A Passion for Business

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Erick Momanyi has big dreams! Living in Kisii, Kenya, he hopes to attend university, but after finishing high school, he lacked the funds to attend.

Not letting this deter him, he came up with a feasible plan that would allow him to support himself, and save money for school. Today, Erick runs a small business selling second-hand clothing. As he continues to work and save his proceeds, he is saving to attend a local college in Kisii. He says, ‘I have a passion for business and I would love to study Business Management in college.’

Although he has had to defer his college plans, for the time being, he is gaining valuable entrepreneurial experience that will be a great complement to his education, when he’s able to return.

As he describes his business he explains, ‘I started my business in 2018. The intention of starting this business has been to help me save enough to join college by the start of next year. I sell second-hand clothes in my local market. I mostly deal with men’s clothes, both casual wear, and business wear. I have been able to build a good clientele, which has raised the demand for my clothes. I still would keep selling second-hand clothes even while studying, too, because I would be taking evening classes.’

As a new member of the Zidisha community, Erick has raised 5 Zidisha funded loans in a short period of time, since February 2020. His loans have ranged in amount from $40-$877, and have been a great source of help to keep going even throughout the pandemic.

Erick has primarily used his Zidisha loans to restock his inventory of clothing of shirts and trousers. He continually receives feedback from his customers, catering to their wants and needs.

Like most business owners, Erick has been forced to pivot and adapt his business during the pandemic. In May 2020, he shared, ‘The pandemic has hurt many businesses but I had to find a new way to cope because I need to make a living, I have taken advantage of online platforms like Jiji, Pigiame and even Facebook, I take photos of my clothes and if someone is interested they contact me and we arrange on how to get, it’s not costly since the buyer pays for delivery charges, this has helped me keep afloat and am sure it will sustain me through this difficult period.’

As the pandemic continued, Erick found that two particular items were in high demand: face masks and sweatpants. Through his Zidisha funded loans, Erick has been able to easily meet these changing needs with his customers. By mid-summer, he also expanded into women’s clothing as well.

Recently on July 27, Erick excitedly shared, ‘Once again I would like to express my gratitude to all my lenders, the support you have given me is Godsent, my business is reaching great heights and that’s thanks to you, I would also like to thank Zidisha.org for bringing this to us business people. Thank you and God bless you.’

Would you like to empower an inspiring entrepreneur like Erick? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about Zidisha business owners all around the world.

 

 

 

Turning Rejected Stones Into Cornerstones

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Olawale Noble Liasu was raised in a large family, as the ninth child out of fourteen siblings. As a student, he received his early primary education in the Southwest of Nigeria and then moved to the Northwestern region of the country for his secondary and university education.

He shares, ‘I have been an entrepreneur for decades standing, and my specialty is debunking the lie that some children are untrainable. My schools are avenues for “turning rejected stones into cornerstones,” as it were, among some other positive things. My schools are situated in the semi-urban, north-central State of Plateau, in Nigeria. Today, in addition to running his business, he is also a married clergyman and has three children.

In describing his business he says, ‘My business is in the education sector, with the principal objective of rescuing and training the indigent and less-advantaged children of my community, for a poverty-terminating future. We started with the post-primary (secondary) and pre-varsity sections, but we are currently in pursuit of adding the nursery school, Kindergarten, and primary-education sections of the institution so that a solid foundation can be laid early on in the lives of our pupils.’

Olawale has been able to raise 10 Zidisha funded loans for his business since joining in 2019. These loans have ranged in cost from $14 to $1,135. With his first few Zidisha funded loans, he worked hard to purchase cement and building materials. Most recently, he has used loans to build a perimeter fence around the school for safety purposes and to keep animals away from the property. The costs for the fencing project included buying the wire fence and also paying for labor to put it in place.

For Olawale, a huge goal of his is to educate students so that they are receiving the same quality of education as many of their peers around the world.

As of July 2002, Olawale requested a $1,135 loan from lenders to help with school reopenings amidst COVID-19, as he says, ‘The Federal Ministry of Education, in its 58-page guidelines for school resumption during this time of global COVID-19 pandemic, demands that there be the provision of water and hand-sanitizer dispensers, which are sacrosanct guidelines. Therefore, this loan would be funneled toward that goal. Our area is enjoying nearly total relief from lockdown. Commercial and economic activities are on the increase. The demand for our services also is increasing, as is our income. Therefore, I do not expect to have problems repaying this loan.’

