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.
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.
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.
