Internet connection for an online marketer

Felix

Buruburu, Nairobi, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Felix

Member since

June 2013

On-time repayments

281 installments  •  26%

About Me

I am a marketing professional and I have previously worked for two retail hire purchase companies and three destination marketing companies. Armed with over ten years of marketing experience from subordinate to management level, I decided 2 years ago to go into business myself. I am now an accomplished online freelancer offering content marketing services from clients around the world. My main client is from Bangladesh and I have more clients from Australia, the US, UK, India, and South Africa. My goal for the year 2014 is to establish a 24-hour content marketing service that trains and employs young Kenyan graduates.

My Business

I run an online business by the name OutSource Ke. I am the sole owner and administrator with an employee base of 7 people working mostly part time. I offer content marketing is my primary service but also provide other professional writing and research services which range from copywriting to academic research. My goal is to soon acquire office space and have a strong team of writing professionals working on 8-hour shifts offering 24-hour service to the worldwide market. The demand for online services is high and keeps growing each year and many fresh graduates in Kenya and many experienced professionals have realized that this is a wonderful employment and investment opportunity. My typical monthly costs are about $50 for internet connection per employee (myself included) and my earnings so far has been between $300 and $1000 per month in the year 2013. Clients prefer my services since I offer high quality services delivered within set deadlines. I only use writers with good grammatical and written language skills who are committed to growing in the content marketing industry.

Loan Proposal

I am a freelance online marketer and I need to secure a fast and affordable internet connection to perform my work and always be available to my clients. At the moment, www.zuku.co.ke has the best offering on internet connectivity in my area and it goes for about $48 per month with an additional one-off installation and connection fee of another $48. I need a quick loan to make the installation payment so as to take my business to the next level and offer 24 hour services, 7 days a week inclusive of weekends and holidays, rather than rely on expensive yet unreliable commercial cyber cafes which only work limited hours per day and only on Kenyan business days. Please help me make my dream happen.

Show original English  

About Me

I am a marketing professional and I have previously worked for two retail hire purchase companies and three destination marketing companies. Armed with over ten years of marketing experience from subordinate to management level, I decided 2 years ago to go into business myself. I am now an accomplished online freelancer offering content marketing services from clients around the world. My main client is from Bangladesh and I have more clients from Australia, the US, UK, India, and South Africa. My goal for the year 2014 is to establish a 24-hour content marketing service that trains and employs young Kenyan graduates.

My Business

I run an online business by the name OutSource Ke. I am the sole owner and administrator with an employee base of 7 people working mostly part time. I offer content marketing is my primary service but also provide other professional writing and research services which range from copywriting to academic research. My goal is to soon acquire office space and have a strong team of writing professionals working on 8-hour shifts offering 24-hour service to the worldwide market. The demand for online services is high and keeps growing each year and many fresh graduates in Kenya and many experienced professionals have realized that this is a wonderful employment and investment opportunity. My typical monthly costs are about $50 for internet connection per employee (myself included) and my earnings so far has been between $300 and $1000 per month in the year 2013. Clients prefer my services since I offer high quality services delivered within set deadlines. I only use writers with good grammatical and written language skills who are committed to growing in the content marketing industry.

Loan Proposal

I am a freelance online marketer and I need to secure a fast and affordable internet connection to perform my work and always be available to my clients. At the moment, www.zuku.co.ke has the best offering on internet connectivity in my area and it goes for about $48 per month with an additional one-off installation and connection fee of another $48. I need a quick loan to make the installation payment so as to take my business to the next level and offer 24 hour services, 7 days a week inclusive of weekends and holidays, rather than rely on expensive yet unreliable commercial cyber cafes which only work limited hours per day and only on Kenyan business days. Please help me make my dream happen.

Feedback

None

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$50.00

Date disbursed

Mar 25, 2014

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

5 weeks

Other loans

Lenders

B

bopsquod

Seattle, Wa, United States

lorello

Vicopisano, Italy

T

thebonseung

Republic of Korea

Ask Felix a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.

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  • Stephen    Sep 8, 2015

    Hi Felix is it possible for one to have more than one mentor? I would appreciate if you be my mentor. Secondly, my friend is in need of a job, she has a diploma in Business Administration, currently she is on attachment with a firm at Westlands
    How can you assist her please?

    Stephen, Makadara

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    • Felix    Sep 9, 2015

      Hi Stephen,

      While officially you cannot have more than one mentor, you are welcome to reach out to me whenever you need any advice or guidance. As for your friend, my small firm is fully staffed but I am open to offering her online training if she has a passion for marketing.

