated operating costs, which I have already regulated as expected. Some little patience is what I’m asking from your end. Please bear with me. Thank you in advance.

Sidney    Oct 18, 2012

thank you dear lenders for entrusting me with your money once again. i received the money a week ago and i have been up and down doing the necessary purchases.., am yet to move to the new premises but all is set for the coming week so as to ensure a smooth transition. i will keep you up to date as the progress continues. thank you once more, I'll always be greatfull

Sidney    Sep 26, 2012

dear lenders. am glad to inform you that my business picked up as I had anticipated and I can confidently say that am back on my feet. am hoping to clear the remaining amount soon so as to keep up with the original schedule. thank you all for your constant support

Sidney    Aug 7, 2012

dear lenders. i have started my payments, and am happy to say that my business is picking up again and soon all will be well. thank you all for your patience. God bless.

Sidney    Jul 7, 2012

this is due to a couple of unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances that have faced my business in the last couple of weeks, including but not limited to a legal lawsuit that has been very costly to my business and bad debts from unworthy customers. This has made it very hard for me to meet my current obligations of repaying this loan on time as I had earlier on promised. I'm even having serious difficulties with my own business premises bills and utilities. My shop is going through a very turbulent time to the point of having strenuous cash flow problems, but I started it and have seen it grow to where it is today, so I have so much faith in it and know that this is just a passing phrase. I have done wide consultations with a financial account, taking his advice to seek the help of a business partner, who will inject into my store a fresh inflow capital, to be able to bail it out from this crisis and cushion it against some of the financial hurdles that are facing it right now. I have already solicited for a partner, with whom we are working out the logistics before he comes fully on board. His input is sure to guarantee a quicker and easier repayment of this loan and to put my store back in track. This is why i would like to propose an additional 2 months grace period so as to finalize with the agreements.

Sidney    Jun 19, 2012

Dear lenders

I'm posting this comment to you in explanation for the delay in my repayment of the loan that you had entrusted with me.This delays are due to a couple of unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances that have faced my business in the last couple of weeks, including but not limited to a legal case that has been very costly to my business and bad debts from unworthy customers e.t.c. This has made it very hard for me to meet my current obligations of repaying this loan on time as I had earlier on promised. I'm even having serious difficulties with my own business premises bills and utilities. My shop is going through a very turbulent time to the point of having strenuous cash flow problems, but I started it and have seen it grow to the point where it is today, so I have so much faith in it and know that this is just a passing phrase. I cant allow it to fail, so I did wide consultations with a financial accountant, taking his advice of seeking the help of a business partner, who will inject into my store a fresh inflow of capital, in order to be able to bail it out from this crisis and cushion it against some of the financial hurdles that are facing it right now. I have already solicited for a partner, with whom we are working out the logistics before he comes fully on board. His input is sure to guarantee a quicker and easier repayment of this loan and to put my store back in track. I would like to propose an additional 2 months grace period so as to finalize with the agreements and stabilize my business. I know of the inconveniences that my business has caused you and I deeply regret it. I sincerely apologize and ask you to please try and be understanding with me because I am very willing and strongly committed to fully repaying this loan that you have lend me. You can be sure of my creditworthiness from, Achintya Rai (a Zidisha coordinator) who visited my business premises and saw its capacity and he can vouch for my integrity. I promise that I will fully clear my obligations with you if you please grant me this grace period. Sorry for all the inconveniences I have caused.

Yours sincerely

Sidney Lugohe

Sidney    Mar 26, 2012

Dear Zidisha lenders, I would like to propose a longer repayment schedule because of some unexpected circumstances that have made it impossible for my business to repay your loan according to the original repayment schedule. This is due to some legal technicalities that are facing my business currently. at present, my business is dealing with a legal case pertaining ‘music piracy’ but I have hired an attorney who is dealing with the case. I would wish to request that you consider extending my repayment schedule as I have documented below. Please excuse any inconveniences that I have caused and be understanding with my situation. Yours Sidney Lugohe

AchintyaRai    Feb 29, 2012

Hi lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai

I recently met Sidney Lugohe Mungasia at his shop in Ongata Rongai near Nairobi recently. Sidney runs the business of typing, scanning and photocopying and a video/music library from his shop.

