Project Updates

I wish to increase my installment because the business has picked and I can now manage to repay Sh. 1000 every week. At the same time I have found a resident house help whom am paying a little bit lower compared to the daycare fee which was too high for me. I really appreciate the fact that I am now able to reschedule my installment and I believe will manage to repay the loan in a shorter period than I am repaying currently.

i really enjoying doing this job..its my life my career my everything

me at my shop ..

This is the location of my Supa Duka shop,on the right of the three door premise,

Black and white versus colored effect.One of my favorite photo design work popular with college students and adults.

I must thank zidisha lenders and zidisha team as whole, they helped me get my bike to work enabling me to go to work considering my disability i would have had hard time to get to work. In addition, am able to make some money to subsidise my salary. Though, to the rider fell with it, i had to struggle to repair it to get to work. Thank y ou Zidisha and lenders . GOD BLESS YOU

Hi all,
This is a photo update of me at my shop. As you can see I am doing quite well!
Only, I did not add the male's line of clothing yet, but I hope to do so, after this loan session.

Hi Lenders
Today we didnt have Internet, like half of town. all we did was printing services, I printed pictures and passports, Thanks for the printer it boosted my income today.
Thanks :)

But on the other hand the house is alive agaaain!yeah my kids have arrived from their respective schools,so I only need to sit back and enjoy the way they jostle over simple things like remote controls,who sits where! One wants to watch cartoons,the other wants to watch a movie,but funnily enough they both love footaball and are Man U fans!

Hey everyone
I have been offline for the last four days,sourcing for charcoal which has become scarce as a result of the current rains,in normal curcumstances you only call ,place your order then they deliver within two. Days,but know I have to go to the forrest which is about 200km from my store to place my order,thanks to God it was succeful and am expecting my stock over the weekend

Hello dear lenders,
I would like to inform you that my fifth book will soon be released by a real publisher. The review process has already been completed and they really enjoyed the book. The proofreading has also just been finished. The book will be available in early December 2014. I also have a wonderful surprise for all the lenders that continue to have faith in me and the entire Zidisha team! Thank you very much for your support! May you continue to be richly blessed.

Translated by     Show original

Bonjour cher prêteurs,
Je vous annonce l'édition prochaine de mon 5ème livre par une vrai maison d'édition. l'étude éditoriale a été déjà été réalisée et le livre a été très bien apprécié. la correction également vient d'être terminée. le livre sera disponible en début décembre 2014. Je réserve aussi une belle surprise à tous les prêteurs qui m'ont fait confiance jusqu'à ce jour et à toute l'équipe de Zidisha! Merci énormément pour votre soutien! Demeurez richement bénis

Hi liz,thank God that you arrived in india safely.
chelsea is pairing well,too happy that she will not be back in the same school she has been for over 8 years now.
Jericah is fine and her health is good too,though we are doing the arrangements to raise the money. For her trip to india for farther analysis.
my biopsy results have never been out,where by I assumed that its a negative results.
Am happy that my third loan was funded successfuly and my business stock is much more then you left and soonest possible I will be having a mobikash agency services in my shop.
Google about. Mobikash, you will get to know what it is better, though it works like a M-pesa.

This is my business after receiving the loan from Zidisha. I can buy more device for my PS2 rental. Thank you lenders and Zidisha team.

Translated by     Show original

Ini lah usaha saya setelah menerima dana dari zidisha saya bisa menambah lagi rental PS2 saya. Terima kasih para pendana dan tim zidisha

