Adding stock into my grocery store

Entrepreneur

About Me

I was born in Central province, but grew up in Rift Valley in a duty town called Gilgil. When growing up, grazing my parents' cows, goats and sheep was the order of the day as long as it was not a school day. Grazing was being subsituted with going to the farm where we used to grow maize, beans, potatoes and peas. My father used to run a retail shop and occasionally he would let my brothers and I run it. The greatest hardship I went through was lack of school fees especially after I joined high school. But I used to sneak back to school to study even after being chased away by the headmaster due to lack of fees. This gave me a determination that I must work hard at all the time and ensure my children don't go through such a difficult life. Being exposed to running my dad's shop gave me the urge to start mine. And I am glad I am running a shop today outside my formal employment. My eldest daughter who is 11 years old wants to be a doctor when she grows up. My son who is 4 years old wants to become a pilot. The last born daughter is 6 years. My hobby actually is reading materials related to running a business.

My Business

My business goes by the name Bag & Bags. The business sells new and second hand bags and clothes. It is located along Kiambu Road.
The objective is to be a one stop shop for busy shoppers who want to look good but at an affordable price. The designer bags are meant to make sure customer gets enough space to put his or her stuff but at an affordable price. This calls for stocking of smart products especially for the common Kenyans citizen who either has no time or enough cash to purchase items from the big supermarkets in shopping malls.
I ensure the customers get the items they need at affordable prices, best quality and quantities that match their pockets. Since its establishment 4 years now , the shop has attracted a huge number of customers and this is on an upward trajectory.
My plan is to expand it even further and introduce new products/items which presently are not on the shelves. But stocking of the products is primarily demand driven. After being funded by Zidisha, I introduced M-Pesa services (Mobile money service) which is doing very well. The shop is also now well branded. But with increasing sales, I have come to learn I need to buy more things to serve customers better. I need to expand the variety of products I sell. I need to stock items which customers have been asking for yet I don't have.

Loan Proposal

I am seeking a loan of US$ 587 (Kenya Shillings 59,865) primarily to add stock at the store and also boost my float for the Mpesa business. Currently, the stock I have at the shop is roughly valued at US$ 1,470 (Kenya Shillings 150,000).
I am intending to boost this by about US$ 391 (Ksh 40,000). My focus mostly is to boost food supplies such as wheat and maize flour which are on high demand. Other food related supplies that I am intending to purchase include rice, cooking oil, cooking fat as well as beverages. I am prioritising the food related items because I have l learned that they are actually the fastest moving and also their profit margin is good compared to other goods at the shop.
For the balance of USD$ 196 (Ksh 20,000), I am intending to use that to boost my Mpesa business float. At the moment, I am operating with a float of US$ 100 (about Ksh 10,000) which is far below the minimum recommended of US$ 200 (Ksh 20,000). This simply means that I am not able to adequately serve my customers as many are the times some customers are turned away because there is no cash to either deposit or withdraw for them. This can be corrected by increasing my float, which eventually I intend boost to a total of US$ 1,000 (Ksh 100,000). When that will be actualised, i will easily offer services to clients without telling others that there is no service because of limited funds. The loan I am applying for is just one step towards that direction.
My humble prayer is that you positively consider my application.

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