Project Updates

please find the next photo for your perusal.

Zidisha loan has made me pround since it has made me increase my chicks.I had layers and now i have added kenbrew.Thanks zidisha for your support.please find my chicks picture.

I am happy I have completed repaying my second loan with Zidisha. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive when I got the money since I was trying a new venture and I was not very sure of its success. To my pleasant surprise, my uniform business did sufficiently well and this enabled me to repay the loan on time – in fact before schedule.

The business has grown exponentially and I now have many orders to supply to various schools and I am hoping to get funding again to enable me cope with the high demand. The flip-side of all this is that I have been very busy and I hardly get time to update my dear lenders on my progress. I hope to find time very soon and send you some photos of my work.

Thank you Sven E,Antony provide for to some of the children at my school at reduced cost as away of giving back to the community.I call upon other lenders to come out and lend him,I sure lenders that beings his Community Leader he will not let you down,I only recommend very serious people.

Dear lenders I am asking for your support for my business,it is a very viable business since schools in Kenya are currently opened and the school going children are my clients/customers.Below is pone of my employees serving chips to customers.

Teresah, I am very impressed with the presentation of your business plan and the fact that you have undertaken it to reduce the burden of food costs for the members of your community. You are a stellar example of the potential Zidisha has to benefit not only entrepreneurs but also entire regions. I look forward to hearing about the progress of your latest business venture!

Dear Lenders,

It was really a pleasure to get to meet Prosper yesterday, along with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu. We met at the school where he works in Swedru, a rural community outside of Kumasi, as a teacher of science and math. Any time he is not at the school, Prosper can be found working on his farm, a bit of a walk from town, where he farms and harvests okra (okro) for sale.

Zidisha loans have allowed Prosper to significantly grow his harvest – making three hectares of land available to him rather than the original one. He then uses these profits to help his own family as well as several needy children he has taken the responsibility to help. He explained that he can finally afford the school fees for one girl, who will start secondary school in Kumasi on Monday. Prosper is also very interested in helping his community generally, and has been pitching in to help with his friend (and fellow Zidisha borrower) Aziz Zakari’s campaign for assemblyman of the combined Wawasi-Swedru district.

It was so wonderful to get to meet and chat with Prosper about his work, passions, and the situation of the community he lives in, and I know he is grateful for the opportunity and support given to him by his Zidisha lenders - they have already made quite an impact in his crops. He hopes to finish paying off his loan in the next week so that he can apply for another one. We wish him all the best!

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Country Ambassador
Zidisha

attending my vegetable farm

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my lenders for the loan i received ealier, it has gone a long way to help me harvest my maize, even though i didnt realise a bumpy harvest, but i thank God and zidisha fraternity for this far i have reached.
I have harvested and stored 16 bags of maize awaiting to be sold, thanks alot

Dear Lenders,

It was a pleasure to meet Atta this past Tuesday, along with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu. He experienced some trouble last year with repayments and with accessing the website, but we were able to reschedule his loan and get him back on track. Atta is friendly and jovial, and appreciative of the support he has received from Zidisha lenders. Through the use of Zidisha loans, he has been able to boost his business and help support his family, and he looks forward to continuing that relationship with future loans.

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Country Ambassador
Zidisha

Dear Lenders,

I had the opportunity to meet with Amo briefly on Tuesday, along with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu. I am happy to report that, after having his phone stolen, he was able to recover his MTN number! So we were able to reschedule his loan and he hopes to get back on track with repayments after this setback. His loans have made a big difference in helping him increase his profits and fund his education, and he is incredibly thankful to Zidisha lenders for their understanding support. We wish Amo the best!

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Country Ambassador
Zidisha

Dear Lenders,

Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu and I were fortunate to be able to meet Aziz on Tuesday, at his office where he works as a graphic designer in Kumasi. We got to take a look at some of his recent work (see the book cover) and meet his coworkers as well (pictured below). Aziz struggled to make payments last year as most of his time and energy was devoted to his campaign.

As you may gather from his profile picture, Aziz is running for Assemblyman of his home district, which comprises the rural communities of Wawasi and Swedru, outside of Kumasi. He explained that his community is frustrated with the lack of support and resources they have received from the government, especially regarding access to water and sanitation – there are only two boreholes (wells) shared between the two communities and with heavy use, one is often broken. The election for assembly will take place in March of this year and Aziz’s priorities are to improve the water and sanitation situation and to set up a public computer lab and ICT training center – most of the community members have no access to computers or the internet at all.

It was really enlightening to get to talk to Aziz about his concerns. We rescheduled Aziz’s loan so that he is back on track. Zidisha has been a big help in allowing him to continue to grow his business while also working to support his community, and he appreciates the support he has received. We wish him the best of luck both in business and in elections come March!

Thank you,
Taylor
Zidisha Team

Behind me are some of the many trucks that park at Kanduyi on their way from the port of Kenya,Mombasa to the landlocked country of Uganda.

Working hard at my stall in Kanduyi.

Dear Lenders,

I was glad for the chance to meet Atindana Castro on Tuesday, along with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu. Although he had some trouble making payments last year, he is eager to continue to pay off his loan and work with Zidisha to support his cyber café and the IT classes that he offers to the public. I know he appreciates the help of his Zidisha lenders and we wish him the best with his future loans!