Victor Odera lives his life exemplifying his personal belief that “there is nothing ever impossible”. As the second of four children raised by their mother, Victor worked his way through elementary and secondary school slashing, weeding and harvesting on sugarcane farms around his home town of Molo in central Kenya. He was unable to complete the Bachelors in Business Administration that he commenced after school but he may return to it at some stage in the future.
After working for a company in an accounting role he felt offered little career progression, Victor left to expand the business he had started selling a very popular brand of organic farm fertilizer that also serves as a pesticide, wetting agent and spreader. But with the Kenyan government announcing, without warning, a block on the import of this product mid year Victor was left with a lot of capital tied up in unfilled orders and had to quickly try to diversify into other products such as herbicides and pesticides although her prefers not to deal in chemical products.
Victor enjoys working in this field as he believes “agriculture is the backbone of our economy”. He also enjoys passing on his knowledge to others and has previously been employed to teach farmers how to use various products which provided him with great networking opportunities with both government agricultural officers as well as potential clients. He also attends agricultural shows to display and sell his products and network.
The recent setback to his business through the unexpected change in government policy has shown Victor the importance of diversification so he has recently become involved in selling green fuel tabs, has undertaken forex trading training and is also interested in other online business opportunities.
Victor uses his business profits to help support his siblings such as paying for tuition, uniforms, books, etc for his younger sister who is in Standard 7. He would also like to assist his brother to study IT at college next year.
Having benefitted a lot from his own business mentors Victor, in turn, enjoys passing on his knowledge to others by being a Volunteer Mentor with Zidisha. He enjoys being able to help others with their businesses and those who are less computer literate to interact with the website. He also says his role as a VM helps him keep in touch with the organization and make new friends. Victor told me his is “pleased to be a VM” and feels that “being a VM is a privilege”.
Having been an extremely talented high school football player before he was temporarily paralysed and bed ridden for several months during his final year of high school, Victor enjoys watching football which is very popular in Kenya. He also admits to being “addicted” to watching WWE SmackDown and enjoys going to the gym.
**
Lisbeth Overheu, Kenya Client Relationship Volunteer
Photograph: Victor showing me the product info for a new product he is selling.

I was lucky enough to meet Jane and her family again during a second visit to Meru. I even stayed with Jane, Jericah and Chelsea for two nights during my busy visit while we met with family, friends and neighbours of theirs who were interested in joining Zidisha. Jane’s businesses were going well and I was able to enjoy their celebrations for Chelsea’s 14th birthday.
***
Lisbeth Overheu, Kenya Client Relationship Volunteer
Photographs:
1. Jane and her younger sister Caroline in Caroline’s salon and clothes store.
2. Jericah and Jane singing happy birthday to Chelsea (centre) as she cuts her birthday cake.

I was lucky enough to meet with Rose Mwangi and her older sister Gladys in Nairobi recently while Rose was visiting Nairobi to assist her sister’s medical supply business for around a month. The sisters grew up in Nakuru and Rose still lives there with the rest of their family saying she prefers Nakuru to Nairobi as the capital is too busy.
Since around 2011, Rose has run a cereal store in Nakuru selling retail and wholesale cereals such as rice, beans, maize and ndengu – all popular staples of the Kenyan diet. Rose says her Zidisha loans have helped her “a lot” allowing her to buy large quantities of stock during harvest time when the prices are relatively low and then on sell it during the year at a profit. While Rose’s business is going well she is currently researching the possibility of opening an African clothing store in Nakuru saying there is high demand and very few stores at the moment. So she is looking at possible locations to rent a store and where she can source the stock from – possibly coastal areas of Kenya and even nearby Tanzania. Rose will keep considering this idea and may apply for a third Zidisha loan in future to help her build this new business.
Both Rose and Gladys help support their parents, who are farmers in the town of Molo near Nakuru, as well as their sister in Standard 7 and four year old brother. Gladys and her husband also have their own five year old son and eight month old daughter to support. Rose would like her own family in future but right now it seems like she’s pretty busy being a big sister and aunt.
**
Lisbeth Overheu, Kenya Client Relationship Volunteer
Photographs:
1. Rose Mwangi.
2. Rose and her older sister Gladys.

