Solar-power generator for my cybercafe

Mike

Mazabuka, Zambia

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Mike

Member since

February 2014

On-time repayments

181 installments  •  16%

About Me

I am a middle-aged Businessman running two Internet Cafes in Mazabuka and Monze. I also own two complete houses in one town and city.
I am married to a Degree Holder with a job and we have two children. I am a distinction student, hard worker and self believer. I am also a Community participator.
Mazabuka is a small Sugar Growing town, surrounded by serious Diary and Crop Farmers both commercial and subsistence farmers. The town has a Nickel Mine 70kms away.

My Business

The Business (Noriasys Ltd) was established in 2008 and we are continuing to grow it organically without taking too much risks. As already mentioned, we operate Makwembo Internet Cafe in two locations and a small subsistence farm for general agriculture. We employ FIVE people on a permanent basis. We plan to continue growing our businesses within our means while enjoying life. We are very particular on how the surrounding communities in which we do our business benefit from our presence. Our current turnover is just around US$25,000=00 and slowly growing.
My pastime is spent mostly at the LIONS Club and playing social Golf with a lot of reading for my Business Management degree.

Loan Proposal

CAUSE:
Our Country is experiencing an unprecedented power deficit due to inadequate rainfall from the previous season. As a result our national GRID HYDRO POWER SUPPLY is failing to meet the country demand and having a severe impact on my Internet Businesses with 30% revenue loss from June 2015 to July 2015 alone due to constant load shedding. The situation will only get worse before it improves.
SOLUTION:
A small inexpensive HYBRID SOLAR POWER SYSTEM (HSPS) supplying me with 1-2000W of stable power will ensure I restore my revenue base until the national grid supply normalizes. The HSPS should cost me between US$500 and US$700 to install.
OTHER BENEFITS:
This solution should pay for itself in the long run from several points of view as follows;
(1) Customer retention and increase in customer base from the competition without power backup solutions. This could also result in increased revenue if marketed well.
(2) Power cost savings for my business from NON-GRID solar source for the life of the unit.

Feedback

6

None

None



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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$517.00

Date disbursed

Aug 21, 2015

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

37 months

Lenders

johnfay

Lusaka, Zambia, South Africa

johnandmoliehi

Canton, New York, United States

Svenip

Vienna, Austria

kuebel

Vienna, Austria

JimVandegriff

Trinidad, California, United States

Jonas Sweep

Utrecht, Netherlands

M

Mårten

Inden, Switzerland

T

tkromm

Agia Paraskevi, Greece

fairspirit

Utrecht, Netherlands

F

flaguy999

Tampa, United States

Bobrm2k3

Charleston, United States

J

Johannes

Pirmasens, Germany

Treesforpeople

Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

L

laidas

Vilnius, Lithuania

DainS

Peregian Beach, Australia

xtrahardware

Cazenovia, United States

Freewolf

Salt Lake City, United States

N

neumans7

Vienna, Austria

J

JacobvdW

Netherlands

lyalljellyman

Wellington, New Zealand

D

DaveElliott

United Kingdom

mepster

San Francisco, Ca, United States

kiwiyan

Wellington, New Zealand

Alberto Cereser

Copenhagen, Denmark

B

Bernhard

Baden - Baden, Germany

SL

Samuel Le

Seattle, WA, United States

Roy

Espoo, Finland

MW

Matt Willis

United States

Lou Kaucic

Sanbornton, NH, United States

S

Stein

Diest, Belgium

PT

Paul T

Amsterdam, Netherlands

MR

Michiel Rauws

San Francisco, Netherlands

wissam

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Ask Mike a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.

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  • Mike    Apr 14, 2022

    To enable me settle debt within my means. My business is only able to generate 550 per week making it only possible to make 20% repayment.

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  • Mike    Jun 17, 2019

    Was away from station for a couple of months.

    Now back to service my over debt. Continuing with a ZMW100 repayment today.

