By Betsy Ramser Jaime
Alfred Ofori lives in Accra, Ghana, and is a truck and sand supply operator.
Previously he completed a maintenance engineering course at the Schottel Academy in Germany in 2012.
Alfred raised his first Zidisha funded loan in April 2021 and sought out Zidisha as a way to receive funds to purchase more materials and supplies for his business.
With several more loans between April and August 2021, Alfred continued to raise funds to keep up with the customer demand.
As he raised $200 in May, he shared, ‘As soon as receiving the Zidisha loan into my account, it will automatically help my input for purchasing more materials for supplies, sand, and gravel Stone. l will also make use of a small part of it to support a new engineering maintenance contract which l have secured.’
Then, a month later, in June, he secured $308 in funding and continued, ‘My Zidisha Loan is always in the business plan budget. It goes straight to the site of the loading point to get my order in time, for me to give the best service for my clients, and to meet up their high request demands for more supplies, sand, and quarry stones in tons. Clients’ demands are high but not enough capital to meet up the required demand. However, Zidisha loan has played a big role both financially and physically changed my life.’
Following his video, Alfred shared, ‘Please if the funds have been raised into my account, l will divide it into two. As a result of my video posted, l don’t know how the contract is going to be, since l will be the one to prefinance the material supplier. Money could be a problem if requests for material demands raise at the new site. Where the client’s demands will be high is where this loan will be pumped into. lt will also help me to readjust and increase installment repayment before the due date. I am therefore begging you lenders and the support team to help me quickly grant my loan please. Thanks and God bless you all.’
In November 2021, Alfred was able to raise his largest Zidisha funded loan to date, raising $416. Following the loan, he took to his discussion page and kindly wrote, ‘First of all, l thank God for making it possible through the help and support from the members who funded my project loan. God bless you all abundantly. This fund will all go for materials purchase, for more trips of quarry stones and sand supply. lt will increase my earnings to enable me to repay my loan on time. To my contributors and the Zidisha team, God richly bless you, and protect you and your businesses, and please stay safe always. Am grateful.’
Would you like to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur like Alfred? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects page to see how other Zidisha business owners are changing their families and communities around the world.
Betsy is a Writer and Editor living in Florida with her husband. She has been writing with Zidisha for 5 years and loves sharing the inspiring stories of Zidisha entrepreneurs. You can connect with her on her personal website.
