I was born into a family of 10 siblings.My father was a farmer and my mother was a housewife.We grew up in rural Western Kenya and our parents who were farmers did their best to educate us with proceeds from the farm which we sold as children at the market.School was about 30 kilometres away and we walked daily to school unless we had fees arrears,then we would look for menial chires to do in order to raise the fee balances that we owed the school.My parents worked hard and got each of us through primary and secondary schools and i eventually started out selling second hand clothes for close to 5 years after my secondary education.In secondary i passed and got to make it to college.My earnings from selling the second hand clothes on different markets helped me pay for my own college tuition and i eventually studied computer studies and a certificate in library sciences.It was a dream come true but i continued working day by day selling the second hand clothes on various markets in Western Kenya. I had a stint selling boiled eggs which also made me a handsome profit,which i saved and helped to educate my younger brothers and sisters.I opened a computer shop 10 years ago with one computer,a computer shop cum typing bureau which has been successful and has earned me some income,but i would like to expand this humble investment to meet today's demands.I would like to explore additional ways of earning income in the fat developing world using new tech advances.I have two lovely children whom i love and whom i am now able to pay for their fees,and i would like to expand my business in order to help them achieve their dream.In my community women are looked down upon but i have proved many wrong with the achievements i have made.I have my sights set on bigger things for me and my children.

I own a small one room computer shop cum typing bureau right next to a newly built Kibabii University found in Kibabii area of Bungoma county.The university has close to 6000 students and this population is targetable businesswise.Students look for ways and means to have their study papers,proposals and even thesis' typed by experienced typists and computer bureaus.Since i have polished my skills with the necessary knowledge i have an increasing number of clients,especially the student population and lecturers,most of whom know little about computer packages and prefer giving the work to someone else. I pay 3000 kshs (30$) for rent and 4$ for electricity per month.I make an average of 100$ a month from typing and thesis binding work in a month.I have not employed anyone but do this work myself.It is my vision to increase my equipment by adding more paper for printing and a photocopy machine.

I would like to purchase a laminating machine for my computer shop and to add some printing paper in it too. A laminating machine costs approximately 60$ but I have paid halfway for one and will buy it at 30 $.

I will also use 20$ to buy plain photocopy and printing paper. I have been having a printer and will add another one later on in the year. However, the current demand of students needs at least an additional 20$ of plain paper, approximately 5 rims of 500 A4 sheets in each rim. That’s 2500 A4 plain papers.

This should meet the demand.

I will buy a hardy stapler and a binding machine that costs 33$ and add stationery such as pens, blank CDs and plastic bag folders which are common with the university students. These additions should make me a good profit.

When I type and print on plain paper I usually charge 30 Kshs per paper I print, that’s approximately 30US cents per page. So for 2500 plain A$ papers I should be able to make a profit of around 5,000 kshs (55$) per week.

I will bind proposals at 10$ per 100 to 200 page proposal.

This should enable me pay the loan and safely reinvest my proceeds in the computer shop, eventually being able to purchase an additional computer with the increased proceeds.