Muhande
Mombasa, Kenya
100% repaid
Name
Muhande
Member since
April 2014
On-time repayments
330 installments • 72%
My name is Zachary Muhande, a father of six children. Two school going and the other four are out of school. I was born 53 years ago in Western Kenya and later came to Coast region of Kenya where I was employed as an office machine technician.
I was employed for twenty years where I gained important experience and started my own business dealing with office equipment in 1998. The business has been in operation since then through hard work and support from family and friends. I am based in Mombasa but my family is in Western Kenya where I visit them once in a while.
My business deals with office equipment particularly photocopiers and computer printers. I also sell toner and ink cartridges for printers and photocopiers. I have one worker who helps me in the workshop and to run errands. I also recycle toner cartridges for clients who cannot afford to buy new ones.
I make a net profit of about $400 and an injection of more capital that I am requesting will go a long way in expanding my business.
As aforementioned, my work involves refilling printer cartridges with toner. I normally buy used toners at around 2USD, refill them with toner and then supply them to clients. The process involves opening up the cartridge, cleaning it and replacing some parts if necessary. The cartridge is then refilled and sealed ready to be delivered to the client. This can cost anything between $10 to $30 depending on the condition and the capacity of the toner.
However the process is not always 100% successful. The failure rate is about 30% and the only way of ascertaining that the toner is working is by testing it using a printer. Unfortunately, the toners are not of a standard type and there are almost every printer uses its own unique type. This is where the challenge lies since I sometimes deliver the cartridges without testing them first only for them to fail on the customer’s desk. This not only embarrassing but also wastes a lot of my time (some of my clients are about 50 kilometers away) and even worse spoils my reputation
There are five common types of printers that are used in this region but I only have one type in my workshop. If I am funded I am going to buy 3 more printers for testing my finished products. These printers sell for $300 each; however, I am buying them used from another refilling company at a reduced cost of $180 each. They are lightly used and come with all the needed accessories. I will use any remaining amount to buy more used cartridges to recycle.
Positive
1
Neutral
None
Negative
None
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$666.00
Date disbursed
Jun 30, 2015
Repayment status
On Time
Projected term
66 months
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