Entrepreneur

About Me

My name is Janet Chebet Sigaa. I am 26 years of age and single. I was born in Nakuru County of rift valley province in Kenya, in a village called Tendwet in Keringet District. I am the 6th born of a family of eleven. My parents are peasant farmers who mainly depend on the meager income from the small farm they cultivate. We also have some few livestock which contribute to the monthly income through milk production. I started my early child education in 1991 and later started the primary education in my home school – Tendwet Primary School in 1993. I finished the primary education in 2002 after sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). I later joined Emitik Girls high school for my A levels from 2003 – 2006. My life at high school was the most challenging moment in my life. My humble background could not enable me to seek a higher institution than the one I joined since I had passed well. My parents could not afford due to the small income and the many children they had to consider too.
Many times I would be send home for school fees. To make the matters worse I fell ill during my third year and this affected my academic performance. We had to seek funds to enable me get a medical attention. I went to several hospitals and eventually got well. I finished my high school after sitting for the Kenya Certificate for Secondary education. (KCSE). I got a mean grade of C+. I could have done better than that but was affected by the time I spent seeking for medical attention.
In 2008 I joined Utalii College for a Diploma Course in Food Science and Nutrition for two years. After my graduation in 2010 I started looking for a job. Securing a job became another tough challenge for me. I searched for a job for a long time without success. I later decided to start my own business – selling of fruits and vegetables. I come from a fertile area where we plant many fruits ranging from bananas, pineapples, pears, avocadoes and tomatoes. I found this to be the best business for me at the moment since getting the produce is much easier and affordable. also the market for the same is readily available. I saw this as an opportunity for me, which will help me develop financially and to also assist my siblings in their education.

My Business

after my secondary school education, I joined Utalii College for a Diploma Course in Food Science and Nutrition for two years. After my graduation in 2010 I started looking for a job. Securing a job became another tough challenge for me. I searched for a job for a long time without success. I later decided to start my own business – selling of fruits and vegetables. I come from a fertile area where we plant many fruits ranging from bananas, pineapples, pears, avocadoes and tomatoes. I found this to be the best business for me at the moment since getting the produce is much easier and affordable. Also the market for the same is readily available. I saw this as an opportunity for me, which will help me develop financially and to also assist my siblings in their education.
My business entirely involves buying and selling of fruits and vegetables in my home town. I buy the produce mainly from farmers and sell them to the town residents and other customers. At times when the produce from the farmers is low I buy the same from other traders in wholesale. I have also recently included milk as one of the products due to high demand from my regular customers.
My day starts at 6.00 in the morning, where I move from house to house buying fresh produce and by 10.00 a.m am at my grocery selling the same up to 6.00 p.m. at the end of the day I make a net profit of about 400 Kenya shillings in average. at times when the business is good I can make even up to 700 Kenya shillings. This is a good return from the fact that I don’t incur much expense. I carry packed lunch from home, so no worry about the expense of lunch. I work for six days in a week, so in a month my net income ranges from Kenya shilling 12500 to 15000.
My plan for the business is to install a good structure for my business and to increase the average daily income to 700 shillings. This can only be achieved through buying of a wide variety of groceries. this therefore implies that I will need more funds to meet the objective. I therefore kindly request you, the Zidisha community to help me expand my business as this will help me create job opportunities to other jobless people and to uplift the living standards of my family and the community at large.

Loan Proposal

Thank you very much for considering my application. As soon as I shall get ths loan, I will utilise it immediately. I shall use the same in expanding my grocery and in intalling a better structure for my goods. I will increase the number of stock that i usually buy from farmers and other traders by at least 50%. I will; also try to include milk as one of the suppliments due to high demand by my customers. Once i do that I know the business will not remain the same again.

Feedback

Loan Info

Lenders