Online marketing of ladies' products

Grace

Nakuru, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Grace

Member since

June 2015

On-time repayments

213 installments  •  87%

About Me

About Me

My name is Grace Akoth. I turned 39 years in March. I grew up in a family of five - two boys and 3 girls me being the last born. My mum is still alive. We lost dad last year in September. I thank God for sustaining her up to now because she has been my biggest inspiration and my source of joy and strength especially after the traumatic experience of losing my dear Dad. 

I went to school at Lenana Primary and proceeded to Menengai High School where I cleared my O Level. I went to Jogoo Commercial College where I did full computer packages and passed with Distinction. Other than that I also did full secretarial and I passed as well. I proceeded to Nairobi where I did my Toeffl and SAT exams as I had ambitions of going to the US to further my studies. I passed well but unfortunately couldn't realise my dreams of flying out of the country. I went to Mombasa and did my Certificate in Counselling at Amani Counselling Centre where I also passed but due to finances couldn't get my Certificate.

I worked at Humanistic Counselling Centre in Mombasa for about one year as a volunteer after which I had to move back to Nakuru. 

Coming to Nakuru and having no source of income, I opted for business career where I started with a mini-shop which did not do very well due to its location. I had to change to selling second-hand clothes in order to make ends meet and four years down the line I have maintained the same business. I eventually ventured into bringing ladies handbags and shoes from Kampala as I had tested the market and found it lucrative and sustainable.

When my dad passed on I had to relocate back to our rural home to lend support to my mum who is battling old-age related ailments. I had to close down my business and start life afresh at home. As they say necessity is the mother of inventions I soon realized I cannot stay idle for long without doing some form of business. That's when I discovered my neighbors having lots of honey but have no market. I decided to go a step further by doing value addition then market for them the honey. That's how Neema's Pure Raw Natural Honey was born.
The business is booming as honey is on great demand. However there are a few challenges here and there which can be sorted. For example transport, packaging materials, sourcing for good unadulterated honey etc

My Business

I did alot of groundwork as I sourced for good honey and did sensitization meetings on the importance of good quality unadulterated honey. This will ensure we have a constant number of clients who hopefully will be increasing daily.
The business is doing well and now am thinking of having my own hives and get into Apiculture full time.
That's where I need my Zidisha Family to come in and help. I have a one-acre farm that the specialist said can host upto 100 hives. I have no such capital as a hive costs about $100 to make and set up.


I discovered the gem that is online marketing. That is where I have gotten my clients upto almost 95%. For me to do this I opened a facebook page which I manage called Nakuru County Business Mums. This page apart from helping me market my products, is also open to other people especially women to market and buy products they need easily. This has been a major breakthrough for me and has made me stabilize financially.
I applied for the loan because I have an ambitious programme of setting up 100 beehives in the first phase and keep more when this will be done. I therefore would humbly request Zidisha family to help me set up the first 50 at a cost of $500.
Apart from making money I chose the business because is a natural environmental conservation method because bees help in pollination and also you need a forest for the bees to make honey. It's a venture that will help you make money and conserve and take good care of the environment as well.
Also honey is on high demand and the capital is affordable. Also it is not labour intensive and that means that I can easily venture into other businesses without harming it. 

In a month my revenue collection is about $400.
My expenditure is about 370 dollars; Transport $120, Utility Bills $100, Upkeep $150 and my savings in a month is about $30. However, the revenue might change depending on the business and season. In that case the savings might be more or less. 

I mostly use my savings for buying packaging materials and printing of labels. I also participate a lot in charity and church work. I have a project called Sanity Project that helps in sanitation matters for the underprivileged. What I do is buy sanitation products like Tissue papers, diapers and sanitary towels and take them to a home I have identified that has the need and donate the products. This brings me so much fulfilment because I know in my own little way I am making the world better for my fellow human beings. 
I also love doing mentorship for young entrepreneurs and help them grow. Through my facebook page lives have positively changed. 
Thank you Zidisha for such a wonderful platform and for lenders for having faith in me over the years since I joined Zidisha.

Loan Proposal

With the loan amount of about Ksh. $375 I intend to buy 15 trendy ladies handbag worth $25 each from Uganda and add on to the stock I have. This will be a very big boost to me because so far the biggest sales are from the ladies handbags.

I intend to sell the bags at between $35-40 each and this in return will increase my profit from $400 to $500 per month. Part of the money will be pumped back to business and the rest will be used for other necessities. I also want to increase my participation in terms of finances in the project I talked about earlier as my way of giving back to the community and helping the less previledged.

