Agnes Kiambi

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Agnes Kiambi by Action Now: Kenya in Kenya. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 8 - 15 months, Action Now: Kenya will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Agnes Kiambi was one anxious lady. She couldn't wait to receive her loan, and she kept on following up to know how far it has gone. ANK then eventually called her, and informed her that her loan was ready. She availed herself to the office very early the next morning, and she looked really beautiful and she was really excited. She was so happy to buy her equipment, and to date, she has been telling everyone how happy she is.

Agnes received a loan of USD 625 and using the loan, she was able to purchase various equipment including 12 inch Television set, Hair Steamer, Hair drier , blow drier, two seats and one training dummy. She just couldn't believe it. She looks forward towards continuing to repay her loan, and she is very greatful to her lenders. She says that sincerely, she is touched by your love. She was even happier to receive her messages from the lenders, and says Thank you so much. On behalf of Agnes Kiambi, we at ANK say Thank you very much.

Competition is stiff for hairdressing in Nairobi’s slums, since there are many salons around, and before her Kiva loan, Agnes was struggling to keep customers, and her business was not constant. However, since she has received the extra equipment, Agnes is able to compete with the other salons- even the one that is only a few feet from her shop. The blowdryer, chairs, television etc has improved her business greatly, and she can look forward to bringing in about Ksh 1,500 ($23) on a good day. She is now able to compete, and keep her customers coming back. Her loan, and subsequent improvements to her business has also had the trickle down effect of allowing her to feed her brothers and sisters more nutritious food, all 8 of them!

Agnes Kiambi is greatly thrilled by the fact that the equipment she bought is attracting more and more customers in her salon, and this is enabling her to keep more customers coming back. She is now finding that her salon continues to get more full, and she is managing to serve her customers efficiently. She generally says with a big smile on her face, " I'm not complaining!" This is very rare to hear, in this side of the world, where every time almost everyone has a reason why they want to complain. Agnes looks forward to continue making her loan repayments, and says that she is happy about her loan.

Agnes is pregnant! (six months) and while a baby is joyful, her pregnancy is causing a few stresses for her and her business. As a hair stylist, Agnes spends the majority of her day on her feet, but she is currently suffering from a serious bout of swollen legs (varicose veins) which makes it difficult for her to work all day. Last time ANK visited her she looked like she was suffering physically from her pregnancy, but her shop was still open and she was employing an apprentice to keep the shop running. ANK was excited to see that she had taken on another employee in order that she can keep her salon open while she is feeling sick and we hope that she will soon recover and give birth to a healthy baby. Her salon is a popular place in Kayole and Agnes would like to thank her lenders.

Agnes is pregnant! (six months) and while a baby is joyful, her pregnancy is causing a few stresses for her and her business. As a hair stylist, Agnes spends the majority of her day on her feet, but she is currently suffering from a serious bout of swollen legs (varicose veins) which makes it difficult for her to work all day. Last time ANK visited her she looked like she was suffering physically from her pregnancy, but her shop was still open and she was employing an apprentice to keep the shop running. ANK was excited to see that she had taken on another employee in order that she can keep her salon open while she is feeling sick and we hope that she will soon recover and give birth to a healthy baby. Her salon is a popular place in Kayole and Agnes would like to thank her lenders.

Agnes is doing well, though she spends most of her days bed-ridden on doctor's orders. She is in her eighth month of pregnancy.

First of all, the great news is that Agnes Kiambi now has a beautiful baby boy named Emmanuel! He is now 4 months old and can light up the entire salon with his smile! On weekdays when business is a little bit slower, Agnes is able to spend time with Emmanuel while Gladys, a young woman studying hairdressing and beauty through another Action Now: Kenya program, manages business. On weekends, there is often a line of customers out the door of Agnes’s salon! So thanks to her Kiva loan, Agnes is able to spend extra time with her son and offer valuable training to another young woman from Kayole.

--posted on July 14, 2008 by Triin Vallaste and Jeffers Engelhardt

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 Agnes Kiambi

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.

Agnes received a loan of USD 625 and using the loan, she was able to purchase various equipment including; 12 inch Television set, Hair Steamer, Hair drier, blow drier, two seats and one training dummy. Despite the competition Agnes was so determined to make it work the job and was paying very well and was able to support her sibling and children. As a hair stylist, Agnes spends the majority of her day on her feet, and at some point she fell sick suffering from a serious bout of swollen legs (varicose veins) which made it difficult for her to work all day. Agnes suffered physically from her pregnancy, but her shop still remained open and she temporarily employed an apprentice; to keep the shop running. Agnes was doing well, though she used to spend most of her days bed-ridden on doctor's orders. After giving birth Agnes had a problem in terms of health and one time she was hospitalized for about one month. Currently she has a problem of repayment as her husband does not receive salary due to a problem that occurred at work. So she has to take care of the family, pay rent and also repay her loan. However she is happy because her baby Emmanuel is growing up well a fact that is very encouraging to her.

On behalf of ANK staff