Susan Wanjiru was hard at work on a Sunday afternoon when she took some time out of her busy role as an accountant for a major Kenyan supermarket chain to meet with me to discuss her life, business and Zidisha loans.
Susan grew up in Nakuru county in central Kenya as one of five children. She also completed her schooling in the area and is a qualified CPA. She has worked has an accountant for different organizations and been with her current employer for around four years. Earlier this year she was transferred from her local Nakuru branch to a branch in Nairobi meaning she now spends a lot of time away from home but travels back to Nakuru whenever possible.
Susan’s husband works with an auctioneering firm and together they support their three children in secondary school with Sam in Form 1, Rachel in Form 3 and James working hard in Form 4 for his final school exams. All three children would like to continue their education beyond high school hoping to become a pilot, architect and electrical engineer respectively. With three children in national high schools (generally considered the ‘best’ but also the more expensive high schools in Kenya) Susan and her husband have to budget well to manage the associated costs of fees, uniforms, textbooks, exam fees and the like. Luckily, as an accountant Susan says this budgeting is no problem!
To supplement the income she receives from her employer Susan also rears various animals, employing others to manage the animals while she is working. She used her first Zidisha loan to increase her chicken house and buy more chickens and she now has around 100 chickens creating income from her through eggs and meat. Susan used her second loan to build a piggery and she has now grown her herd to around twenty pigs.
Susan says the Zidisha loans “have really helped me” as she has built her farming business. And she’s certainly not planning on stopping there as she is also looking to move into a new venture next year so is currently researching cow rearing and will possibly apply for a third Zidisha loan to help her build this business.
Susan also plans to undertake further study to gain her Bachelor of Commerce and hopefully open her own accountancy business. We joke that she might be studying at univeristy at the same time as some of her children and she thinks this would be a really great thing for them all as they could challenge and motivate each other and share ideas and experiences. Susan says “you have to dream big” and she and her family certainly seem to be doing this as they build a strong future for themselves with the help of the ZIdisha community.
**
Lisbeth Overheu, Kenya Client Relationship Volunteer
Photograph: Susan taking a break from her job as an accountant.

I met Kim briefly when I visited his neighbour and fellow Zidisha borrower, Joseph Gatiba, recently. Kim runs a milk supply store in Kimende in central Kenya and with his Zidisha loan he has been able to add eggs to his stock which he wasn’t previously able to supply. He told me how the “loan has really assisted me” and his business profits have increased enabling him to assist his parents and younger siblings who are both studying. In future Kim would like to expand his business by opening a second milk and egg supply store.
**
Lisbeth Overheu, Kenya Client Relationship Volunteer
Photographs:
1. Kim with the eggs and milk (in the blue bucket) he sells in his store.
2. Kim measuring and packing milk for a customer.

First of all I wish to take this opportunity to thank my lenders for their continued support. I tool this loan to enable me buy a good printer. I am glad I managed to get the printer but the cost was a bit higher than expected. I had to spend a little bit more from my emergency savings and I would request to be allowed to reduce my weekly installment by half until end of February so that I replenish my emergency fund. I beg for your understanding and thank you once more.

thank you Michael once again. the loan was of great help to me. i was able to purchase fertilizers and more baskets used to hold the tea leaves. I am now able to pay workers on time as opposed for them waiting for some time. Paying them late is an inconvenient to them and they refuse to pluck the next time. I am so grateful for your assistance and I am looking forward to repay the loan as scheduled.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those people who contributed towards my previous loan which I finished repaying back on last Friday. I want to say thank you so much for your kind and generous contribution you gave me last time when I was requesting for that loan. I want to tell you people that you have brought a new change in my life and I have started seeing my lifetime dream come true. With the previous loans you gave me you have been so supportive to me and others here on Zidisha since I joined. Much improvement in my has been brought by you people who believed in me and my business. You have made my computer business which was about to fail become strong and hence made me open new retailer shop from the profits I have got. Thank you so much for your generous support you have given me and may you continue with that good spirit you have within yourself as you continue supporting us. To all who all my lenders I thank you so much again and I always pray for you people to be always protected and blessed by the Almighty Living God. See you soon as I will be making another new loan application which I want you all my lenders and new ones to turn up in good numbers to contribute towards my loan application which I will post very soon. I am the most trustfull and obedient person in repaying back the loan you have given me in time and without fail. Be blessed all of you and the Zidisha team who made us to meet here at a beautiful place.