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  • Kitty    Sep 6, 2015

    Congratulations to you both, a long and happy life together

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  • Felix    Sep 6, 2015

    Two years ago I was a jobless, hopeless university graduate walking around the city of Nairobi with my academic papers in hand looking for a job. Any kind of low-paying job would have been welcome, for I was extremely desperate and feeling alone in the world. Then I heard of Zidisha. I posted to members my business idea and they showed faith in me and advanced me my first loan. My business has grown in leaps and bounds and so has my social and family life. In April 2015 I finally had the courage and the resources to promise my childhood sweetheart a future she can be proud of. And thanks to the support, we finally got married on 7th August. Bless you Zidisha family for walking by my side and lifting me up to glory. May all of you be blessed abundantly and help other aspiring entrepreneurs realize their dreams

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  • gerdek    Jul 1, 2015

    Hi Felix,

    Would you have an opportunity to check in with Kajala Wilberforce regarding his business? He has been not able to repay since late April. As you invited him to Zidisha you might be able to follow up and post a status? Thanks in advance!

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    • Felix    Sep 6, 2015

      Hi Gerdek. I know Wilberforce personally and I have been in touch with him regarding his arrears. I hope within the coming week we will see a positive response

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  • Namaste250    Dec 29, 2014

    Hi Felix,
    You are a wonderful asset to the Zidisha family. Happy New Year and best wishes for a joyous and prosperous 2015, Ann

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    • Felix    Dec 31, 2014

      Thank you Ann (Namaste250). I appreciate you, and appreciate all lenders, the Zidisha team, my mentees, my mentor, and my fellow borrowers. I hope we continue working together to make the world a better place. Have a wonderful and prosperous 2015

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  • Felix    Dec 15, 2014

    Wishing all lenders, borrowers, and the whole Zidisha Team a merry christmas, happy new year, and happy holidays. This year was full of challenges for me and my fledgling firm. Two thefts on my premises with heavy loss of equipment and high staff turnover almost crippled my operations. If it wasn't for Zidisha lenders, I would have never stayed afloat. Despite all these mishaps, my business is showing a strong and steady revival. All borrowers, I urge you to give back when you can. It does not have to be much. Personally, I will start by lending $5 each month and I am campaigning amongst my employees who have been loan beneficiaries and even those who have never joined Zidisha to also pitch in and assist other needy entrepreneurs. 2015 is a year of great hope brothers and sisters. Enjoy the holidays

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    • Felix    Dec 15, 2014

      As a volunteer mentor, I will also be urging my mentees who are up to date with their loans to consider assisting other upcoming entrepreneurs. Remember, even our lenders are not necessarily rich people. They give the little they can, and their pooled resources make a huge difference in individual lives and whole communities. Give the little you can to those with deserving loan profiles and we will all grow

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  • Felix    Sep 21, 2014

    Hi Lenders,

    I've missed a few payments from mid August but I have now rescheduled my repayment plan and hopefully I will get up to date before the month is over. Please bear with me.

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  • Felix    Sep 21, 2014

    Hello Zidisha Team and Lenders,
    In the past I have been making my repayments faithfully but since losing two employees I have been unable to find suitable replacements for them. Since they left it has been a struggle fulfilling client needs and paying bills. This week I finally recruited a promising new employee and I have just begun increasing my work orders. Things are just beginning to look up but I have missed my last few repayments and would like to have a more manageable figure temporarily. I will begin by making a few payments by the end of this week. Please accept my reschedule request.

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  • Mildred    Aug 26, 2014

    hi felix i have waited for my proposal and account to be activated and it has taken more that n a month.i have written to the the team twice but still no activation yet.what should l do.

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    • Felix    Aug 26, 2014

      Hi Mildred,

      Will try and contact the Zidisha team on your behalf. Keep trying too on your end

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      • Mildred    Sep 8, 2014

        felix still no tangible progress.no response nor activation of the account

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  • Felix    Aug 5, 2014

    Hello lenders,

    I have recently lost two key employees. One found his dream job in the formal sector and the other had to take care of her babies full time. This has really affected my business income in the last 6 weeks. Although I have done my best to keep to my schedule, it has become increasingly difficult. Rather than miss future payments, I'd rather reschedule until such a time that my earnings improve. Be patient with me and I promise to increase the payments once I have trained new reliable guys. Thank you in advance

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  • Felix    Jul 21, 2014

    Woke up and got inspired by the story of Ian, especially as I am in a similar line of business and facing similar challenges. Check out the Zidisha Blog Post on

    p2p-microlending-blog.zidis...

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  • Victor    Jul 14, 2014

    hi felix thank you for volunteering to assist me and other first timers on zidisha. on repayment when you enter the pay bill no your account number is your tel no or ID no. thanking you in advance

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    • Felix    Jul 14, 2014

      Hi Victor,

      The number to use is your cellphone number. Make sure you send payments using the phone number that you registered with.

