Zidisha | Project Updates

Project Updates

The latest updates from projects made possible by our global community.

Minata · Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Feb 5, 2017

Sincerely thank you for the financing. This money will allow me to paid leaves of sorrel I will commercialize This will generate profits that will enable me to cope with my needs and those of my family thank you very much

Eric · Mpatasie, Ghana

Feb 5, 2017

Thank you so much my dear lender as you have funded this loan for me. Am very grateful to you.

Agyeiwaa · Kumasi-old Tafo, Ghana

Feb 5, 2017

A & S ACCESSORIES SHOP,the loan will be used for buying phones accessories into my shop and it will beneficially my customers and also i too,it will create benefit to me.i will expected my profit to jump from 12% to 15% a week.Thank you.

Peprah · Sampa, Ghana

Feb 5, 2017

Good morning to you all and thank you very much for the funding of this loan. This will improve upon my ICT training center. Thanks once again.

Addo · Drobo, Ghana

Feb 5, 2017

Visitors will from now on get a comfortable seat when they come in for shaving. God bless you.

Dorah · Emanyinya, Kenya

Feb 5, 2017

This is to bring to your attention that the requested loan was received by me and used to purchase assets as mentioned early. Thanks for your kind contributions. Zidisha is a place to be.

Eunice · Marachi Estate, Kenya

Feb 5, 2017

Thanks be blessed

Laurie · United States

Feb 5, 2017

Yes, Joseph, contratulations! Zidisha is an excellent tool to manage businesses of various sizes. Some people do want very large businesses, it's true; but others don't want to manage a very large business and prefer a small to medium-size operation. Whichever size you want to reach and maintain, we all wish you happiness in your life. That is the most important thing. :-) Best wishes, Laurie The Zidisha Team

Laurie · United States

Feb 4, 2017

Hi Joseph, Loans very often get fully funded on the last day that they're posted, sometimes even during the last hour. True, sometimes some loans get fully funded quickly; and also true that sometimes some loans do expire, but any borrower with an active account can post a new loan request very quickly after the expiration of the earlier request. Never fear, and persevere! :-)

Mary · United States

Feb 4, 2017

Hi Joseph, I am happy to see your loan was fully funded. Zidisha is an excellent tool, when used properly, to grow businesses from small to very large. You sound like your guardian taught you valuable business skills. Please keep your lenders updated on your successes as well as the challenges you face in your business. Regards, Mary

Laurie · United States

Feb 4, 2017

You're most welcome, Dancan. Btw, please share this information from the public Forum with your invitees, in case any of them don't regularly visit the public Forum: Where To Communicate or Ask About Different Types of Information: http://forum.zidisha.org/threads/dear-borrowers-where-to-communicate-or-ask-about-different-types-of-information.5017/#post-27998 Thanks so much for your help! :-) Also, if everything I've provided still is not enough (I noticed you mentioned, "...[you] have provided more, if not enough information [for] anyone who may not have understood how Zidisha really works..."), please don't hesitate to ask any other questions you or your invitees may have. The best way to do that is via email to "[email protected]" - and if whoever receives the email doesn't know the answer, that individual will do his or her best to find out and then will reply.

Lisna · Bontomasunggu, Indonesia

Feb 4, 2017

Dear funders, this __Saat my loan is paid off. On this occasion I thank you very much. These loans help the economy in addition to my family also helped the villagers especially those still living on the outskirts of the forest. __Lisna

Esther · Maili Kumi, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

I will use the money to buy an interlocking machine and dress making fabrics. With the machine I will be able to get more work from customers and get more income. I will use the income to repay the loan and expand my business, thanks to the lender who funded my loan

Joe · Rhoda, Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Together witth my savings, the loan will be used to purchase raw materials for metal cladding at Ksh. 3,000 and to pay labourers Ksh 2,500. The loan will enable me to produce additional 100 units of complete stoves in a month. This will increase my profit by Ksh.5,000 a month. Because of the additional capital, the business will scale up production , increase profitability and serve more customers. Thanks lenders for funding me

Patrick · Nyeri, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Thanks for satisfying explanation ,I am delighted with this explanation, it will help me to help the Zidisha Members especially my invites who can ask me the same Questions. Thanks.

Dancan · Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Thanks you Mr. Chris. i really appreciate your effort towards helping others in the developing countries.... God bless you soo much.