The following month, in August, Olawale proudly shared how things have been progressing with his loan as he wrote on his discussion page, ‘Commendable and conscientious lenders, I thank you all. I have successfully retired the entire loan today to God’s glory. The next phase of the project kicks on in earnest, which is the purchase of hands-free water dispensers and hands-free hand sanitizers, an additional move to render the school ministry of education guidelines-compliant on Covid-19 pandemic protocol. I count on your trust. Thanks.’

Would you like to positively impact the life of an entrepreneur and educator like Olawale? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects Page to see how other Zidisha business owners are changing communities around the world.

 

I Do Not Fear Failure

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

‘I am Alfred Adjetey and I am a businessman who goes for locally made slippers outside Ghana. I am the firstborn of six brothers and a sister. I happen to be a serious-minded man who loves to take risks in my business. As a business-minded man, I do not fear failure.’

The two main shoes that Alred sells are slippers and sneakers. He shares, ‘My slippers have been locally made slippers which I personally go for them from Togo. My business has been moving smoothly and it’s growing as I’ve always prayed for. I always learn something new in getting my business to the highest level any businessman can ever think of.’

Since joining Zidisha in 2018, Alfred has been able to raise 12 Zidisha funded loans, allowing him to continually re-stock his shoe supply for his business. As Alfred set goals and started dreaming about the future, he envisioned expanding his stock to offer the best possible variety for his customers.

With each new loan, Alfred has been able to consistently offer new and different designs of shoes in his shop. He prides himself on being able to provide shoes that are both high quality but still affordable to meet a wide range of customer needs.

By 2019, Alfred could see his business steadily increasing and was proud to be able to hire one employee to help him with the business. On June 24th, he took to his Zidisha discussion page and wrote, ‘Thanks to Zidisha and all my lender’s my business is moving smoothly. With the money I received, I’ve been able to get some stock for my shop. Thanks, Zidisha for accepting me into your family.’

At the start of 2020, Alfred raised $268 from lenders to serve a new customer base, Primary, Junior High, and University students needing shoes for the upcoming school semester. Alfred explained, ‘With this loan, I can buy quality sneakers for school which costs less and this will be something everybody can afford. With this in mind, even the poor can afford it. I look forward to taking my business to the top by providing my customers with nothing but quality. Thank you.’

Most recently, in June 2020, Alfred raised his largest loan yet, $948, and shared, ‘As a serious business-minded man with over three thousand customers, I wish to apply for a loan amount of GHC 15000. As a young man who has been in business for over five (5) years and also with over three thousand customers, I will then be able to satisfy them with the quality product at an affordable price. This would also help me increase sales as well as gain more and new customers for my business. Because the purchase of converse is high in demand here in Ghana, I would be able to pay back my funds easily without stress if my request is granted. Thank You.’

Would you like to impact the life of an entrepreneur like Alfred? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about Zidisha business owners around the world, impacting their communities!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Dream That I Wanted to Fulfill

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

‘I am Rebecca Moraa Nyangena. Growing up we had a difficult childhood, at times we had to drop out of school due to limited funds to support all of us. My father used to work then but had to retire early due to illness but we eventually lost him. We were left with our mother who struggled a lot but she managed to help us finish our 0 levels. After that it was up to us to make our future.’

As the only girl among her siblings, Rebecca found that it was difficult to find a job. Fortunately, she eventually found a position in a local coffee factory. She shares, ‘I was inexperienced and I had no idea what I was doing but due to determination and hard work eventually I learned how to operate the machinery in the factory.’

Rebecca continued in her position for four years as she saved her earnings. In her own words, ‘I had a dream that I wanted to fulfill.’ Once she had saved what she needed, Rebecca enrolled in the Kisii Institute where she studied for 3 years and received a degree in Accounting. Soon after, she landed a great job and stayed in the position for 3 years.

Rebecca taking care of her farm.

Two years into her new job she got married and then had two sons. Because of the demands of motherhood, she left her position to stay at home with her two boys. However, as she went through a divorce and became a single parent, she was forced to find a way to financially support her children. She found her solution in entrepreneurship. Rebecca says, ‘I basically deal with all kinds of chicken, I have chicken layers for eggs and broilers for meat. I chose this business because it’s in my comfort zone and it requires minimum labor and so far it has worked for me. I have 200 chicken layers and I collect at least 120 eggs a day.’