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$367.00

Date disbursed

Jan 8, 2017

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

17 months

Lenders

A

Anninymouse

Southampton, United Kingdom

B

bgalon

London, United Kingdom

F

Fabrizio

Grottaferrata, Italy

investor

Candiac, Canada

Spyque

Saint James, United States

M

MrMc2

Saugerties, United States

BelleStarr

Albuquerque, United States

YB Song

Seoul, Republic of Korea

AltruisticSelfishnes

Chicago, United States

E

Ehaffey

Washington D.C., United States

I

ideerge

Mountain View, United States

L

louisela

Eugene, Oregon, United States

T

Tszach

Tucson, United States

T

traderjohn

Baltimore, United States

R

rcmssr

Woodbury, United States

T

Tallago3

Munich, Germany

G

giaco

madrid, Spain

Pere

Barcelona, Spain

yeahboi78

Alexandria,LA, United States

T

ToddK

Indianapolis, IN, USA, United States

S

Shorty

London, United Kingdom

B

BronxJose

Bronx, United States

E

elkbrett

Bradenton, United States

BJ

Brandon Joz

North Carolina, United States

MatthewHaight

Montgomery Village, United States

R

rmacaw

Australia

Jeff and Marcie

Portland, OR, United States

jk1234

Pinellas Park, United States

MichaelR

Los Angeles, United States

T

tmsaddress

Orlando, Florida, United States

L

Lenore

Munich, Germany

eaganlender

Kalamazoo, United States

C

cyrilleberger

Gammalkil, Sweden

athomas

Chevy Chase, United States

gbnbca

Janeville, Canada

F

fake_name

Boston, United States

J

Jeb33red

Bourne end, United Kingdom

G

glomardor

Leonardtown, United States

IA

Ismini and Jerry

Stamford, USA, United States

J

jzidi

Los Angeles, United States

S

Sabine

Courtenay, Canada

S

smilesandlove

mount horeb, United States

McJulio

New Jersey, United States

S

Scodeb123

Huntsville, United States

D

Dionne

Pembroke, Bermuda

LadyPhi

Ontario, Canada

Bruno

São Paulo, Brazil

T

Tui1974

nuenen, Netherlands

G

glh25

Winooski, United States

Gordons28

Santa Monica, United States

S

sublibyss

East Lansing, United States

D

d3witt

Cheyenne, United States

T

Taupe

Balzers, Liechtenstein

neocodesoftware

vancouver, Canada

sbyun

Toronto, Canada

L

laidas

Vilnius, Lithuania

Wiredfox

Macclesfield, United Kingdom

S

ScottEastman

Green Bay, United States

A

AndrewC

London, United Kingdom

gseletko

South Perth, Australia

P

Pavane

Kungsbacka, Sweden

soniad

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

P

Pillango

Frankfurt, Germany

M

mcmathae

Santa Clara, United States

somuchjackson

Boston, United States

J

jfragisk

Toronto, Canada

V

VeroCL

montevideo, Uruguay

E

elourenco

Porto, Portugal

Evan Lamos

Brussels, Belgium

M

Malibu

Westwood, United States

D

drorm

United States

N

nycjen

United States

Paul Buchheit

Mountain View, United States

S

salathe

United States

S

sarah4d2

Saint Louis, United States

smastermind

Jerusalem, Israel

C

CraigInCo

United States

chriseyre

Fremont, Ca, United States

H

hedyeyre

United States

TyWee

Manila, Philippines

Grant Xavier Storer

Seattle, Wa, United States

I

idris

United States

Adrien Norulak

Zurich, Germany

S

satheajay

United States

E

Estebanito

United States

Mike and Jacqui

United Kingdom

S

Stephan

Netherlands

Haim Si

Mexico, Mexico

GS

Guillaume Schaack

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Dave Bogard

New York, United States

Karijn

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Family Mueller

Petershagen, Germany

N

Niels

Berlin, Germany

Matt B

Stratford Upon Avon, United Kingdom

JD

Jo Dane

Melbourne, Australia

Nicholas Corbett

Toronto, Canada

PG

Paul Graham

United States

Craig Newmark

United States

The Zinc Team

San Francisco, United States

Humble Bundle Community

San Francisco, United States

A

Anonymous

United States

Paul Buchheit

Mountain View, United States

A

Anonymous

United States

CN

Craig Newmark

United States

JG

Jake Gibson and Beverly Picardo

San Francisco, United States

Ask Grace 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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