Elizabeth Onywera is a widow, mother of two kids and aged 38 years old. i am a secretary by profession and a very good transcriber i can take shorthand speeds of upto 120 words a minute and equally a very good typist with 50 words per minute on a manual typewriter. I am an ENTREPRENUER BY BIRTH. I started my own business after completing college this is because i had sent out several job applications and was not successful. I saw a need to venture into the food industry and that is how i began my business. I come from a county called Kisumu in Kenya, East Africa. It is a cosmopolitan town next to the shores of lake victoria and the weather is quite hot. My daughter is an introvert, very humble and a bookworm wants to be a Zooligist when she grows up and is set to sit her final primary school exams this year. Im sure she will do me proud and join the best national school. My son is an extrovert, a complete opposite of his sister, he is in the seventh grade and is quite cheeky keeps on changing his mind at the moment he talks of wanting to be a great diver, as a parent i always support him and guide him and wish him the best in whatever he ultimately chooses to do.. My most unique pastime is reading my Bible and my favourite chapter is Psalms 31, and i love playing scrabble.

I run a food restaurant and i specialise in local cuisines and i have also recently with aid from Zidisha loan purchased a tent for hire. I am based in the heart of the jua kali sector and my food is in high demand because of its highly nutritional value and affordability. I I ventured into this business because i saw there was a need for healthy traditional food and the market was readily available. Due to changing economic times i am now selling a plate of food for ksh. 120, per day i can sell up to 120 plates. This has been an A plus for my business because my food is pocket friendly and quite affordable and nourishing. That amounts to gross income of Ksh. 14400 per day after deducting my expenses for purchase of products ksh. 5000 and wages to my staff kshs. 1200 per day ( each staff is paid 400 per day im left with a income of Ksh. 8200 per day. Out of this i put aside Ksh.3500 for personal use, medical bills, entertainment, and save a part of it. That means on a typical day my net income will translate to Ksh. 4700. I also rent out my tent on weekends at Ksh.6000/-. I use my profits for personal investment, i have an education policy for my to children which i pay monthly Kshs,4000. I have also reinvested in my business by adding more cutlery, chairs and tables. Though continued Zidisha support i have upgraded my standard of living from a one bedroomed flat to a two bedroomed flat. My next goal is to be able to register myself and my children to a medical insurance scheme.

I have seen an opportunity to sell fresh fruit juice to my customers. As i already operate an eatery most clients are opting for fresh juice to eat with their meals instead of soda. I am proposing to buy a mixing juice machine with a capacity of 18 litres and has two compartments. Currently the machine is wholesaling at 1000USD and can be purchased by either paying the whole price or making a down payment of 300USD and the rest of the balance can be paid in 3 installments for a period of 3 months . I have opted for the option of paying in installments as i feel this would be convenient and not strain me financially. From my business and savings and hopefully with the loan i have requested for from Zidisha I will comfortably pay the first installment and consecutively clear the balance in three months.

This will be very beneficial to me in that mangoes and avocados are readily available and are cheap. This fruits which i will be making juice from are not seasonal fruits so they are available through out the year. Purchasing price of a kilo of mangoes is 120KSHS. A kilo of mango will produce 5litres of fresh juice that translates to 20 cups of 250ml. I will sell a cup at 30KSHS that translates to 600KSHS. My profit therefore will be 480/- per 5litre of juice i sell. A kilo of avocado is going at 80KSHS. I will sell a cup for 25KSHS that will mean for 5litres i will make 500 shillings thus making a profit of 420KSHS. Kisumu is a very hot town and i am sure i will sell on average20 litres each juice on a daily basis. Being that im located in the heart of jua kali im assured of walk in clients who only want juice and those clients who want juice with meals. Fresh mango and avocado juice has a lot more nutritional value as compared to soda. This is beneficial to my clients especially since are manual workers who need a lot of energy in their line of work.

So im assured of taking home at least from mango juice 1920KSHs and from avocado juice 1680KSHS. That translates to 3600KSHS per day. Add that to my other income from selling food which is approximately 4700KSH per day it means on a daily basis i will go home with 8300KSHS. With this amount i can comfortably repay this loan if it is advanced to me and also repay the remaining instalments for the mixing juice machine.

From previous zidisha loans i have been able to move from a one bedroomed flat to a two bedroomed flat. With this increase in revenue from the sale of juice i will also increase my savings, be able to continue upgrading my standard of living and most importantly be able to register myself and my children for a medical insurance which is my next goal. It will also mean that i will add two more staff and thus will have created employment opportunity and made a positive contribution to another persons life.