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| Paul in his shop |
At age 22, Paul Musembi held a diploma certificate in
information technology and is currently working as a computer technician at
Mugaa secondary school. He clearly possesses great ambition since he also
operates a retail shop. The retail shop was a product of his collaboration with
his own mother back in 2009 and it serves to provide customers with goods such as
foodstuff, clothing and utensils. When the shop was first initiated, he had
injected 10000 Kenyan shillings as his contribution to the business. Overtime,
the shop started generating substantial profits and although Mr. Musembi’s
mother would conduct its day-to-day affairs, he would relieve her after work
and during the weekends. With his Zidisha loan, he is looking to expand into
offering computer services. Below is an account of his recent financial
journeys through the words of our Kenya Client Relationship manager, Traci
Yoshiyama:
Hi, my name is Traci Yoshiyama, Zidisha’s Kenya Client
Relationship Manager.
When the staff of Mugaa Secondary School heard of my visit
to Munanda, many asked, “Have you met Musembi?” Purely by coincidence and the
inevitability of living in a small village, who do I meet but the one and only
Paul Musembi during my visit with another Zidisha borrower in Munanda,
Without hesitation, Paul graciously welcomed me to his
shop called Innocent. When asked why he chose the name Innocent, he simply
replied, “Because I like that word.” With a savings of 40,000 KES, Paul started
his shop in 2008. At this time it was a small kiosk selling fruit, but with the
income from his farm and his first Zidisha loan, Paul was able to rent a space
right in the heart of Munanda Trading Center. Not only did Paul have his own
shop and sell fruit, he was now able to add another item to his stock, plastic
shoes.
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| Some of Paul's goods |
Paul successfully paid back his first loan and is in the
midst of paying back his second. As seeing in the photos I have posted, Paul’s
shop has come a long way. Through his second loan he has been able to increase
his stock by tenfolds, now selling what Kenyans refer to as mali mali. Paul,
having a challenging time explaining what this means in English, finally
settled on describing mali mali as items sold at a low cost. These items can be
seen sold by many of the street venders in Kenya. Fruits were a thing of the
past, for although my photos do not capture the plethora of items sold at
Innocent, you can be sure to find what you need; locks, snacks, drinks,
clothes, toiletries galore, cleaning supplies, jewelry, and of course, plastic
shoes. The Zidisha loan has also enabled Paul to purchase a motorbike, which
helps him acquire items needed for his store. This has proven to add efficiency
and convenience to Paul’s life, for Munanda is quite remote and getting to
Nakuru through public transportation can fill your entire day. Now, Paul can
come and go as he pleases. In addition to his booming business and new mode of
transportation, Paul was able to buy his own plot of land.
It came as no surprise that Paul has also been a
spokesperson for Zidisha, often times introducing Zidisha to entrepreneurs in
Munanda. I left Innocent happy to have met the infamous Musembi, a client with
strong ambition and a love for Zidisha. He wishes all his lenders well and
gives a big thanks for all they have done.