In terms of expenses, she needs to purchase feeds and vaccinations for the chickens. Then, she’s also able to use part of her earnings to pay her bills and her children’s fees.

She continues, ‘I have like 50 broilers which I sell after every 3 months. After I sell them I use part of the sale to acquire a new set, use part of the money to buy their feeds and vaccinations and save the balance. 1 broiler chicken goes for kes 400 so I make kes 20000 after selling the 50. I’ll then buy 50 younger ones which I’ll take care of for another 3 months. They cost kes 100 per chicken, that converts to kes 5000, vaccinations and feeds for the 3 months will cost me 8500, and I make a profit of kes 6500 which I add to my savings.’

Throughout her time with Zidisha, from April 2016 until now, Rebecca has raised 5 Zidisha funded loans. From her first loan of $10 to her most recent of $675, each loan has allowed her to take her business to new levels.

Through her Zidisha funded loans, Rebecca has been able to add more drinking containers for her chicks, purchase additional chicks for her stock, expand on her existing chicken house, build an additional chicken house, and also purchase an incubator.

The new incubator.

Reflecting on the support of Zidisha to her business growth, Rebecca says, ‘I am so grateful for the loan, may God bless you, I will always like to thank Zidisha for bringing such a good platform to help us keep up the good work.’

Would you like to impact an inspiring business owner like Rebecca? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about Zidsisha’s business owners all around the world.

A Key to Everything in the World

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Ibrahim Kirui says that he ‘was brought up in a humble background in the Great Rift valley, Bomet county in Kenya. I went to Boito primary school from 1997 to 2005 and later attended Mambwo secondary school where I did my K.C.S.E. in the year 2009.’

After three years of helping his parents at home, Ibrahim moved to Nairobi to look for work. He explains, ‘Finding a job was not easy, but with time and patience I managed to get one with a security firm and was deployed as a security guard. But before that I was a labourer at a construction company and that was the most available.’

One year into working for the security firm, Ibrahim determined that while he had learned a lot, he needed to take actions to increase his income. He shares, ‘I did a driving course and I was in a position to get a job elsewhere as rider/ supervisor, now I was able to earn quite some money. I started practicing farming though it was not doing well but of late am seeing some change.’

Today Ibrahim has been working towards his goal of increasing his income streams as he splits his time between being a delivery driver and also working on his side business as a farmer. Ibrahim is working hard to create a great life for himself, his wife, and young son.

Since starting with Zidisha in 2016, Ibrahim has been able to raise 4 Zidisha funded loans from $6 to $377. With his initial loan, in September 2016, he shares, ‘This loan with time will help my wife smile since she is ready to sacrifice her time and energy together with my support to make her dreams comes through. The ladies clothes have a good profit and also for childrens compared to men. I am sure this loan with time I will be able to buy clothes in bales and make good returns.’

Through Zidisha, Ibrahim has also been able to assist his brother with his education costs. After a draught had decimated his parent’s livestock and crops, they struggled to pay the necessary tuition for their son to attend school. Fortunately, Ibrahim was able to raise the funds from Zidisha so that his brother would be able to continue his education.  As Ibrahim says, ‘Today education is a key to everything in the world.’

Purchasing his piece of land!

With his following loan, in June 2017 of $377, Ibrahim was proud to be able to achieve another of his goals, a piece of land for his home and for farming. He explains, ‘Lenders this land I will call it my home, this is where my family will be living and doing farming. The place is good for living, farming, and doing business.’

On January 20, 2020, Ibrahim shared an update with lenders as he took to his discussion page and wrote, ‘Dear my lenders, I am among the many people who have benefited from your p2p loan. I wish to thank you a lot for that opportunity. My farm has helped me a lot, I have been planting potatoes which has been of great help. We have got food and also sell some.’

Ibrahim’s new land.

Would you like to impact the life of an entrepreneur like Ibrahim? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about Zidisha business owners making a difference around the world.

 

My Business Is Coming Up

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Even though Ophelia Monyei might be new to entrepreneurship, she knows exactly what she wants. She describes herself as, ‘vivacious in nature, full of life and down to earth.’

