I am Married with 2 children one of 18years and the other one is 9 years. I have work for several companies before making decision to start my own business three years ago. I started with selling clothes but the business did not do well because of low demand. I started selling charcoal which is fast moving commodity in my are where by everybody uses it as a source of energy for cooking and warming during cool weather. The business is good during winter when this product is on high demand due to the cold weather.Besides am always involved in community projects with widow and orphans.widows are required to form a group of ten members,come up with the constitution,and bylaw that would use to govern their group,after that they are registered with the government under Ministry of Gender and Social services,which can allow them access government funds like Uwezo[meaning am capable] and women fund,which attracts lower interest rates as opposed to other mainstream Banks,apart from that ,they meet once a week ,each contributes a dollar,the total is loaned to one member ,who is expected to go and restock her vegetable kiosk,earn a little profit,then return the money after a fortnight with a 5%interest,this has gone along way in improving their financial skills as well as believing in themselves.Most of these widows have been sent away by their in-laws after loosing their husbands,which prompted them to resort to unconventional ways of putting food on the table like prostitution,their future plans include enrolling in government technical Training centers which trains short courses on Hair dressing,Bead work[making very nice earrings an necklaces,purse,and flower vase]pottery,and Tailoring,this courses are far cheaper in government facilities,but this will always be their wishful thinking unless society shows goodwill and pays for this courses.The orphans have also been rehabilitated back to school through government Bursary,instead of doing drugs on the street,they are only allowed to make money through Garbage collection during weekend where every household is expected to pay 1 dollar for every collection,this goes along way in helping them buy food and a bit of clothing.Am a firm believer of giving back to society in whatever way however little,because at the end of the day ,i will have made a difference in someone's life.

My business is that of selling charcoal to the local villagers I started in the year 2010.the current operating capital is Ksh 25,000 and make a gross profit of KSH 30000 and after paying for all my expenses I remain with a net profit of ksh 7000 which I use for my family needs. I want to increase my capital by at list twice to maximize the business premises space which is currently under utilized.It has a capacity of 100bags of charcoal which I think through Zidisha funding I will be able to meet my goals of stocking 100bags with any given time.I operate this charcoal store about 500m from where i live,my clients are mainly neighbors,church members,and family friends.they are about 3 other charcoal stores,but am a firm believer of business competition,because it keeps me on edge and focused,av seen growth both in clients base and profit,and the no of clients has also tripped from the initial 10 that i started with to 35 that am currently working with,my main secret being good communication skills,so am able to understand my clients specifications and charcoal needs,free delivery is also offered to clients that stay about 200m from the store.i have also introduced an after sale service whereby i will call the client after every delivery and inquire if they are satisfied with the quality and efficiency of the charcoal,in-case of any complaints ,then i would call my supplier immediately and alert him to avoid any recurrence of the problem,by doing all this av been able to build a good rapporteur all my clients based on trust ,honesty and consistency in quality .five years from know am seeing myself being the leading charcoal distributor in githunguri area, and of-course this will only be possible with the continued partnership with zidisha family.

My business capital currently is around 450 dollars,i would love for this to go up by 50%,because am planning to move to a bigger store with a capacity of 200bag as opposed to the current one which is 100bag,the center is growing,so is the customers base and demand,this in long term will create more job opportunity,i currently employ two young men,whom i pay 2 dollars everyday ,their main work include offloading the sacks from the truck,loading the sack for the clients for those that have vehicles,and deliver to others to their houses using wheelbarrows,I intend-to employ two more in case my loan is funded,The profit margin will go up,by the same % because i get a profit of 3 dollars per sack,now whats is important is to ensure that you can be able to re-stock at least twice per month,i believe that this is very possible with the concept i have adapted of customer satisfaction and after sale service!