Thank you lenders for your support i bought some new stock today and also received more order for new arrival for Christmas festival, i have no doubts that my profit will increase during this month of December.

hello all,
I am making progress on the ICT center preparations. Things have delayed a bit but this is inevitable.
I have skipped some, but I expect to be more regular with my repayment in the coming weeks. I would make my next repayment on Monday. Thanks for your patience and good wishes,

With local limitations in ICT education, infrastructure etc, it feels that ICT is but for the tech-savy only. But this is not true. People just need simple answers to simple questions, like: "How can I get my phone to connect to the internet?', "Where is the 'Password Reset' link?", "How can I get a better network reception on my laptop?" In the end, more young (trustworthy) entrepreneurs would benefit from great internet based services, like zidisha.

for the last two weeks I have been able to make a profit of 13,000 from the sale of the cereals.i managed to sell 1000 kilograms,I also made a profit of 6400 shillings from the sale of sugar. I managed to sell 8 bags where I was making a gain of 800 shillings per bag.i therefore decided to pay more in order to give my fellow borrowers that golden opportunity to borrow money and improve their business to better their lives. I thank the zidisha team for bringing me this far. May God bless you abundantly. Amen.

BEING TESTED

Very helpful once in Zidisha loan , because I can add an empty inventory .
Thank you all lenders and Zidisha team

Hi Abdul, Where did you get your t-shirt? I work at UBC (University of British Columbia).

I would like to increase my loan repayment because honey production has increased due to the hives that were added from the loan that was awarded to me. Good weather conditions have also allowed honey production in places where the hives are located. My beekeeping community project has continued to develop a large local and statewide clientele, with some having to come for the honey directly from the firm. This increase in purchasing of local honey local stores (rather than buying commercial brands) has greatly improved the sales of honey. This has also the clientele base which has increased profits from my beekeeping community project, significantly.

Dear zidisha I take this opportunity to thank you for offering us a platform to Improve my business, indeed since I joined zidisha there have been a great improvement to my business. Its really amazing on how I have been able to change my life and the life of my family through my business. I Just want to say thank you.
The main reason why am writing to you is to reschedule my loan installment since we are now in a season of high demand of furnitures I feel there is a need for me to have enough stoch of ready made products, so because of this demand I want to clear the remaining installment of ksh3277.90 at once so that I cane move to another credit limit. So am rescheduling my credit limit from Ksh 1000 to a one time payment of Ksh 3277.90 to clear my installment. I hope you are going to grand me these request,
Thank you for your faithfulness, am your dear member , Ken onzere.

Thank you lenders, you are amazing!
I count you as a blessing to me, am from Nakumatt holdings ,this morning and bought Nikon camera, I believe and trust that if it was possible to be given the loan. Am sure I will make a lot of money from the camera. Thank you, thank you great people and will be informing you how am fairing on now that, I have added an asset to my business which is going to bring income to my business.

thank you so much zidisha team, the loan you offered to me i have purchased a modern laptop, and now my work is as easy as i was dreaming some days back. God bless you Zidisha and always the best you you brighten the life of the many around the world. thank you.

Bonjour madame Kilmeny, merci pour votre message.
La transformation du soja se porte toujours bien même si le marché n'est plus comme avant néamoins j'arrive à payer les deux femmes qui m'aide et avoir un peu de quoi économiser. les porcelets se portent également bien, y'a un qui est mort quelque temps après celle de la truie,actuellement il me reste 7 petits bien portant. Avec mes économies j'ai pu achéter une nouvelle truie que j'ai donnée à accoupler le 31 octobre 2014 et je suis allé retirer le 04 novembre 2014 donc la date probable de mise à bas au plus tard le 27 février 2015. Actuellement je mets l'accent sur l'élévage que sur le soja parce que je vois le bonheur vénir de cette activité. quand je suis allé chez mon fournisseur pour payé la 2ème truie j'était émerveillé par sa production et je compte en faire comme lui. Je vous demande de toujours me soutenir pour que je puisse réaliser cela. Que Dieu vous benisse. Encore une fois de plus merci de vous savoir intéréssé par mes activités.

Hallo Namaste250
Am all smiles, thanks to you and other lenders, I jsut cant thank you guys enough. Have just uploaded the printer, once i get someone with a camera i'll take a photo of my new camera and upload too. but then i like it and its so clear.