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Ambassador
Zidisha

Dear Lenders

I was able to meet Collins yesterday, with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu, at Oforikrom Junior High School, where he teaches ICT classes. Although he had some trouble with making payments last year, we rescheduled his loan and he is eager to get back on track with payments and continue to raise Zidisha loans.

We also had the opportunity to discuss the difficulty of teaching computer skills classes to students without adequate technology. Although computer and internet literacy is a priority for many Ghanaians, many public schools are severely underfunded and lack the resources to properly equip their classrooms. He hopes, after he pays of his current loan, that Zidisha loans can help provide his classroom with a projector and wireless technology so that he can teach his students more efficiently.

I know that Collins is grateful for the support and understanding of his lenders, and we wish him the best.

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Ambassador
Zidisha

Dear Lenders

I met Samuel yesterday along with Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu to talk about how he was doing with Zidisha. We met at his mother’s stand on the roadside where he often helps her sell mobile phone recharge cards and other personal accessories. Although Samuel had a bit of trouble repaying his loan last year as he didn’t have as much time to devote to work once school started, he has a new job at a supermarket and looks forward to paying off this loan and continuing his education. We were not able get reception at the time, but he plans on rescheduling his loan soon to be back on track.

We wish Samuel the best of luck with his education and he is grateful for the support from his lenders.

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Ambassador
Zidisha

Dear Lenders,

I had the pleasure of meeting Akwasi on Tuesday along with his Volunteer Mentor George Bonsu. Akwasi ran into some trouble paying last year but we have rescheduled and he is back on track. I also got to take a peek at his office in Kumasi where he repairs computers. Below he is holding the motherboard that he bought with his last Zidisha loan, as well as displaying a laptop that he recently repaired. Also pictured is the (loud but effective) generator they purchased six months ago to enable the cyber café to run during power outages (which are frequent in Ghana).

I know Akwasi is thankful for the support he has received from his lenders and looks forward to continuing that relationship. We wish him the best!

Thank you,

Taylor
Ghana Ambassador
Zidisha

my chicken

Wow!!! What can say, One thing I can say, Thank you so very much for your support. My business is better 100 folds . My chicks are not getting sick from of water contamination because the loan helped me to install new drinking system which is automatic , My incubator is hatching chicks every month again because you helped my buy it. To be honest, my business is making more profits thanks to you lenders who have funded my loans unconditionally and generously. On be thing i promise you, I will not et you down. Thanks again and again.

This is me the the middle with my daughter Esther and her daughter Lavine wishing you all the best

Zidisha saved me from doing things manually while serving my customers to now fully keeping records on the Laptop to keep track of my clients .
I feel so blessed to be a Zidisha member as part of my loan made me purchase a laptop which was very necessary in the business.

Long live Zidisha

Thank you my lenders for the awesome help that you gave me.I bought a hair dryer equipment and it has tremendously improved my business.It shortened the waiting time meaning no time wastage for the clients,and this has been a boost to my business.The number of customers I serve per day have increased by 20 % thanks to the hair dryer.The hair hair dryer has been a godsend.My income has increased and I cn afford to take my children out to the park often,and I have been able to participate in chrch activitites even more.like last weekend we went to the park and we enjoyed boat rides and the children did face painting.

Thank you all my lenders and this is part of my progress

My first book, get your copy

Dear lenders,

I am very thankfull for your kind support.Your loan has really help me to expand my business and little by little i see myself achieving my ambition in life.Am very greatfull for Zidisha for giving me unique opportunity to raise loan.With small business getting a loan has been a big challege hear in kenya.Now i am able to repay more because my revenue has increase.Thank you very much.

thank you so mach for the loan i received, i was able to purchase an industrial sewing machine and it is currently in my workshop.
the machine has boosted my production rate, I am now producing more suits in a day and and i have created a job for a tailor.
i am projecting higher profits.
this improvement has really encouraged me to work header for my business my workers are happy because pressure has reduced,
pictures coming up soon.
my regards,
Derrick Otieno

Hi Team,

I received the disbursment today.

Already I was able to add more stock to the shop this morning.

Thank you lenders.

Hi dear lenders, my farm is doing great with the water equipment i have installed so far, that is a water pump machine and a water tank. i can now manually pump water into the tank and later on irrigate my farm. Am looking forward for a good harvest in my farm and make another step in developing my farm. I appreciate you all and may you be blessed!!

me...

hallow my good lenders,thank you very much for allowing me serve my customers better at the time my service was needed. it made me get more becouse isupplied the educational materials on time.at the moment my suppliers can give me materials on small credit becouse so far iv been doing well with them. ihave been able to pay for my wifes collage fee from the the same business and my familly is doing good. thanks alot

Disability Is not Inability is a story that teaches children to appreciate themselves despite their challenges..

#Team zidisha, I would like to also inform you that apart from my printing shop, I also love to do charity work. I love children and I love educating and encouraging them that despite the hardships they face in life, they can and will one day make it if they are focused and work hard. Here are the two books that I have authored: Helping Nafula's Mother educates children between 4 to 7 years about HIV/AIDs, how it is spread, how they can take care of those who are infected and those that are affected in their community....

