Here is another great update from Vivien in Kenya!
Hello Lenders,
My name is Vivien Barbier and I’m one of the Zidisha current client relationship interns for Kenya. Today, I visited Obed Njuki in Ongata Rongai. We had a long talk about his business and its future development.
After studying graphical design in college, Obed went to work for different printing company to put in practice his theoretical knowledge. He spent two years learning what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur in this industry. He has now quit his former job to open his own printing business and is determined to make it work. This is why he asked Zidisha for a loan to buy the printing machine that you can see on the picture. When I was visiting him, he was about to sent to a senator candidate a brochure about his products. The election that will soon take place in Kenya is a big opportunity for Obed’s business. Candidates will need to print tract, banners and T-shirt. This is why Obed is trying very hard to convince them to do business with him. One of the challenges that Obed is facing here is to make sure that these candidates will remember him when it comes to select who will print all the campaign material.
He also told me that this is Zidisha’s loan that made the brochure for the senator candidate possible. After repaying this loan, he plans to apply for a bigger one that will allow him to buy machine able to print up to 5 colors on the same T-shirt.
We had a very interesting discussion about what he could do to grow his printing business. He was thinking to send samples to potential customers so that they can see the quality of his work. I hope that some of my ideas will help him to launch new products.
Vivien
28th June 2012
Nairobi, Kenya
