My names are Erastus Mwiti. I live in Nyeri County in a small town called Chaka, just past Kiganjo Police Training College. My hometown, though small, has a high population and also great potential for businesses of all kinds, being the Kieni East district headquarters location.

I have always been a technology enthusiast since I was in high school, where I got my first computer packages lessons. From there, it has been a journey to satisfy my undying curiosity to know more and more about computers and technology as a whole. I went to college (Eldoret Polytechnic) where I studied computer studies (computer science) for two years, but unfortunately I did not get to finish my course due to lack of fees.

After dropping out, I went to my friend who had a cyber cafe and he agreed to give me a small room in his cyber, where I started a computer repair and maintenance business, which up until now I am holding on to. Being the only computer repairman in my area, the business has been good. On a good day I make around Ksh 1000, and I believe there still is a lot of potential in the business if given enough capital. It has been about a year and a half now in the business and I have managed to buy myself a laptop, 3 desktop computers (I intend to add more and open up my own cyber cafe), and many household items, all from the earnings of my venture.

For now, my business is my main source of income, which has kept me going for one and a half years now. To make sure I rip maximum from my business, I have incorporated several activities into it, computer repair and maintenance being the major ones of them. These activities include selling of computers (a customer comes, places orders and pays a deposit, after which I go to Nairobi and buy from the dealers at a cheaper price than I quoted to the client), selling of computer accessories, etc. I also want to add movie business to the list.

Mine being a developing town with several established institutions, e.g., Kiganjo Police College and other upcoming institutions, it always ensures a flow of customers into the business.

By always ensuring maximum client satisfaction and maintaining a high level of professionalism and honesty in my work, I have managed to stay ahead of the competition.

It is not all smooth in the business, though. I am always faced by several challenges from time to time. Some of the challenges are rude clients who mostly find it hard to trust technicians, the high cost of the spares used to fix some of these computers, and also the high cost of living, which has a direct impact on things like house rent.

In a month I make around 30,000 shilling, excluding all expenses, which are house rent 4000, electricity bill ksh 1000, and other miscellaneous expenses that come to around 2000 per month. This brings the total expenses to Ksh 7000. The rest is profit which I use for my basic needs, and I manage to save at least Ksh 2000 every moth.

If granted a loan, I would inject the cash into the business, to which I want to add a movie store/library. This will boost my income per month, which I believe would be enough to service my loan.

I have rented a shop just next to my cyber cafe wich i intend to set-up a Stationeries shop. I have done market survey and noted that our area lacks a serious Stationeries shop and the few available either don't stock variety and their prices are exorbitant.

I have also identified several wholesalers/importers of this items in our capital, Nairobi who can supply me at very competitive rates. This will boost my income and also help me move up the chain of production since i am also a consumer of the same products for my cyber cafe and computer college.