Divine · Navrongo, Ghana

Feb 4, 2017

Last Semester's project. Smart Waste Collection Bin. The set-up checks the level of waste in the bin and when full it automatically send its location in the form of GPS coordinates to the waste management authorities to enable them efficiently plan waste collection rounds to minimize cost and manage waste effectively. Thank You Zidisha and my lender melissapmeier for making this project of mine possible. Without your help I could not have bought the equipment needed to get this done. comment image

Gabriel · Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Hallo zidisha community, I thank the Lord for this far. I have surely witnessed His abundant grace. Receive greetings from my family too. I'm Pleased to inform you that the business is doing well and i feel that i can now increase the installment to clear the balance. Thank for your continued support, May the Almighty God bless you all.

Edward · Kadongo, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Hi, Thanks so much Gretchen, we are doing great. We do public health education and provide medical care. Here is a photo I took today of Mrs. Magadi, a volunteer, facilitating a health talk on nutrition in pregnancy at a mother-child-health clinic comment image

Tagoe · Nkonya, Ghana

Feb 4, 2017

Greetings Lenders, my prayer everyday is that the Good Lord should continue supporting you, and providing with the strength and heart for what you always for me. Thank you !

Mr Chris Turner · Cambridge forever England, United Kingdom

Feb 4, 2017

Hi Duncan In reply to your request for the reason of my first question its my opinion that cheap credit for enterprise is a major factor for raising living standards Impossibly high interest rates in the developing world have been holding back development. So I look for the best way to make my lending money cheap to borrowers Chris

Samwel · Kangemi, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Hi Lenders I thank you all for your extended show of support and am happy to report that i have fully repaid my loan.My scored card of repayment stood at 99% .For me lenders you are jewel in the crown. Once again i thank you.

Matt B · Stratford Upon Avon, United Kingdom

Feb 4, 2017

Thank you for the update. I am pleased the loan has helped you.

Francis · Thika Town, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

This is my store where I keep my stock once I import them comment image

Hellen · Nairobi, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Below pictures are for some of my orders this week. Thanks to God. This has helped me to repay on time and without struggling. comment image

Ahmed · Techiman, Ghana

Feb 4, 2017

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever thought of expanding my business to the level I have got to.To all the lenders of Zidisha organization I am indebted to you all for the great achievements I have made in my life and in my community. Am really appreciative of all your help for me. Thanks. comment image

Ernestina · Bechem, Ghana

Feb 4, 2017

Dear lender, I bring you greetings from my family over here. I doing well in my business now. I'm grateful for your support

George · Mbwa Kali Estate,in Rongo Town Of Migori County, Kenya

Feb 4, 2017

Good morning,another beautiful day to make a difference, thank you zidisha for this opportunity.

Dancan · Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 3, 2017

Thanks again Mr. Chris Turner and Laurie for your Wishes. Could you share the reason please if you don't mind Mr. Chris...?

Mervis · Lusaka/helen Kaunda, Zambia

Feb 3, 2017

My cooking comment image

dcorbetta · Carate Brianza, Italy

Feb 3, 2017

Hi, I'm From a town in Italy famous for sofà production..... so have a good job!

shena · Canada

Feb 3, 2017

Hi Mark, how is your seedling business doing? We would appreciate an update. Thanks.

Agyei · Tepa, Ghana

Feb 3, 2017

i will pay my mothers rent so that she will a good place to stay thank you

Asare · Berekum, Ghana

Feb 3, 2017

Lenders this is the pictures of the items i bought with your assistance of helping me expanding my business. thank you all. comment image

Francisse · Ouarkoye, Burkina Faso

Feb 3, 2017

Bonsoir, chers prêteurs. J'ai reçu mon argent. Merci beaucoup. Je vous tiendra informés de mes activités encore. Merci. Good evening, dear lenders. I received my money. Thank you very much. I will keep you informed about my business again. Thank you.

Laurie · United States

Feb 3, 2017

Dancan, we very much appreciate successful borrowers like yourself, who take the time to read, understand, plan, and who fulfill their obligations. There are many, many like you on the platform and it's always a pleasure for us to help borrowers like you who demonstrate such goodwill and such financial integrity. We always wish you well! And every bit of what borrowers repay to lenders like me (who have opted for a Donation Lending Account) goes toward helping other borrowers on the platform. :-)

Laurie · United States

Feb 3, 2017

You're welcome, Chris. :-) Happy to have you here! And, ditto: Best wishes for your business, Dancan! :-)

