My names are Stephen Karanja Mwai and I am 29 years old. I was brought up in a humble background in a remote village in Ndia Constituency in Kirinyaga County. As the last born in a family of ten, I was fortunate to have elder brothers and sisters who supported me in my education. Nevertheless, I was not lucky enough to enjoy the warmth and soothing words of my mother who died of hypertensive stroke when I was only three years old. I attended a local primary school where I studied for 9 years. Waking up at the crack of dawn and walking 2 kilometers to school every day on bare foot for 9 years is an experience that will always linger in my mind. Despite lack of school fees on a number of occasions, my persistence enabled me to score good grades that landed me in a reputable high school in 2001. Six years later, I joined Kenyatta University where I pursued a Bsc. degree in Biotechnology for four years. After graduating in Dec 2010, my expectations and hopes of securing a good job were high. Moreover, people at my place always have a lot of hope in the few individuals who are lucky to acquire university education. After looking for a job for four months without success, I consulted my friends who offered to train me as a freelance writer. Since I did not have a personal computer, I had to learn typing and writing research papers in the cyber. At first, it was challenging because of my slow typing speed and lack of money to settle my bills. After one year of hard work, I managed to buy my own laptop which made my work much easier and convenient. In the meantime, my relatives and friends at home were constantly asking me whether I got a well-paying job. I felt bad to disappoint them when I told them that I was still hustling for one. Once I became proficient as freelance writer, I decided to save some money with the aim of starting a small business. Given that freelance writing is a seasonal job, I saw it prudent to invest $940 of my savings in a retail shop. Before I managed to save this money, I had struggled with the problem of unwise spending of my money. After realizing that I needed help to overcome this problem, I took the initiative to attend various seminars where I gained useful tips on how to inculcate a culture of saving. With the help of my niece, the business has picked up well. When I am not in my shop, I am writing research papers while my niece operates the business. Moreover, the business is young and therefore requires more investment so that it can reach a stage where it can sustain itself. As such, a certain percentage of the money that I earn from freelance writing is channeled towards expanding the range of products available in my shop. Before making the decision to invest my hard-earned savings in the shop business, I took time to locate the best location that had the potential for doing the business. With the help of my brother who has many years of experience in business, I was able to locate a good place in Kayole Nairobi. My hope is to grow the business gradually with the goal of having my own supermarket. My hobbies include playing guitar, swimming, writing academic papers, and posting comments on social media.

My business is a retail shop that deals with selling food items such as rice, maize flour, wheat flour, sugar, cooking oil, baked products such as cakes and bread, milk, eggs, and juices. Recently, I have added hair gels and lotions to the stock. The shop is located in the outskirts of Nairobi City in a town called Kayole. I started the business about one year ago with a capital of $940. The shop serves a fairly large number of customers since it is strategically located at a junction along a busy street with many residents and passersby. The goods that I sell at my shop have a high demand since the area is residential with many low and middle income earners who need to do frequent shopping of food items to feed their families. The name of my business is "Nafuu Budget Shop." The reason I chose this name is because I wanted to catch the attention of potential customers in an area where some shop owners have even posted the prices of their items on the windows of their shops just to enable customers compare prices. The term "Nafuu" means better. As such, customers have been flocking at my shop, curious of doing their shopping at better prices. Moreover, the area is dominated by middle and low income earners who are often keen to compare prices before they make their purchasing decisions. My typical costs include the cost of buying stock to re-stock the shop and also introduce new items. On a weekly basis, approximately $300 may be spent on stock and transport of the goods from the wholesalers' premises to the shop. In terms of revenue, the business generates about $550 every month. Out of this, the net profit is about $330. Part of the profit is used to pay for the rented space while some is used to pay the salary of my assistant. Nevertheless, the largest percentage of the profit is reinvested into the business to expand the range of products available as per customers' demands.

If my loan proposal gets fully funded, I intend to invest the whole amount of $554 into a transportation project. A motorbike for my business will make a significant difference in my retail shop business because I will be able to penetrate into areas where products are sold at very low prices. Currently, I depend on the services of the nearest wholesalers who supply products at prices that make it impossible to compete with bigger shops. Since my competitors have enough capital to order large stocks, they are able to compete on a higher level by offering cheaper prices. In order to attract more customers and retain my loyal customers, the motorbike project will facilitate access to wholesalers who sell commodities almost 10% lower.

While a 50 kilos bag of sugar is being sold at $44 by the nearest wholesaler, I will be able to get it at $40 from markets further from my business. The same case applies to all other commodities. The cost implication in terms of fuel will be insignificant because I will no longer rely on wholesaler's transport services. The motorbike will also be ferrying passengers when it is not being used for carrying stock.

On average, I anticipate a monthly increase in net profit from the current $330 to $430. In addition, the proceeds obtained from carrying passengers will help me to meet my loan obligations without any delays. A $100 increase in monthly net profit will mean better savings and higher wages for my assistant. Overall, the project will give my business a new beginning.