My name is Rapella Odippo. I am 30years old, a Kenyan Citizen, living in Kitale Town. I come from a family of six, three brothers and one sister and I am the third born. I am a university graduate from Egerton University with a degree in Manufacturing Engineering. As it might be, it is quite difficult to get a well paying job in that sector, or in any sector for that matter. I graduated in the year 2010 but to date i have only managed to get small jobs here and there, some on short contracts. I also have skills in IT and that is what landed me at my last job. It was not well paying but i managed to save some good amount for over a period of two years. At least finally i had some small amount of money start me off in my business venture. I have a passion for agriculture. This is something i have wanted to do since my childhood and that is why i decided to venture into farming. I have done both animal and crop farming before. I have kept chicken especially the layers, i have rared sheep and goats, planted kales, carrots, cabbages and some other various vegetables. That is why i decided to go back to it, as it is something i know i can dedicate my time and resources. I have a sizable piece of land where i have already constructed a chicken house and the rest i have planted vegetables and watermelons. It is this passion that i have turned into a business venture that I want to finance and push it to be the best business of its kind in the region. My dream is to develop this into a sustainable source of income for me and even to create employment for other. Furthermore, I also have a keen interest in graphic design which i have already ventured in, thanks to the last loan. This is the area in which am building now since my chicken business is stable and can stand and run on its own.

My Business

My business is called Kikai Graphics. It is a design and graphics business where we make logos, banners and other promotional materials for my clients. I diversified in this area of business because it is one of my passions. In my previous loans, I started a chicken business which has proven to be very successful and is now running on its own. All my energy is now in the growth of Kikai Graphics. The very last loan enabled me to furnish the interior and get some equipment to start me off. This however was not enough to complete the whole job, especially the interior. The business is currently doing well, within the limitations that it has. However it has a potential to shoot up and compete comfortably with its competitors in the market. This can however be achieved only with improvement in my equipment and the acquisition of some new improved ones.

I am very grateful for my last loan which, combined with what I had saved, enabled me to buy the Konica Minolta Bizhub printer for my printing business. This has greatly improved my business and enabled me to go through the high and low seasons fairly comfortably.

I intend to add new equipment to the business so as to improve on my income level. I need a plotter for vinyl cutting, used in t-shirt branding. This is a lucrative sector in the branding industry, and I wish to tap into is. Currently I have been outsourcing for both the material and the machine service. If I can have both in-house, my cost of production will be much lower, and my margin will improve greatly.

The plotter costs $1,285.00 locally. I have saved a total of $700.00 towards this purchase. I have a deficit of $585.00. This is the amount I wish to get from this new loan.

The purchase of this plotter will improve and increase my income from the current $150 per week to an average of $180 per week. This improvement will enable me repay my loan comfortably and in good time. This payment I project to be at a comfortable weekly rate of $20.

All in all, this loan will be a big boost to my graphics design business, and will also improve a lot my family's standards of living

Thank you zidisha team in advance