Am Emmanuel Omondi, Kenyan citizen born in the year 1987, the last born in a family of four siblings, two have passed away. Born in Kendu-bay, a small town within the lake side region of Lake Victoria, approximately 150Km from Kisumu city Kenya. I was brought up by single-mother who ensured that I got the basic right of education even though it wasn’t that easy.
In the midst of my primary education, I lost the only hope I had in life when my mother who have been the bread winner for our small family passed away, I had to be transferred from a municipality school to a village school but still maintained my standards, that is because I was now to stay with my grandmother who was also ailing at the same time. I had no hard time with the environmental change because my elders tried to protect me from its impact but the pain of losing my mother hanged around me everywhere and it took me some time to overcome that. After that my education wasn’t that promising but through dedication I managed to pull it over by the help and assistance from donors and well-wishers up to a high school level, where I had another setback when I lost my other two siblings besides my grandmother.
I had to learn fighting my battles and started that by looking after herds of cattle for people in a neighboring village, where I saved some money that gained enrolment into a technical college where I learned electrical engineering and IT. Used to work on construction sites as a hard-laborer on weekends and sometimes weekdays whenever I didn’t have classes so as to cater for my college fees.
I came to fall in love with computers and everything about them and have ever longed to have the best computer services provider shop in my area, so I came up with this computer lab come cyber come photo production studio. The money I used to start my business I got from outdoor computer maintenance services I do to schools, offices and small firms around Kisumu city.
The lakeside region of Lake Victoria or formerly known as Nyanza, is dominated by these fish related Nilotes known as Luos who mostly depend on Lake Victoria for fishing as main activity or main source of income, Luos as a community likes development, are mostly kind hearted and welcoming with no any unique rituals but knows God as well.
My little girl is much into gargets and flying objects, though she can’t say, but am seeing a pilot in my house
Mostly when am free I do visit the elderly around my village and listen to their old time stories or just visiting unique world features and try to understand them scientifically as compared to spiritual fiction.
My shop is within kendu-bay town and is an all way round computer as from cyber all the way to computer servicing and repair to photo production studio and in future selling of computers and accessories.
Almost every institution nowadays rely on computers and internet for their day to day programs, connection on the other hand is very vital in every day’s life and through internet, we do connect at a relatively cheaper cost, more so internet is the best source of latest information.
In my village, people seems to have been behind digitally and my shop with my services would bring them up to date with the digital world, and also saves some time to these who would travel all the way to the city just to repair, maintain or buy computers.
My typical cost estimate would be roughly ranging from $500 to $1500 p.a. that is inclusive of shop rents and some utility bills.
The profit I gain from my business would be used mostly in reinvestment and growing the business so as to create room to employ others to help me with the business since we have job scarcity in my region and not everyone can think of a business to do. Otherwise my girl also has to go to school and I will have to save for her education.
Thank you very much my dear lenders, friends and the Zidisha team for your timeless support and trust in me and my business. My workshop and business is in more better position now compared to where it was two years ago thanks to your support
This time I would like to move my business to a better place, I have secured an office space somewhere potential and more secure within the CBD of my local town. Given this loan amount, I will move my entire business to this new premise by paying quarterly rental charges of 150 USD and one month deposit of 50 USD, I will use 30 USD to settle electrical bills for the first two months for the said premise and use the remaining 40 USD for setting up my new workshop and at least do some branding.
Taking my business to the CBD will mean more customers, and more customers will definitely translate to more income, to me that will able me to stay in the competition and still pay back my loan with some comfort not to forget about the security of all equipments within my workshop