On the Zidisha platform, there are entrepreneurs of all ages and levels of experience. For any new entrepreneur, starting a business can be extremely daunting. It can often feel like there are too many tasks for the time available, or often people are just unsure where to start.

For someone just getting started, a community like Zidisha provides more than just a way to raise funds, it’s also a community that shows people what is possible. When Zidisha business owners like Ophelia are able to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs throughout the Zidisha platform, they raise their awareness of the future and start to see a path unfold before them.

Ophelia shares, ‘This platform has really been helpful, I have started buying supplies for my business and soon it will grow. My business is coming up and will need to expand by getting a shop and then with time I can also employ individuals.’

In her business, Ophelia makes and sells wigs, clothing, and beads. She explains, ‘The wigs I make are 360 frontal, frontal, closures, braided to wigs, cornrow braids, twisted braids, ponytails, Bob wigs. Am also into cloth making such as peplum tops, skirts, gowns, bomber jackets, trousers, etc.’

So far in her Zidisha journey, Ophelia has raised 7 Zidisha funded loans, providing the necessary support and funds to get her business up and running. Her loans have ranged from $11 in January 2020 to her most recent of $360 in July 2020. As she started to see order requests rolling in, each additional loan allowed her to buy the necessary supplies to fulfill each of her orders.

However, as the threat of Covid-19 continued to spread, Ophelia made sure that she used her business to be part of the solution, selling face masks, hand sanitizers, hand wash, and food items as she explained, ‘it’s really selling during this crisis and it will help individuals get by and keep safe.’

On Jul 3, 2020, Ophelia went to her discussion page and had an update for her lenders as she wrote, ‘I want to thank all my lenders who have contributed one way or the other to see that my business grows. The business is picking up and will likely expand soon by getting a shop, this way I can also employ individuals and help with employment. Thanks a lot.’

Would you like to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur like Ophelia? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects Page to read about other Zidisha entrepreneurs helping their communities through the pandemic.

Selling Smocks All Over Ghana

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

‘My name is Ibrahim Alimyaw and I am twenty-five years of age. I belong to a family of five siblings and I am the second born to my parents. I couldn’t further my education after the basic school because I lost both my parents and life was so unbearable as my elder sister was finding it difficult to take care of us. So I decided to enter into something that can help me to take care of myself and my other siblings so I was introduced to smock sewing and weaving.’

Today, his entire business income comes from the smocks that he sells. Typically, the smocks are sold wholesale to his customers and then they are able to go and re-sell them. Ibrahim explains, ‘This helps me a lot and I have been able to train apprentices that are working with me and help me to produce or finish work on time so that customers can get smocks to purchase whenever they want to buy.’

Since joining Zidisha in 2020, Ibrahim has already raised 5 Zidisha funded loans, allowing him to continue working hard in his business, even during the present pandemic.

With his first loan in May 2020, of $27, Ibrahim hoped to purchase a smock sewing machine. He explained to his lenders that this machine would be helpful in working speedily and producing a greater number of orders on time. This would be especially helpful in producing fast, quality work for his repeat customers, allowing him to build good relationships with customers.

After having a positive experience with his first loan, he requested a second later the same month for $46 sharing, ‘Hello lenders I appreciate your efforts for helping me with the loan I just repaid and I thank you for that. This loan will be used to buy smock materials that will help me to be able to sew more of the smocks and in quantities to be able to meet my demands of my customers that will help me to produce as many as they want and it will also help me to get profits so that I will be able to make repayment on time also. This loan will be purposely used to buy materials needed for the smock sewing.’

In May, Ibrahim was able to share with lenders that his home country of Ghana was not on lockdown because of Covid-19 allowing him and his workers to continue operating at their normal levels.

By June, ready to continue growing his business, Ibrahim successfully raised two more loans, for $135 and $378, enabling him to buy larger numbers of smock sewing materials, and of course, also allowing him to increase his sales and profits.

Recently on June 19, he shared this humbling update on his discussion page as he wrote, ‘I am most humble and appreciate you, my good lenders, for your support. This loan will go a long way in helping me to buy more of the materials needed for my smocks sewing and weaving. Thank you so much for your support.’

Would you like to empower a hustling entrepreneur like Ibrahim? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about other successful Zidisha business owners around the world.

