Going Back To His Roots

By Betsy Ramser Jaime

Stanely Njoroge, was born into a large family as the third born of a family of eight. As a child he was able to attend Kimorori Primary and and afterwards completed Kariguini Secondary where he received his KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) in 2008. Not having the funds to attend college, Stanley decided to start farming. Then, he received an opportunity to work at his uncles shop. Sadly, in 2015 the shop was attacked my robbers, stealing both money and shop inventory. This meant that his uncle would not be able to pay him, leaving him to find an alternative source of employment.

While the situation of being on his own wasn’t ideal, Stanley was able to make observations and come up with a simple business idea to get him started with entrepreneurship. His idea was to start selling plastic bags in the markets and in small shops throughout his town.

He explains his idea as he shares, ‘My business is selling plastic bags in the market and small shops. I chose this business because many people use plastic bags for carrying simple things from the market and shops, and it needed a small amount of capital.’

While he was able to get himself up and running, Stanley quickly realized that he would need an influx of cash to keep growing and hire additional workers, growth that he wouldn’t be able to make happen on his own. However, with the help of Zidisha, he’s been able to grow and expand.

With his first Zidisha funded loan of $100, Stanley was able to use 60% of the loan to increase his inventory and 40% of the loan to open a kiosk and hire an additional worker.

By the end of the year, Stanley was already coming up with new ideas for how to grow his business. With his second Zidisha funded loan, he was able to raise, $190. He used $50 of the loan to purchase additional inventory and used the remainder to buy a bicycle which he would be able to use to make transporting his inventory easier, rather than having to walk long distances.

By April 2017, Stanley was pleased with where his business was headed and was also appreciative for the increase in his standard of living. As he prepared for his third Zidisha funded loan, he shared, ‘My plan is to add all kinds of plastic bags in my business and to increase my stock at large. 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 4kg will cost me $100. Also, I will add plastic hand bag known as Marlboro which will cost me $50. I will also buy v 22, v15, and v30 and that will cost me $50. I’m also planning to employ a coworker who will help me to supply bags from shop to shop which will increase my profit and save my time.’

Like many other Zidisha entrepreneurs, Stanley eventually decided to pivot and move into a different business, going back to his roots, farming. With the help of a $337 loan from Zidisha lenders in July 2017, Stanley was able to purchase quality cabbage seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, and a second hand water pumping generator. He also put a little money aside for land preparing costs and labor expenses as well.

Most recently, as of September 2019, Stanley is continuing to work hard and is still farming. With a September loan of $337, Stanley will be able to continue preparing his land, purchasing additional seeds, buying herbicides, fertilizer, pesticides, and tools. In addition, this loan will also enable him to buy a smartphone to help him run his business and he also requires some manual labor help.

On September 2, 2019, Stanley shared this encouraging update with his lenders, ‘My previous loan has helped me to improve my living standards and has helped me to raise my family and pay school fees for my siblings and also my parents in the village.’

Would you like to be able to help an entrepreneur like Stanley take his or her business to the next level? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to read about our other Zidisha business owners,