Mercy Vilita Lungu

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Mercy Vilita Lungu by Action Now: Kenya (ANK) in Kenya. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 13 months, Action Now: Kenya (ANK) will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Mercy Vilita received a loan of Ksh. 30,000. With this money restocked her business and bought a better sewing machine. She bought fabrics that she used for making table cloths and kangas that she uses to make clothes. With the new machine she is able to work faster and in a day she can make a set of table clothes that costs on average Ksh. 1000 each. She also physically extended her business that led to an increase in her rent to Ksh. 1,500 but she can still afford to pay and make a profit. With this expansion, she has also taken up some students who she trains in tailoring and has one employee who assists her with business and also with the training.

In a week on average after receiving the loan, she now makes Ksh: 4,000 and with this she can cater for her children’s expenses and even assist her husband in providing for the family for example chipping in on rent and school fees. The loan has really changed her life and that of her family.

With the successful repayment of her first loan, she is planning to take up anther loan and start making curtains and children’s wear so as to add more variety to her business. She is very grateful to the KIVA lenders for the loan and for bringing this change into her life.

Action Now Kenya held a three-day business training seminar for approximately 25 borrowers on November 27-29. Many of the borrowers who attended were also Kiva borrowers, such as Mercy Vilita

I attended 2 days of the training, which was held in a mix of Swahili and English, in order to ensure that all clients understood all of the information in the seminar.

I spoke with many of the clients, and they assured me that such a seminar was extremely helpful for them and for their businesses; indeed, most of the borrowers had never attended such a seminar or received any formal business training whatsoever. Most borrowers never had the opportunity to attend college and many had not finished high school.

ANK brought in a CPA/financial consultant to teach them basic bookkeeping and record-keeping techniques, financial planning, business planning and various business-strategy techniques. Also, the Kenyan Revenue Authority (the Kenyan IRS) came in on Day 2 in order to discuss taxes and other fees associated with business. Some small business in Kenya have in the past been conned into paying taxes to a fraudulent tax collector who simply shows up with a fake badge and demands money and intimidates the business owner. Now, the business owners know what to look for, what kinds of questions they should ask, how to defend themselves against fraudulent conmen, and how to engage the actual tax collectors.

Such experts were immensely helpful to the borrowers, as they normally would not have access to government officials (like the KRA) or the money to speak with a financial consultant.

What was also quite impressive was the hope and optimism it gave the borrowers. Many of them have been struggling in the post-election violence environment and also with the recent price spikes in energy and various staple foods, such as corn and wheat flours. Topics such as “business planning” were something completely new to them, as most people approach their businesses on a day-to-day basis and were caught completely off-guard by these sharp price increases.

Although the concept of planning for the future may seem obvious to many people, the borrowers are used to living on a more immediate, day-to-day schedule. The borrowers have always been capable of planning ahead, but have never implemented it as part of their business. But now, with the shock of the recent price spikes and the ideas they learned about at the training, the borrowers realize the importance of planning ahead, not only strategically but also financially.

Some quotes from borrowers at the training:

“I was considering shutting down my restaurant, but now I think that I can make some plans and figure out a way to cut costs and stay open”

“Right now I am selling pants for women, but after hearing about diversifying in the training, I will try to be a one-stop-shop for women’s clothing, and offer handbags, shoes, and shirts. My wholesaler sells all of those things, so I should just buy them in bulk and sell them”

“Now I see that I should take my profit and save some of it for emergencies, and then put the other part back into my business”

“Maybe I will not need any more loans in a few years”

It cannot be underestimated how this training affected the outlook of the clients. The concepts that were introduced during the training were completely new for almost all of them and it gave them hope that they can do something to change their business, beyond just waiting and hoping for customers to show up.

Dear Lender,

This is an update on your loan to a borrower working with Action Now: Kenya in Kenya. Thank you for supporting low-income entrepreneurs by lending through Kiva.

You may have noticed that repayments on this loan have not been coming in for quite some time. After detailed investigation by Kiva representatives in Kenya, our team has determined that further repayments on your loan will be considerably delayed. However, Kiva staff are working closely with our Field Partner, Action Now: Kenya, who manages this loan on the ground to arrange the gradual repayment of your loan. To learn more, please visit:

http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=36

Although your loan is delinquent, we hope you realize that over 95% of loans on Kiva have been repaid in full and that you'll give lending to developing world entrepreneurs another chance in the future.

Thank you,

Ben Elberger

Kiva Staff

Microfinance Partnerships Manager