Loan to expand my grocery store

Esther

Mombasa, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Esther

Member since

June 2014

On-time repayments

415 installments  •  69%

About Me

My name is Esther Wanjiru and Kenyan citizen. I am a teacher of English and English literature. I am a second born in a family of five. I was born in Kiambu county Kenya where I went through my primary school education then secondary school. I later joined Kenyatta University where I took a course in Bachelor of Arts and later a post graduate diploma in Education. I later got employed as a teacher and posted to Mombasa County where I am still teaching.
I am a mother of two young children.

I started a business in 2010 to supplement my salary since I had difficulties in meeting my many expenses such as rent, school fees for my children, transport e and also helping out my ageing parents back home. I run a general shop where I sell common household items like flour, soap, sugar etc. I also sell cooking gas in cylinders. I also started a money transfer business (M-pesa) within the same establishment. I rely on two workers to run the business since I spend most of time in school where I work.
I am a go-getter, focused and very ambitious woman. I believe in integrity and hard work.

My Business

As stated above, I run a three in one business – the main one being the shop where there is a steady flow of shoppers who buy goods worth anything from $0.5 to $20 per shopper. I also sell gas cylinders in quantities of 3kg and 13kg at a retail price of $7 and $26 respectively. I also do a money transfer business (called M-Pesa locally) where I serve about 60 clients daily.
The three departments give me a net profit of about $650 per month – after paying the rent, other bills and salaries.
My business requires heavy investment for buying stock especially the gas section. I sometimes fail to cope with the demand of the gas cylinders since my stock gets depleted very fast especially during the end-month when most workers get paid. I have decided to join Zidisha to access credit which will enable me to build up my stock as this will bring satisfaction to my customers.

Loan Proposal

Ever since I borrowed my first loan with Zidisha, my business has grown by leaps and bounds. This unprecedented growth has come with some challenges. The space where I run my grocery business is now too small due to increased volumes of sale items. Fortunately, my neighbour who runs a similar business has opted to retire and he has offered to let his premises to me.

The budget for occupying this bigger space is as shown
1. Goodwill $300( it is a common practice in Kenya to compensate the previous occupier for building a client base who presumably will continue patronizing the business)
2. Fittings and branding $350
3. Enhanced security – grill doors and quality locks $300
4. Purchase of an extra refrigerator $300

All these items are crucial for the success of my ambitious venture. I also intend to hire an extra worker to cope with the anticipated increased sales volumes. I humbly request you lenders to support me in this continuing success story. Thank you.