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  • Christine    Jul 2, 2014

    Hello Felix how are you. you are my volunteer Mentor. Kindly help me out. Am told my account cannot be activated, because they were unable to confirm that my account meets all required criteria for a Zidisha loan. Kindly help

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    • Felix    Jul 2, 2014

      Hi Christine, will contact the Zidisha Team via email. Kindly do so too at [email protected] to know what criteria you failed to meet. Additionally, check that all your contact details and personal details are written correctly, truthfully, and clearly. Include verification documents so the Zidisha Team knows you are a genuine person

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    • Felix    Jul 4, 2014

      Hi Christine and all other potential borrowers whose accounts are deactivated or rejected,

      The Zidisha Team has a fair process by which they approve accounts. This is in order to protect lenders from fake accounts or risky borrowers. With that in mind, when you fill in your application please be as truthful as you can and be as descriptive and clear as possible. Do not provide fictitious or unverifiable information (I'm not saying that that's what you did in your case). Make sure your contacts are genuine people and if possible, include verification documents from a leader of a well known organisation. Otherwise, once the Zidisha Team declines your account there is nothing that can be done to reverse that decision.

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  • Newton    Jun 28, 2014

    Hello Felix you are my VM, i would like some help, my account has been deactivated pls find out for me why and what i can do to make it active. Thanks

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    • Felix    Jun 28, 2014

      Hello Newton, I will send an inquiry to the Zidisha team. If you have access to email, please also contact them through [email protected]. I am also sending them a text message and hope that your account will be reactivated soonest possible. In the meantime, organize your identification details and details of your contacts so that when your account is reactivated you can provide clear and accurate information

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  • Felix    Jun 21, 2014

    Finally found an employee whom I feel will be a good fit for OutSource Kenya. He reports on Monday to the office (my living room) and with his permission we will post some pics. I see us growing to 10 employees by end of 2014 and doubling our revenues within the same period. All thanks to the Zidisha team and our lenders. Thank you for helping OutSource Kenya Ltd realize its goals.

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  • Felix    Jun 17, 2014

    There has been some delays getting a new staff member with the right knowledge and expertise and thus we are looking to train someone with no experience. So it will take some time before we start receiving Returns on Investment of hiring the new employee. I am sure I can comfortably manage a minimum of Ksh. 800 per week

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  • Billy    Jun 12, 2014

    Hi Felix,
    i have a query to make since you are my volunteer mentor,i recently posted my repayments on my current loan,and i received a text saying that i had not yet made payments. i received the text today and i had made payments on Saturday last week on the due date. apparently i made a repayment of Ksh.1500,which is Ksh.1000 more than the normal repayment.could this the problem as to why the repayment has not been received yet.please advise.
    thank regards billy.

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    • Felix    Jun 12, 2014

      Hi Bill,

      Thanks for your query. Do not worry. If you paid through the right channels as described in the repayment instructions then you need not worry. Sometimes due to the high volume of payments it takes some time before the Zidisha team update your records. When they finally do, it will reflect the correct time and your repayment record will be intact. Just give it a few more days. Save your MPESA transaction message so in case the record is not updated by Monday we can contact the Zidisha Team through their email address [email protected]

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      • Billy    Jun 12, 2014

        ok thank you Felix i hope it will go through successfully. thanks for you assistance.

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        • Felix    Jun 12, 2014

          You are welcome Billy. Feel free to contact me if you have any further queries. I hope you have my phone number too just in case I take too long to respond online

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        • Felix    Jun 12, 2014

          You are welcome Billy. Feel free to contact me if you have any further queries. I hope you have my phone number too just in case I take too long to respond online

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    • Felix    Jun 17, 2014

      Hi Billy,

      I see your repayment of June 8 was successfully updated. I hope you no longer have cause for worry.

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  • TheresaSchneider    Jun 1, 2014

    I am a client relationship manager in Kenya and I got the chance to visit Mr. Abur. He is such a great person. It was an impressive visit. He has such a great business story to tell., To know more about my visit you can take a look on my blogpost:
    2014hakunamatata.wordpress....

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    • Felix    Jun 2, 2014

      I feel honored and humbled Theresa. Thank you for featuring me in your blog. I pray you visit us in Kenya more often even after you complete your internship

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  • Felix    May 30, 2014

    My meeting with the visiting Zidisha Intern went well for me. We met for about an hour in between my meeting my local clients an I took her on an online tour of what my business entails. She took me through a few tutorials on how to assist borrowers since I am a Volunteer Mentor for over 40 other borrowers. I hope to hear from her again soon.

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  • Felix    May 25, 2014

    This week it is possible I will meet two important people, members of the Zidisha community. The first is one of my mentees, a Mr. Josphat Kangeri, who needs my help in rescheduling his repayments and seeks general advice. The second is a Zidisha Intern currently on a visit to Kenya who wants to meet all Kenyan Volunteer Mentors. This is not only a possible learning experience for me but also a chance to grow further. Zidisha is really a wonderful community and together I see us making great changes in people's lives

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