HI Lenders.
I brought my printer and the camera today, Attached find the Epson printer, How clear is my camera shots? thanks again and be blessed

Dear lenders i am very happy today as i have managed to repay my loan with no problem and i am now left with one installment of ksh 3808 which i will submit late next week.My business has really improved since i started working with you.My life has really change too..I hope to work with you today,tomorrow and forever.I hope you will support me again.thank you

my business is doing quite well now. i would like to finish repaying in a shorter time so that i can be able to access more funds and embark onto something bigger, with your help.
i am now able to serve more customers and supply a wider range of my dry grains stock.
i was able to rent a permanent room where i can store my grain overnight or whenever i am not at the business.
i now supply food kiosks, and some of the schools around my where my business is located.
my mother has noted the improvement too, because i am now able to contribute towards paying the bills and meeting our day to day basic needs.
i am now able to buy her something nice once in a while, i am able to meet my obligations in terms of the organisations i am a member of.
though a small scale business, i am now ableto serve a wider market, and io am able to met my urgent needs when, and as they arise. i am even able to keep up on time repayments.

I guess your comments couldn't mbe further fro the truth,,Robert is generally an intravert,verysoftspoken,humble but artculate,and above all God fearing,he has really made us proud,considering that he's a teenager and we have never been called in school for any indiscipline case,and his grades are also exemplary,Zoey is also agenius in school,always in the top threes,but characteristically they are totally diffrent,coz she speaks her mind,very playful(always singing and dancing infront of the only mirror we have in our house which happens to be in my bedroom)so you will litterally drag her out if I want to leave and lock the bedroom!both are in boarding school,so since schools are closing am really looking forward to their theatrics and fun during this xmas holidays.

Robert looks like a fine young man. No doubt he'll do well if he has the ambition to be an attorney. Zoey is as cute as can be. I'm sure she will also be just fine with such a powerful role model such as yourself.

I have a daughter called Emma. She's in her last year at University in Coventry where she studies theatre. I don't understand it because on my side of the family we have engineers. It's because of her that I'm involved with Zidisha. I'm trying to show her the value of being open to taking measured risks for mutual benefit.

I miss the days when Emma was Zoey's age and life was simpler...getting old I guess.

The picture shows Robert aged 17years,will be doing his Olevels next year,his hobbies are conserving nature and being there for the less fortunate,by visiting children home the reading the story books,The girl is called Zoey,going to class 5 next year,she loves dancing and wants to be an air Hostess,and Roberts wants to study law!

Hi Dennis,
Thanks so much for being part of this ,looking forward to a more interactive sessions in terms of updating you on my bussiness and the gains that it has brought in my life,

Thanks to my respective Lenders and Zidisha, for expanding my business and making it big.
God bless you all.

I have photos of my cyber I have been wanting to post hope my lenders enjoy them.

Dancan thank you for your prompt repayments. You are the first person I have loaned to, and you are teaching me this is a very useful and rewarding enterprise! I can't wait to make more loans!
I hope business is going well for you.

Hi lenders, this year since i joined zidisha i have see a tremendous improvement with my business, with the money i obtained i have managed to by books and sell them, as much as some schools delayed me in payments but my power for the supply has improved, Thanks to you lenders for your support.

i have just logged in and i am so grateful to find that my loan has been 26% funded. i can't hide my joy. thank you evinpa, thebonseung, and Sven E Mannheim for your support.

and more....

and more..

Greetings all, I received my first funding yesterday. This loan has helped me to be able to purchase 10 pieces of clothes and shoes today which has increased my stock level and equally given me the opportunity of reaching out to possibly 20 more new clients. Honestly, my customers are so happy for the new products I have. I am so grateful to my able lenders griebe, serene, jan73, jmony, and hilde. I pray God increase your wealth. This will make my dream of owning a group of companies come to light with the vital support of my precious and ever supportive lenders

Thank you Zidisha. My loan was disbursed yesterday. On behalf of my mother and myself, I would like to thank all the Zidisha family. The work to make Glory Kiosk a supermarket has just started! Thank you!

THANKS LENDERS FOR FUNDING MY LOAN ON TIME
Dear lenders and zidisha team, i very greatful this morning for making my dream come true,with this money i will be able to rent more classrooms and by this i will be able to register more juniors and be able to pay my teachers on time,THANKS