Your Help Has Made Me the Person I Want to Be

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

‘My name is Muyunda. I am a Zambian citizen aged 27.’ Muyunda lives in the Matero compound and was able to complete his secondary schooling back in 2016. Upon graduating, he didn’t have the funds to attend college, and decided to start his own business instead.

Today Muyunda operates a car wash in his city. As he joined Zidisha, he shared his struggles saying, ‘Dear lenders I have come to ask for financial support from you, I have a car wash in town but I do not have the proper machinery to improve my business. I am applying for a loan so that I can buy a washing machine and a genset for my business to move forward.’

Since joining Zidisha in February 2021, Muyunda has now raised 7 Zidisha funded loans ranging from $34 to $442. Through the support of Zidisha, Muyunda has kept his business going, allowing him to support his family and pay his bills.

By March 2021, Muyunda was ready for his second loan sharing, ‘I want to buy machinery for my car wash business, I have a lot of customers but I have become stuck sometimes due to the low pressure of my machine. So I am asking for financial support from you.’

With his following two loans in April for $88 and $141, he was able to purchase washing paste, used for washing cars. He also set out to look for new machinery as his current one seemed to be giving him problems.

Shortly thereafter, Muyunda took to his discussion page and shared this update, ‘Dear lenders, thank you for coming through to help a poor Zambian. Your help has really made me the person I have wanted to be. I don’t have everything I have always wanted to have but I AM very close. Because you never rest just to see me helped.’

In addition to his car wash, Muyunda decided to diversify his business efforts by adding a mobile money transactions booth, requesting a $442 loan from Zidisha lenders in June to help make it happen.

Later on that same month he also received a $64 loan sharing, ‘I want to buy a horse pipe for the washing machine so that it can give me access to the distance. This business will improve as time goes by, and I also want to go into another business that is going to give me some cash.’

So far, Muyunda’s hard work and investment is paying off as he is able to support his family and continually grow his business ventures.

Would you like to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur like Muyunda? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to see what other Zidisha business owners are doing around the world.