I have done an MBA. My class of about 50 had people from 20 nationalities. Sidney’s demeanor reminded me of some of the smartest people in my class. He is confident but not overly extrovert. He put me at my ease the moment I met him (and I thought that was part of MY job). He is positive about future and expresses his ideas with a self-assurance that somehow smells of humility and not cockiness.

Sydney lost both his parents in a car accident when he was in school, yet he finished his school and also went to college where he got a diploma in banking and finance. He also wanted to pursue a course in accounting but couldn’t because of financial constraints. After his diploma he worked for Barkley’s for a while but later left because he felt constricted in a 9 to 5 job and wanted to be independent. When I asked him why he chose this particular business he said, “There is no business like show business”. I guess you end up watching many of the movies you sell. But frankly, that didn’t sound dramatic at all coming from him.

Sydney used his Zidisha loan to upgrade his computer (he added three dvd writers, increased the speed and the RAM and bought a UPS). He also upgraded his printer- the new one has a scanner and a photocopier. He also spent on advertising. When I asked him if he could do all this with the amount he borrowed from Zidisha, he told me that he also invested all his savings. He was able to increase his income due to these improvements and is planning to move to a bigger shop soon. With the next loan Sidney wants to expand his business. His future plan is to have a sort of entertainment hub where people could come to meet friends, eat, play video games or watch movies.

Sidney is 28 and when I asked him if he was married, he smiled shyly and said that perhaps next year. As a gesture of my good wishes in this regard I asked him to pose for a photograph with this big poster of Kate Beckinsale outside his shop and he happily obliged.

Achintya
29th Feb 2012
Nairobi, Kenya

• Sidney    Mar 2, 2012

  Hi lenders,
  
  Its was with great pleasure that I met Zidisha’s ‘Kenya Client Relationship Manager’, Mr. Achintya Rai, at my shop a short time ago. We discussed at length some of the issues that affected my business including its future prospects and opportunities, which I have envisioned to achieve in the forthcoming future.
  
  Rai has already posted most of the issues we talked about, and am happy to say that I have incorporated in my plans, to implement some of the creative ideas that he suggested to me. As he has said, my vision is to expand into an full-size amusement center, which will be more of a social meeting place for the young generation rather than an entertainment store, which is its current business model.
  
  I’ll be glad to meet more of Zidisha’s representatives and lenders so that I can show them how much their support has helped my business. It’s with sincere gratitude that I would like thank you all, who have had faith in me. I look forward for future engagements.
  
  Kindly
  Sidney M. Lugohe

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canadianlstan    Jan 31, 2012

Hi! I enjoyed reading about your business and business plan; best of luck with everything! I look forward to reading any updates you post in the future.

• Sidney    Feb 2, 2012

  thanks for the words of encouragement, canadianlstan. they mean a lot. am also happy and passionate with the plans i have for my business. I'll enjoy staying in touch and keeping you updated with future progress. again, thank you so much for your help. God bless.

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Sidney    Jan 30, 2012

A special thank you to all who have lent my business. In particular, thanks to Aahz, Ericdamonwalters, Givemoreuseless, Investor, Jeanbaptiste, Melliecarma, Nani, Okane, Witlof, Wongnow, and above all Zidisha Inc, for supporting my business. I will always be in gratitude for your help. Looking forward to staying in touch with you all.

• COOPITALIST    Jan 30, 2012

  It's a great pleasure to be able to assist you with your business. Keep us posted with your progress. I wish you all the best.

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  • Sidney    Feb 2, 2012

    hi wongnow? thanks for the follow up. the pleasure is all mine in keeping you posted with the progresses made by my business. i got the money on time, and spent two days shopping for the best equipments. despite the hassle, am happy to say that i have purchased everything my business needed. as a matter of fact, there was a temporal power interrupting in the morning, and am grateful to say that the UPS came in so handy. thank you again. i will keep on updating my post to show you the length that your help has done. thank you for lending my business, and stay in touch. God bless.

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