Feedback

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$1,333.00

Date disbursed

Jan 13, 2015

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

14 months

Lenders

T

Tmann

Los Angeles, United States

J

Jason

New Jersey, United States

N

nitram

Stockholm, Sweden

S

snowcrystal86

New York, United States

carlos vendrell

Barcelona, Spain, Philippines

S

SeeBiscuit

Reston, United States

DeanDropshot

Oslo, Norway

C

cgrumboski

Atlanta, United States

C

CanadianMom

Toronto, Canada

evinpa

United States

Raoul72

Naarden, Netherlands

T

taiti123

Singapore, Singapore

T

Tallago3

Munich, Germany

Zidisha

Sterling, United States

B

BRTHVL

Hendersonville, United States

RebeccaNie

Palo Alto, United States

Susanne

Freising, Germany

R

rmacaw

Australia

B

blahblah

Nuernberg, Germany

M

mason243

Denver Colorado, United States

J

Jennifer

Minneapolis, United States

B

briansedz

Canton, Ohio, United States

beverly

Vancouver, Canada

CharlieBfl

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

DavidRisstrom

Melbourne, Australia

J

jjonas

berlin, Germany

B

Bavarian

Bavaria, Germany

J

jasonbronowitz

Tempe, United States

C

chrisherron

Chicago, United States

F

farwest

Alamo, United States

E

Ethan

Middleburg, United States

S

stevetanner

Geneva, Switzerland

J

JoycaLeplae

Gent, Belgium

Boysenfam

Boulder, United States

rasmus

Bern, Switzerland

DLarson

Morris, United States

Quentin

Toronto, Canada

D

duckdork

De Forest, United States

B

Bernhard75

Vienna, Austria

J

JoeSolar

Virginia, United States

J

jeremy

Chicago, United States

B

BClay

Campbell, United States

H

hteba

Northwich, United Kingdom

ads68

Melbourne, Australia

I

ivanill

Lansing, United States

S

silsley

Cheltenham, United Kingdom

VALEK

Canberra, Australia

K

Klemens

M, Germany

D

dannimw

Victoria BC, United Kingdom

B

bek88

Fairview, United States

fairspirit

Utrecht, Netherlands

rhagen

New York, United States

A

Andrew22

Hopewell PA, United States

Muslim

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Winona

Yakima, United States

JTShorty

Gorham, Maine, United States

BF

Bob Fitzjohn

Fontvielle, Monaco, Yemen

G

Goldrivermob

Gold River, Canada

E

erlingre

Sør-Fron, Norway

D

dpvidal

Eindhoven, Netherlands

H

Harmony

Cleveland, United States

Padrino

Kilkenny, Ireland

R

rohbear

asheville, United States

Zal0m0n

Atlantis!!!! x), Mauritania

V

Volpone

Geneva, Switzerland

L

LenoMetus

Perth, Australia

markpearson

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

B

Badass78camaro

Mohnton, Pa, United States

B

BearLa

Indianapolis, United States

H

Haavard

Bergen, Norway

G

giova

Padova, Italy

G

GanSatya

United States

Garry Tan

San Francisco, California, United States

B

BobHope

United States

C

Csquared

United States

sderickson

Berkeley, CA, United States

D

dajja

Stockholm, Sweden

pvilliger

Zurich, Switzerland

H

HoseB

San Francisco, United States

Matching Fund

Sterling, United States

Arjan Geven

Vienna, Austria

C

chrishol

United States

MalcolmL

San Francisco, United States

D

DCLending

United States

T

tlbtlbtlb

United States

camden01

Connecticut, United States

I

ianmc

United States

Paul Buchheit

Mountain View, United States

P

phantomdiver

United States

F

FSO

Canada

D

dm151

Australia

L

leumasmc

United States

geotrog

Sydney, Australia

Insomnus

Cheltenham, United Kingdom

D

davecas

United States

S

sarah4d2

Saint Louis, United States

L

Leemcd

Australia

mepster

San Francisco, Ca, United States

P

PeterDG

United Kingdom

L

luckiestmonkey

United States

Vesa

Helsinki, Finland

A

araali

United States

J

JonAlec

United States

S

samanthaellen

United States

D

Desteli

United States

H

HLCharityFund

United Kingdom

R

rwebb

United States

Grant Xavier Storer

Seattle, Wa, United States

R

reganbrian

United States

M

markl

Australia

I

IndianaMike

United States

Hoops

United States

R

radhapatel

United States

A

AlexH

United Kingdom

M

Marielle

United States

H

Heath

United States

A

aajmp

United States

G

gvstars

United States

A

afrakhan

United Kingdom

R

Rajendra

Jamkhed 413201 Maharashtr, India

S

satheajay

United States

M

MarkA

United Kingdom

N

nedenchase

United States

S

samuelknecht

United States

I

irela

United Kingdom

S

smanda

United States

M

me.iulian

Iasi, Romania

J

JamieRobertson

United Kingdom

M

Millie_and_Babs

United Kingdom

M

Mscov

United States

A

abdul4

Indonesia

S

springa

United Arab Emirates

F

frenchy

United States

M

michael0921

Fairmont, United States

K

KendieK

United States

K

kitkat

United States

S

StefanB

Stockholm, Sweden

K

Kebrenagast

New York, United States

S

Schwartz

United States

R

rokbe

Netherlands

P

purmar

United Kingdom

LouisB

ZIDISHA, Mozambique

EightRiversCapital

Stamford, Ct, United States

J

JessicaAna

Maputo, United States

ToddTho

World Wide, United States

Andrew267

Birmingham, United Kingdom

E

egines

United States

mysterry

Saint Lazare De Vaudreuil, Canada

S

seanos

Nottingham, United Kingdom

B

bwmoore

United States

AKWatson3

Norwalk, United States

P

Pinkhobgoblin

United Kingdom

B

brothasmith

United States

P

PeterSpencer

United Kingdom

P

ppokcire

United States

Kallwejt

Warsaw, Poland

R

rchissom

United States

alecors

Mexico, Mexico

A

andreab

United States

P

Pragathi

United States

J

Jack123

United States

S

SuzanneD

United States

C

cwbreaux

United States

Martin Ward

Leicester, United Kingdom

RJ

Ryan J Cotton

United States

KM

Kirsty M

United Kingdom

PH

Phil H

United States

Darcy

Ottawa, Canada

Michelle

Sydney, Australia

dust

Seattle, United States

Eduardo

Sorocaba, Brazil

R

ras

Germany

MY

Moe Yoshioka

United States

D

David

United States

Shen Ge

Houston, United States

S

Sven

Netherlands

P

pombo

United States

F

Falk

Germany

thoru

Dresden, Germany

E

Erich

Zurich, Switzerland

D

Doug

Baltimore, United States

ujgih

Germany

MJ

Matt Jenkins

United Kingdom

S

Steve

United States

Cathy

Melbourne, Australia

Anna Hoad

Toronto, Canada

Humble Bundle Community

San Francisco, United States

Ask Esther 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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