 

 

 

A Blessing to Humanity

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

“Benjamin Kwabena Agyei is my name. I come from Nkoranza, in the Bono East region of Ghana.” As a student, Benjamin received a strong educational start, with a scholarship to his Senior High School. Upon finishing high school, he continued his education, where he studied a Bachelor’s in Construction Technology at the University of Education, Winneba Ghana. Wanting to go even further, now he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship. He shares, ‘My dream is to become University lecturer, a renowned entrepreneur and a philanthropist targeting the homeless people.’

When he’s not working or studying, he loves spending time with his family, as he has a wife and 3 children, all boys.

Benjamin currently operates two businesses. The first is a cosmetics business and the second is an animal farming business. New to the Zidisha community, Benjamin shares where he currently is, and where he’d like to go with his business in the future, ‘I have started a cosmetics business, poultry farming piggery, and other livestock production. The cosmetic store is in full operation and my poultry business is also in an incubation period since the birds are now growing. I plan to add hair products and toiletries to the cosmetic store but I am limited with finance. I don’t want to put “all my eggs in one basket”, I was told is not good practice as an entrepreneur so I want to diversify my business by adding different products to the stock. If I am able to get a higher loan amount from lenders I will use it to stock the cosmetic store with hair products.’

While Benjamin has only been part of the Zidisha community since early 2020, he’s already been able to raise 4 Zidisha funded loans. With his first two loans of $13 and $23, Benjamin was able to purchase food for his livestock and re-stock his cosmetics store with hair supplies.

Seeing success with his first two loans, he requested a third loan in May 2020 for $39 and shared with lenders, ‘Part of the previous loan was used to purchase hair products for sale and the success story is that all the hair products are sold out, my customers are demanding for more hair products to buy so this loan will be used to purchase more hair products. Thank you.’

The following month, in June, Benjamin was able to raise his largest loan yet, $115. With this particular loan, he was able to increase his stock of products, by purchasing his items wholesale. He says, ‘In fact the hair business is very lucrative in my area.’ For Benjamin, receiving larger Zidisha funded loans and being able to purchase his products wholesale will continue to make a big difference in his business.

Recently, on Jun 26, 2020, Benjamin shared this update on his discussion page as he wrote, ‘Greetings lenders, the money was credited to my account yesterday so I took the money first thing this morning went to buy more hair products. Thank you very much. God richly bless you so that you continue becoming blessings to humanity.’

Would you like to impact the life of an entrepreneur like Benjamin? Make sure to head on over to the Browse Projects page to read about other Zidisha business owners changing their communities all around the world.

 

Corona Virus Should Not Be an Impediment

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

After spending 10 years working for the World Vision organization, Gedion Nyangweso made the decision to follow a new direction and become an entrepreneur. Gedion grew up in Western Kenya and completed his Secondary Schooling in Kisii.

Today, he is married and has six grown children who have completed university and are living on their own. During his time spent with World Vision, Gedion was able to continually save money towards his dream, until eventually he was able to quit his job and work on his poultry business with his wife.

Gedion explains, ‘I work with my wife in the poultry farm. The Poultry farm has been in existence for over five years. We supply live chicken to the neighbors and also eggs. Due to consistency since we started we have a stable customer base. The business is profitable because there is high demand for white meat and especially the local chicken which is what we are keeping and also the eggs which are preferred by most people.’

Overall, Gedion has found that his two largest business challenges have been diseases and expensive costs of feed for the chickens.

As a member of the Zidisha community, Gedion has been able to raise 9 Zidisha funded loans since joining in 2015 ranging in amounts from $100 to $1,460. With each Zidsha loan, Gedion has been able to buy additional chicks, chickens, vaccines, and feeds. As a new entrepreneur, part of his vision was to be able to grow his business and eventually hire additional workers throughout his community.

As most entrepreneurs would agree, Gedion’s entrepreneurial has not been linear, with setbacks and frustrations along the way. In late 2019, he lost half of his chickens due to disease, taking a big hit to business in the process. However, he was slowly able to recover, sharing this update a few months later, ‘Despite the disaster of losing more than half of my birds I thank God for enabling me to service my loan. I’m in the process of raising another bunch of birds and goats. My maize fetched 10 bags. Thanks my donors.’

