Purchase binding machine for photocopy/printing business

Thomas

Kisumu, Kenya

Expired

$110 to go

8% funded of $120 goal

days left

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How it Works

Entrepreneur

Name

Thomas

Member since

February 2014

On-time repayments

32 installments • 47%

About Me

My names are Thomas Odongo. I am 45 years old with 3 children of my own and two others adopted. I live in Kisumu Polyview estate, a middle class residential area. I have a bachelors degree in Economics and Sociology and currently operating a business in Kisumu town dealing with bureau / secretarial services. I started the business last year to take care of family needs. The proceeds from my business pays the basic needs of my family. food, shelter and clothing. it also pays for the education of my children.

My Business

I operate a bureau / secretarial services in Kisumu town. The services include:
- Photocopying
- Printing
- Binding
- Lamination
- typesetting services
These are services required by a wide range of customers, including offices, students etc.
we are strategically located at a building housing many offices, a supermarkets and a University. These provide a steady flow of clients to my shop. I have two employees who assist on the day to day running of the office.
My costs include, rent, salaries, statutory payments and materials (photocopy papers, binding materials, tonners etc. These on average is about kshs 75000.
The average monthly generated revenue is between kshs 110000 to kshs 130000.
The average net profits is about kshs 45000

Loan Proposal

I take this opportunity to thank the lenders through Zidisha for supporting my business from last year. I request for a loan of Kshs 11,000 (Approx USD 118) to purchase a heavy duty binding machine for my business. Currently i turn away customers who request for binding since the machine i have is for small items only. This will enable me offer more services to my customers under one roof.

With a heavy duty binding machine, i should be able to increase my earnings by at least 10%

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Amount requested

$120.00

Other loans

Feb 2014: $47

Apr 2014: $129

Nov 2014: $45

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Thomas Mar 18, 2015

I wish to thank Zidisha for the last loan which i used to purchase a new laminating machine for my business. This enabled me diversify my services offering my clients more value under one roof. My earnings improved by 11% as a result of the new machine.

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Thomas Sep 23, 2014

First, i would wish to thank you for the loan which helped me improve my business. However, I experienced some expected losses in the business in the last three months. i have a balance of kshs 2000 which i inetend to clear in two instalments. I will pay the 1st instalment next week on 30th September 2014 and the final payment on October 7th 2014

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Thomas Jul 3, 2014

Dear All,

I used my first loan to purchase a lamination machine. The results have been impressive because I no longer torn away customers who require lamination in addition to other services offered at the shop. This has provided me with additional income as well as customer satisfaction.

I took a second loan which I used to purchase a desktop computer. As a result, I have employed one more person and greatly reduced congestion and customer waiting time at the shop.

I was pleasantly surprised this week, when I received a call from David of Zidisha. We arranged for a Monday meeting and he visited my shop at Swan Centre in Kisumu town. We had fruitful discussions that left me with a wealth of knowledge and tips on how to develop the business and attract more funding. As a result of the meeting, I will be joining the group of volunteer mentors to assist businesses within my locality to benefit from Zidisha.

Thomas Odongo, Kisumu

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D
DavidHenning Jul 2, 2014

Dear all,

On monday I met Thomas Odongo in Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya, which is situated on the shore of Lake Victoria. We went to his business, a print shop, but there were too many people there so we decided to go to a small café, just around the corner, which was almost empty and thus perfect for having a conversation.

Thomas has had a long and prosperous career. After finishing his studies of economics, he worked for 2 years as a market researcher, which made him realize that he wanted to go into sales. He quickly acquired a job within a pharmaceutical company that was based in Kisumu. Thus, he and his family moved with the job to Kisumu. After some time he changed his job to being one of the managers within sales for National Media. Unfortunately, the job was based in Nairobi, an 8 hour bus ride away from Kisumu. Thomas nevertheless decided to take the opportunity and accepted the job. He stayed with national media for 8 years, which means that for 8 years, every other weekend; he took an 8 hour bus ride to Kisumu and an 8 hour bus ride back.

By opening up a print shop in Kisumu 2 years ago he finally managed to live with his family, to the great excitement of his wife and 3 children. The print shop is going very well and enables him to earn approximately the same as he did before. However, he now has more free-time and more time to be with his family and friends. His 1st loan was used to replace a binding machine that was broken, and the 2nd loan allowed him to buy a new computer. This enabled him to employ one more person and have to spots where customers can be served.

Thomas future looks bright. He aims to expand his print shop and eventually become a full time printer for marketing purposes, which fits very well with his previous career. In addition, he made an agreement with national media such that he would become the distributor in Kisumu. This has not happened yet, but will probably come into effect in the near future. In addition, Thomas is planning on starting both fish farming and poultry. He has already started constructing the chicken fence, and with a third loan he would be able to finish the fence and start off his farm.

David Henning
Client Relationship Manager, Kenya

1. Thomas shop
2. Thomas in front of his shop

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Thomas Jun 30, 2014

The business suffered unexpected losses after one of my clients defaulted with a huge balance. In addition, I have had increased costs as a result of employing one more person after purchasing new PC with the loan advanced. However, I can see signs of the business picking up and should be able to pay the revised installments without delay.

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