Business expansion

Entrepreneur

About Me

I am Andrew Agutu Opiyo, I am the 3nd born in a family of the late Paul where's raised by my grandmother who was very friendly . I was born and raised up in a good environment where I could help in the daily chores in an island of Rusinga in Lake Victoria. I grew up in a Christian family background and went through my formal education successfully as my parents were responsible and worked hard to educate their children.

After I completed my high school, I joined a local youth group that was conducting hand crafts and woodwork training for the out of school youths. I successfully completed my 12 months training and started a handcraft workshop in the island of Rusinga where I do make handicrafts and sell to the locals and tourists that visit Mbita region for Lake Victoria excursions.

I am married and we have 5 children who are all going to school. My 1st born is in grade six and the last born has joined pre-school this year. In my free time, I do participate in environmental conservation in my village.

My Business

I run a small handicrafts business. The products that i sell include wooden, stone, leather products that I make myself. I do train young people in my handicrafts workshop too. I have also engaged the services of experienced carvers from the community to make special high quality carvings. I fund my business from my own personal savings but we have challenges meetings customers orders as we don't have enough materials to make products.
We have many orders of handicrafts from Japan, USA, South Africa and Switzerland. My business promotes sustainable Kenyan woodcarvings as well by encouraging the use of farm-grown trees instead of threatened hardwoods for carving, thereby securing carvers’ livelihoods and providing a new income source for many poor rural villagers. Woodcarvings made from Neem (locally known as “Mwarubaini”) rather than over-harvested hardwoods, such as ebony, can now carry the FSC logo, giving consumers peace of mind that the carvings have not contributed to the destruction of the forests of Kenya.

My business is doing well and I have focussed on expansion to enable me meet the ever growing demand for my handcrafts products. I am seeking loans from ZIDISHA to enable me expand the business. In addition, I your loan had helped me a lot and now I am planning to expand my business to a nearby beach.

Loan Proposal

My business is profitable as I make handcrafts that I sell to the local residents and tourists that visitsMbita region for excursions. They like my handicrafts as they are environmental friendlymade and are beautiful. I sell the handicrafts as low as US$16 - US$80 and I sell at US$30- US$100depending on each item .I get a profit of US$400 every month. Iinvested the profit intomy business and now I have expanded it andemployed two widowed women who are helping me in making the handicrafts.I will use this Zidisha loan to buy more materials to make a big stock of handmade arts and crafts for sale at a profit and uplift their economic status. I willbe grateful to Zidisha lenders for giving me a hand once again.I promise to invest wisely and repay my loan promptly.

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