Barasa Mukanda

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Barasa Mukanda by People Microcredit Investment Bureau in Kenya. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 6 - 6 months, People Microcredit Investment Bureau will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Barasa’s loan through Kiva has allowed him to increase his stock of maize, and consequently boost his profits. Prior to his Kiva loan, Barasa sold 52 bags of maize a week, but with the influx of capital, he is now able to sell 60 bags/week. His buyers include individual families, as well as shopkeepers who make purchases wholesale.

In order to supplement his cereals business, Barasa also sells shoes. In Kenya, second hand shoes are shipped into the port city, Mombassa. From there, trucks drive them around country, where they are bought wholesale by shoe vendors. While shoe selling only makes up a small portion of his business, Barasa is able to sell about 8 pairs a week, at a price ranging from 350-400 Ksh each.

Barasa has ambition to continue to expand his business in order to support his family of one wife and five children. His immediate tangible goals are to own his shop instead of paying rent, as well as open a new branch in a new location. The businessman hopes that this will help him pay for the education of his children so that they can have a better life. While primary education is supposedly free in Kenya, there are still many other expenses that families face, including uniforms, books, tests, school upkeep, etc. Moreover, the steep costs of high school education must be completely paid by families—which makes secondary education a product of tremendous sacrifice, and in some cases an impossibility.