Today i am seeing the five donkeys which are being offered for sale.I am yet to choose one but God willing i will purchase one by the end of this week,wish me the best.It is very hot in our part of the country and people are buying grains in readiness for the rains which come after the hot season.I hope all of you are doing fine.

the business has really picled up well after the long wait for the schools to repoen. am glad am supplying more than last year. the business has grown and i know with zidisha by my side, megabyte computers is going to be a very big company. i am expanding now to supplying stationary ....full business now

I have completed payment of the last instalment and in good time. I have almost doubled my profit with the new and bigger storage facility. Infact i am now able to sell even rabbit meat and doing even better than chicken.I thank God for the far my business has reached. I thank all who entrusted me with their money. God bless you mightly. I wish to launch another project of purchasing a motorbike for carrying my products. This will help reduce transport cost and thus raise my profit margin.

The car is in working condition. Thank you.

Graduation at St Agness

Hi guys,

The loan I took up has been really helpful to me and my business. I used it to buy a tft monitor for one of my cpu's that had a faulty monitor. This has in turn boosted the my daily and monthly revenues and in turn I feel that I can boost my business further by taking up another loan to buy 2 more computers and upgrade my internet from 1mbps to 10mbps. The future looks bright but I wouldn't have done it without you help. Thank u and God bless you abundantly.


Regards

Emmanuel

Dear Lenders,

I got to visit Gloria this past week at her home in Nungua, a suburb of Accra, where she lives with both parents and four younger siblings. (A full house! But she says she loves the energy of her family – her siblings are always joking and pulling pranks on each other.)

Gloria works in a laboratory focused on preventative medical care. Although as a child she dreamed of being a doctor, the expense of schooling limited her education prospects and she settled for working as a lab technician. She loves helping people and is happiest when she is able to help tackle and cure a patient’s illness. Although she likes her job now, she explains that previous laboratory conditions she’s worked under haven’t been ideal and that private medical labs don’t always prioritize the health or safety of nurses and technicians, so she hopes to open her own medical laboratory one day and put the knowledge she’s gained to managerial use.

When she’s not at the lab, she is working with her mother in their general goods shop, which supplies Nungua with everything from soap to tools to food. She says “Zidisha has really been a great help to us” as it has helped maintain their current stock while allowing small investments: they have recently been able to purchase a stock of electricity and fuel-saving devices to sell (reducing consumption of electricity by 30% and fuel by 20%), as well as materials for her mother to make beaded and woven sandals.

Gloria is incredibly grateful for the support she has received from lenders, and hopes to continue to grow that relationship. She enjoys having many ventures and plans on using future loans to continue to expand her shop and eventually to purchase a trotro (small bus).

After getting my first loan, I bought an office stapler that I so much required and some office supplies. I am now happy that I will no longer need to hire a stapler when I have documents to bind for my clients... #thank you team zidisha!

Just to say thank you to all zidisha and all lending community/persons.
After buying the CPU, I took my time to format it and when I tested, it it had indicated no malfunctions, just it works the way I expected it to work

hi there
have been away but am ok.. have managed to build for the chikens and i have bought three fully grown up chikens.. i have 15 eggs in the incubator expecting to have 20 chikens by next month.. thi is how we grow .. my wife can now eat a kienyenji chiken and eggs .... hahahahahah .. thanks all... lets make the world a better place to be free of hunger..... God bless you.. wait for the pictures... wooooooi this computer is uploading very slowly.

Hello everyone.
I hope that all of you are in good health and doing well. My freelance journalism is going on and I have now decided to go proffessional. I will be undertaking part time lesons in journalism, photo journalism and also get into video shooting and editing. This way I hope to go into media fulltime and gradually get out of my other ventures. I will keep you posted.

I managed to purchase my pump and know working on the logistics of fixing and making it operational. Happy My Greenhouse will have full supply of water,

Entertaining our church members,with me are the other choir members.

Dear lenders, I have finally cleared my first loan ever with Zidisha. I wish to express my gratitude to Zidisha family for allowing me to join this amazing group.

I spent the money from the loan to buy fast moving items for my electrical shop and this increased my sales significantly. I am now all set to apply for a second loan which I believe will take my business to even greater heights.

Dear friends and lenders I am soon coming back to you.I am happy to be paying my last installment on 1st February 2015.I will be applying for the second loan immediately to increase stock.I am happy to have made so many friends including those who did fund my project.Hope to meet you then.

Good Night At The funders; and also Team ;s Zidisha,
hopefully always given health always ..

This is the result of my shopping yesterday for adding accesories Mobile,,,,,

Translated by     Show original

Selamat Malam Pada Para Pendana dan juga Team Zidisha,
semoga selalu di beri kesehatan selalu..

ini merupakan hasil dari belanja saya kemarin buat penambahan accesories Handphone,,,,,

beginilah kegiatan saya di malam hari,,
bergelut dengan Tugas serta ketikan anak-anak sekolah maupun masyrakat umum...