Loan to buy solar -powered food cooler box

Entrepreneur

About Me

My name is Mary Anyango, I was born in 1956 in the rural village of Kanyamwa in Homa Bay County and I went through my early education in Nairobi where my parents were working in as casual labourers. I did not continue with my education past grade 7 due to lack of school and after dropping from school, I got married in exchange of cows so that my younger brothers could be educated using the cows that was paid as a bride price.

Marriage life was not easy and I was faced with lack of money to buy food since my husband was not engaged in any gainful employment and couldn't meet the family financial obligations. This was what prompted me to start a business of selling fried fish to enable me raise money to meet my family obligations.

I have three children and the first born has graduated from High School in 2012 and joined a University pursuing Bachelor of Education, my last born is in Class Eight this year and going to sit for hear final primary education exams in November 2015. My children have got big dreams and I always tell them that sky is the limit.

In my free time, I do participate in Church activities like singing and visiting the sick in hospital. Mbita community where I grow, the cultural norms tend to look down upon women but with the new medias and information technologies, women are starting to have a voice and aspires to venture into small income businesses, I find this interesting and my background in Information Technology is helping me to reach out to women and mobilize them for active participation in development.

My Business

My business is of selling all types of fish i.e. omena, tilapia, nile perch etc. There is high demand for fish in my area because a lot of people like eating fish than buying meat which is quite expensive than fish. With the income from my business I am able to pay fees for my children in school and I also plant maize and beans which helps me a lot in meeting family food needs. The fish I sell especially the powder and dust I use to give to my chicken as they are good and have nutrients.I have kept local chicken as they are resistant to many diseases as compared to the hybrid ones.

I do wake up very early to walk about 9 miles to get to the lake shore where I buy fish from fishermen. I do dry them and get back home in the evening. I have been in this business for more than 20 years and it has been doing well though I could not manage to expand as I would desire due to lack of funds to buy more equipment and fish stock. The local Banks do charge exorbitant loan interests and it's very hard to expand business using loans raised from the Commercial Banks in Kenya.

Loan Proposal

A loan of KES 9,012 will enable me buy a second Solar-Powered Cooler Box to keep my fresh fish (omena) every morning so that I can sell in the evening when prices have appreciated. Solar-powered cooler for preservation of fish will enable me sale to clients on a regulated basis for good returns and long -storage terms. I will add the loan of KES 8,978 with my savings of 6,000 to enable me buy the cooler at KES 14,000. I look forward to increasing my profit on a daily basis by 40% and be able to repay the loan on time using the increased income from my business. Let me take this earliest opportunity to thank ZIDISHA lenders for their funding.

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