Laurie · United States

Feb 3, 2017

Thank you for your detailed reply, too, Dancan! :-) I want to clarify a little bit, that although Zidisha lenders used to be able to charge interest on the portion of a loan to which they contributed, lenders no longer charge anything at all to Zidisha borrowers. (We lenders receive nothing at all but the warm feeling of knowing we're helping others.) It is the Zidisha organization (Zidisha, Inc.) which charges the fees mentioned, to cover the costs associated with running the non-profit (including, but not limited to, reimbursing lenders in the amounts previously described in case any borrowers default). Also, something else that often causes confusion among borrowers is that most lenders are *not* on the Zidisha Staff. [1] Lenders contribute money toward fully funding a loan, but it's *not* the lenders who disburse loans, credit repayments, or perform any other administrative tasks. That work is done by the Zidisha Staff, which--(except for two paid programmers)--is comprised of volunteer teams. There are several teams of volunteers, one team for each country Zidisha serves (and all of the Staff works remotely from their own computers in various other countries throughout the world). A borrower can ask specific questions about his or her account by sending a detailed email to "[email protected]" (with the name of the country in the Subject line, for faster routing to the correct team). [2] The borrower Discussion page is intended mainly just for borrowers and lenders to communicate with one another about the borrower's work and other aspects of his or her life (and about lenders' work and other aspects of their lives, too, if they would like to share). Also, the borrower can and should let lenders know the date and amount of any repayment that hasn't reflected on his or her account after three business days, but all other details should *not* be posted on the Discussion page; rather, those should be sent via email to the attention of the appropriate team. [3] The public Forum, as mentioned previously, is for general questions (not specific account questions), and for socializing. It's another place, besides the borrower Discussion pages, where borrowers and lenders can get to know one another. :-)

Mr Chris Turner · Cambridge forever England, United Kingdom

Feb 3, 2017

Hello Dancan and Laurie Thank you very much for your responses to my finance questions its much clearer now. I have been to Kenya some time ago to visit a youth I sponsored. Travelled mainly by matutu bus, its a beautiful country. Kenya's Zidisha membership loan fund seems rather high but I think I can understand why. Thanks again and best wishes for your business Chris

Dancan · Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 3, 2017

thanks Laurie for the more Detailed Expanation

Dancan · Nakuru, Kenya

Feb 3, 2017

......*Reading reports from the borrowers show many have to take new loans to repay the first or default. I note you have taken out a number of loans with Zidisha. if you have to research abt such borrowers most of them are the startups who do not focast well and plan for their businesses thus making them to try and try again re investing more money that they borrow into their businesses which in most cases make them gain more losses than peny profit thus keep borrowing to repay other loans at longlast default. but i wish they could know that chance they are given of intrest free loans is to be rejoyced and used wisely. How do you find their charges and interest rates compared to local micro finance and do you have to take further loans to repay the last one ? thank you for your question Mr. chris Turner. For one when i joined Zidisha in 2012 is when few zidisha Lenders used to charge a very very low interest rate of below 10% that was like 3 times lower than what Financial institutions used to charge.but since my third loan in 2013 Zidisha lenders have not been charging any interest rate but instead the 5% transaction fee only. secondly i have never taken a second loan to repay the first but instead focast for the investment to make that will enable me earn enough income that will meet the highest flexible repayments before taking my loans. third since I was in High school i had much interest in business not only a a subject but also in real life since Dad is a self employeed and was able to raise all of us without much strains untill i joined college and decided to try my own small business a part from my Dad's workshop i used to manage by then. and in college i did a business course. Diploma in purchasing and supplies where i did entrepreneurship skills ,marketing skills,product promotion, customer service,quality and quantity management and public relations just to name but afew are the Units I Enjoyed most since i had to apply practically what i learned in class into my small business that i had started. But then as i was introduced to Zidisha by one of my friends who was a staff while in college, it has really made an impact in my passion in business by making me expand each and every day as i also Learned more of Business in University. so that passion, interests and knowledge i have in business helps me to focast and plan better .

