My name is Margaret Muthoni, a businesswoman based in Mombasa city. I was born in Nyeri county in the central region of Kenya. This is an agriculturally rich area and most people around this area are farmers.

I grew up in this farming community where I learned my farming skills early in life. I however had a desire to work in big cities and a chance came when I cleared my secondary school. After clearing my secondary education, I moved to Mombasa, which is the second largest city in Kenya, to live with my uncle.

I then enrolled in a college where I did a course in catering and hotel management. I got a job in a hotel shortly after completing my course, where I worked for six months.

I then got married and I could not continue with my hotel job since it demanded that I work in very odd hours and this could not work since I was starting a family. I was blessed with two children, now aged 12 and 7 years.

With the help of my husband, I started a clothes selling business which I am still doing.

My business is selling of used and new clothes. I do it from a rented stall in town. I normally get my stock from big markets in Nairobi. My shop is located in a densely populated area of the city and I get a regular stream of customers who have known me over the years.

I deal with all types of clothes of all ages and sexes. The business fetches a profit of about $300 per month and I use this money to support my family as well as sending money back home to support my aging parents.

Given credit, I would like to expand my business by adding more stock so as to attract more people to my shop.

We are fast approaching a cold season in Kenya. This will lead to an upsurge of demand in warm clothes like jackets and sweaters. I will use this money to get a stock of one dozen jackets and a similar number of sweaters. I will also buy other clothes if there will be a balance.

This new stock will boost my sales and I hope to make quick sales due to the high demand.

Thank you.