While the Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone, Gedion is continuing to work hard and do what he can to continue operating his business. On May 15, 2020, he wrote, ‘Despite the Corona pandemic God has been faithful and has kept us. We are just finalizing on cultivating our small shamba. My goat gave birth to twins which I have named Susana and Tito.’

Recently, in June 2020, Gedion raised $1,460 and shared, ‘This loan will enable me to increase my chick breeds which will give me 3 trays of kienyeji/ traditional eggs in high demand within my area. Also because of subsidization I am farming about an acre of maize. I will buy seeds, fertilizers, vaccines and harrowing and planting. I am also applying diversification by keeping animals. Currently I have six (6) goats. Two of which are now three months old. Corona virus should not be an impediment for normal life to go on. Keeping animals is an activity I enjoy because its Zero grazing. Chicken handling is also possible by keeping safe and following the government regulations and keeping distance.’

While the journey hasn’t been easy, Gedion has been able to show resilience and perseverance in every challenge that has been put in his path.

Would you like to impact the life of an entrepreneur like Gedion? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about Zidisha business owners around the world.

Healthy With Hope

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Paul Hodji shares, ‘I was born in an area where people do not value education but I managed to educate myself to an average level.’ Nevertheless, Paul was able to use his natural curiosity to continue learning as much as he could on his own. This eventually led to him using everything he’d learned about marketing to teach in a technical school.

Like many other Zidisha entrepreneurs, he jumped into entrepreneurship out of a desire to create an additional stream of income for himself and his family. He says, ‘Having realized the need to create additional income, I decided to go into distribution of health products. With the proceeds, I am able to pay children’s school fees as well as feed my family.’

In his business, Paul is a distributor for health products. This means that he is able to buy health products such as, vitamins, garlic, calcium, spirulina, etc. at wholesale costs. Then, he is able to distribute these products directly to his customers. He’s also found that he’s been able to keep his costs at a minimum. Aside from the cost of inventory, transportation, and basic bills, he has been able to streamline and keep his costs low.

Through his business, Paul is able to maintain a profit of about 40% and uses his earnings to take care of his family needs. With the remainder he is also able to continually re-invest into his business. Paul explains that, ‘The demand for health products is high and my customers respond favorably with repeat orders.’

Paul is now a seasoned member of the Zidisha community, as he received his first loan back in July 2015, raising $100. With this first loan he was in a great position to increase his inventory of, ‘ginseng, spirulina, omega 3 capsules, and calcium.’ Throughout 2015 and 2016, Paul raised two additional loans, allowing him to stay on top of his inventory levels.

Samples of Paul’s health products

To share his thanks and appreciation, Paul shared this message on his discussion page on October 17, 2016, ‘Dear Lenders, I joyfully received the loan I requested for this evening. I appreciate your kind gesture and do my best as usual to use it to purchase and supply the health products for my customers.’

As Paul continued to receive loans from the Zidisha community, he was able to see a transformation in his business and life, ‘With the Zidisha loans I have been receiving so far in purchasing and supplying of health products, I can clearly see that I am able to stand the test of time and making steady progress in my business venture. The profits I derive enable me to take care of the household and other social responsibilities such as helping the less privileged in my community such as obtaining the national health certificate to children.’

Paul has also discovered that his business has allowed him to build credibility with wonderful people throughout his community. He says, ‘It makes me lead a satisfied life also. There are some occasions where some other health products are demanded that are not my normal supplies but with availability of funds l am able to cope with the demand hassle free. By this the customers increase and then increase in profit also.’

Like others around the world, Paul is currently witnessing the impact of Covid-19 in his local community and country. To continually be part of the solution, Paul raised $1,065 from the Zidisha community in June, 2020 to purchase liquid soap, hand sanitizer, paper napkins, thermometers, and face masks.

Most recently, on June 14, 2020, he shared this update with lenders, ‘The Zidisha loan has been a lot of help to me in that l have been able to evolve in my personal progress and my dependents and prompt delivery of goods to my customers as soon as they requested for supply of health products that l deal in. With the change of situations the world all over, l was able to withstand the changes as what they required since they are health related products. As money is available l quickly go for the required items and supply. What is in demand now is Digital Thermometer, Hand sanitizer, paper napkins, liquid soap and few others. In effect, the previous loans keep me going despite the challenges.’

Would you like to help an entrepreneur like Paul, helping his community during Covid-19? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about our other Zidisha business owners around the world.