Laurie · United States

Feb 2, 2017

Hello! :-) For about the past two years, Zidisha borrowers have not been charged *any* interest by Zidisha lenders, on any portion of their Zidisha loans: http://forum.zidisha.org/threads/interest-does-not-increase-financial-returns.1945/ Prior to that, each lender could choose an interest rate to charge on the portion of the funding that he/she contributed toward the loan, or could choose not to charge any interest at all, which is what I personally always chose to do because Zidisha is a *non-profit* organization with the mission of alleviating poverty by providing a hand UP in life to borrowers. Therefore, I never considered it the right thing to do for lenders personally to try to make money off of people who are struggling quite a lot in the first place, in many cases just to survive. From time to time, Zidisha receives voluntary contributions from charitable donors, in varying amounts, to help the platform. However, of course, Zidisha also still does have to charge some fees to its members, in order to be able to offer its services. The three (3) fees Zidisha, Inc., currently charges to borrowers are: (1) a small, one-time, non-refundable MEMBERSHIP FEE, which allows the borrower to raise an unlimited number of loans, one at a time, at 0% interest rate; (2) a usually larger, one-time, refundable MEMBERS LOAN FUND (MLF) fee, which is like insurance, but it's better than insurance, because the borrower is required to pay it only once, *not* once every year as is the case with most insurance premiums (the borrower can get that fee refunded, in full, anytime he/she does not have any outstanding loan; however, if the borrower wants to raise another loan, then he/she has to pay back into that fund) - the pool of funds collected from borrowers for the MLF is used to reimburse lenders in case any borrowers default (a lender can be reimbursed up to $1,000 if he/she has a Non-Donation Lending Account, or reimbursements are unlimited for those lenders with a Donation Lending Account - lenders with the latter type of lending account cannot withdraw their funds from the platform, but all of those funds are tax-deductible in the United States); and (3) a 5% service fee charged on each loan, which (along with the small, one-time-only, Membership Fee) is used to help cover Zidisha's operating costs.* *[Btw, Zidisha currently and so far only ever has paid two salaries, for the two programmers; all of the rest of the Staff currently is and always has been entirely volunteer.] These fees are deducted prior to disbursing the loan, and the borrower is responsible for repaying the entire loan (in other words, the amount of the loan before the deduction of the fees). Repayment terms are very flexible; borrowers can reschedule payment dates & amounts for any reason they may need to do so. The first loan can be difficult because of the required fees that are deducted and the borrower having to repay the full amount of the loan request (in other words, the total amount of the loan request before the deductions were taken out to pay the required fees) - which is by design, to discourage fraudsters. Future loans become easier to handle, usually having just the 5% service fee (the exception is if the MLF fee was requested to be reimbursed; then, the borrower does have to repay back into that "pool", as mentioned above). You can read more here: Borrower FAQs: https://www.zidisha.org/faq#faq-29 I think the only not-quite-accurate part of the Borrower FAQs is at the very bottom of the page. The Forum (http://forum.zidisha.org/) is for asking general policy questions (and for socializing), but anytime a borrower has a question about his or her specific account, he/she needs to write to "[email protected]" with the name of his/her country in the Subject line of the email for quicker routing to the correct team (i.e., for questions about when the loan will be disbursed, or a repayment that hasn't been credited to the account within three business days, or any other questions about his/her specific account). You also can read general information about the cost of Zidisha loans here: http://forum.zidisha.org/threads/received-wrong-funds-5-instead-of-550.4655/#post-26777 and here: http://forum.zidisha.org/threads/new-members-can-now-choose-their-own-deposit-and-starting-credit-limit.3372/ Dancan, we definitely would like to hear your thoughts! :-) Best wishes, Laurie The Zidisha Team

Augustina · Abesewa, Ghana

Feb 2, 2017

Many many thanks to zidisha team and all lenders on this noble organization for your support towards needy people. I am very grateful to you all

Kelvin · Lusaka, Zambia

Feb 2, 2017

I thank you my lenders for the loan, am buying DSTV decoder @ $27.00 each by 10 and LNBs. This will increase my markup to $100.00 and will help me to pay school fees for my sister. Thank you all my lenders God bless you.

Rachael Dorcas Anyango · Koinange, Kenya

Feb 2, 2017

Lenders thank you so much for being a blessing to me!this Money part of it I will use to buy one computer and the rest I will use it to pay or finish paying my school fees.thank you again.God bless

Morcher · Dormaa Ahenkro_ghana, Ghana

Feb 2, 2017

Thanks to my lenders once again. I'm happy today and have courage to live and hold the future bright for my children because of your kind gesture. I was able to the first time in history conveyed my children to Accra all because the items I bough with the loan amount yielded a bigger interest. I m yet to post a new picture of a new shop I have added to the old one. This is the greatest I have ever observed in my life. I pray for Zidisha to live long and continue to assist the poor.

Evans · Kukuom, Ghana

Feb 2, 2017

My dear lenders, thank you so very much for this loan which I received. Today, I took workers to the site where my shop is to be sited and work will commenced soon. Thank you for your continually support

Patricia · Sunyani, Ghana

Feb 2, 2017

Thank you for supporting me dear Lenders.

Andrew · Rusinga Island, Kenya

Feb 2, 2017

I got engaged in horticultural comment image

Bruno · Vancouver, Canada, Canada

Feb 2, 2017

Hi Evans, congratulations on getting your loan! I am new to Zidisha and just started offering loans. Your application looked interesting because you already managed to build a successful business and I am sure you will be able to help your brother making his also very successful. I like people who have that kind of initiative. Please let me know a bit more about your goals in life. Just some background on myself: I was born in Germany, immigrated to Canada when I was 26 to study computer science and then worked all my life in software and ran two software companies. For the last 10 years I have been retired and spent my free time to mentor small companies with business problems. This has been very interesting and rewarding. I am now spending a bit of money to help people like you to build a successful business. I wish you all the best, Bruno

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