Mary    May 3, 2013

I am mary mwangi and iam fine. i have not be able to pay the loan because i closed my business and i have my dad who is undergoing dialysis so the money has been a problem to me.For now i am trying to do some farming so i will be paying my loan on December after the harvest 20th 2013 .

traciyoshiyama    Feb 26, 2013

Dear lenders,

My name is Traci Yoshiyama and I am Zidisha's Client Relationship Manager in Kenya.

I recently spoke with Ms. Mary Mwangi who has informed me that she has been ill for 7 months now. Due to her illness, she has not been working for the past five months. Despite her illness, she is now better and intends to start working in the upcoming month of March. She thanks you for your patience.

Best regards,
Traci

Vivien    Aug 29, 2012

Hello Lenders,

My name is Vivien Barbier and I’m a client relationship interns for Zidisha in Kenya. Yesterday, I went to visit Mrs Mwangi new business in Nakuru area and had the chance to meet her whole family.

The last year have been tough for Mrs Mwangi, just after receiving the loan she bought clothes in increase the size of the stock of her second-hand clothes business. Unfortunately, even after this investment her business didn’t pick up because of the bad economy in the area. Seeing that her situation was deteriorating and given the little hope that the economy of the area will improve in the short term, Mrs decided to change her business. She choose to open a small restaurant. Mrs Mwangi, her husband and her sister are now serving mainly lunch and tea to the local workers. After 3 months of operation, the restaurant proved itself to be more profitable than the clothes boutique but not profitable enough to cover all the expenses of the family. The 30 meals served each day generate a profit of 300 shillings ($3.5) per day or 72,000 Shilling ($856) per year.

As many villagers in Kenya, Mrs and Mr Mwangi cultivate their own fields to complement their revenue. The harvest season for their 2 hectares maize field will come in December at should allow them to make a bigger profit than with the restaurant. Mr Mwangi told me that since farming was their most profitable activity he was planning to rent more fields during the next year.

The sock of clothes of Mrs Mwangi old boutique is stored at their home without generating any revenue. Mrs Mwangi will try to sell this stock to wholesaler in order to use these funds in their farming business. Last year, the revenue of their field was very small because the rain destroyed their entire tomato plantation. This is why, this year, Mr and Mrs Mwangi decided to plant maize to reduce this risk.

While Mrs Mwangi faces difficult business situation, she still wants the best for her unique daughter. Instead of sending her to the public school, Mrs Mwangi prefers to pay the 15,000 Shillings per year ($178) for a private academy that will provide a better education to her daughter.


Vivien BARBIER
29th August 2012
Nairobi, Kenya

Mary    Aug 28, 2012

i was not able to pay because the business was very down due to some economy problems but i known god will help me make the loan i will try my best and pay the loan i have gone to cooking some food like chapati tea etc the business of selling clothe did not go will i am even doing farming which i will harvest on december so when i harvest i will put some money to the loan

Mary    Jan 14, 2012

i have not been able to pay the loan as it was monthly due to my business was down I also do farming and i had planted some tomatoes but due to bad weather it was spoiled i had planed to pay you after havest please i will try my best to be paying 1500 every month
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