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  • Mike    Feb 26, 2019

    Reached my First milestone ==> 51% repaid with a month to spare.
    Should be debt free by end of 2019.
    Thanks for continued support and patience of Zidisha lenders.

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  • Mike    Dec 19, 2018

    Repaying slowly but sure.
    Should finish repaying in FULL in 2019 by the grace of God.
    Have a Merry Christmas and wonderful 2019.

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  • Mike    Feb 4, 2017

    I have been away from Zidisha for awhile. Now that I am settling down would like to quickly clear the backlog as more resources become available.

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  • Mike    Jan 22, 2017

    I am back people. Apologies for having gone dead literally due to very tight National commitments. Now I do not know where to start except try and normalize my borrowing position. Cheers.

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  • Johannes    Oct 5, 2016

    Hello Mike. Hello Zidisha. What has happened to this loan? Did it default? It is not very encouraging to hear nothing for almost a year.

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  • Mike    Nov 16, 2015

    Zambia's economic down-turn has caught up with me. I really need to take it really slow for commitments such as this. I will be paying much more as my cash flow position improves and will adjust the repayment plan as conditions change. The idea is to make the repayment as quickly as possible without stressing my business operation, performance and sustainability.

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    • Mårten    Dec 19, 2015

      Merry Christmas Mike, to you & yours!

      How are you and the customers doing?

      All the best
      Mårten

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  • Roy    Nov 8, 2015

    Hello Mike. How are you?
    Are you aware that not maintaining a 95% repayment rate will limit the size of future loans?

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  • Mike    Oct 30, 2015

    Good news that 50% of the Members I am mentoring are now UP-TO-DATE!

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  • Mike    Oct 30, 2015

    Roy, I am fine. I had traveled to Namibia, a neighbouring country to checkout something. I should normalise my repayment position by next weekend (1st Week of November 2015). Cheers.

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  • Roy    Oct 29, 2015

    Mike, How are you?

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  • Mike    Sep 27, 2015

    Could not process repayments on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th due to SYSTEM FAILURES with MTN MOBILE MONEY (Zambia). Will try on Monday again but will be late by 24hrs!

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  • Mike    Sep 4, 2015

    Managed to source a Hybrid Inventor and Two Storage Batteries locally.
    I am now looking for at least TWO 100W SOLAR PANELS. This should give me a stable source of Power for only HALF my equipment at one of the two sites. At least I will not go hungry . . . .?

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  • Mike    Aug 29, 2015

    FIRST REPAYMENT MADE YESTERDAY.
    The cost of the solar panels has gone up while government has zero rated importation of solar equipment.
    All I know is that I have a small window to work fast on this project before the power outages get worse and affect my business.

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  • Mike    Aug 22, 2015

    We have finally RECEIVED the disbursement after a long while.
    Unfortunately some project benchmarks such as material cost have changed as a result of the delay. We will do our best to salvage the situation as the project is absolutely essential and MUST SUCCEED. I will keep the lenders informed on the progress. Thanks.

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  • Mike    Aug 4, 2015

    Thank you to all the Lenders for this timely help. We completed the design of the HSPS with my electrician over the weekend. Just finalizing the solution for safely securing the panels on the roof. I will keep you posted as usual on the progress. Thanks again.

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  • Kevin    Aug 3, 2015

    All the best in your proposal Mike.
    To lenders, kindly visit my page too.
    Thank you.

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  • Mike    Jul 28, 2015

    Roy,
    Thanks for the encouragement!

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  • Mike    Jul 25, 2015

    PAID LAST INSTALLMENT TODAY.

    Still waiting for the Cartridges. But I am confident they will arrive soon and then things should fall in place.
    Thanks to all the lenders for the help again.
    My business is performing better and growing slowly.

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    • Roy    Jul 25, 2015

      Nice to hear. :-)
      Growing slowly, is not so bad....It is easier to plan and deal with the changes in an intelligent manner....if it is rapid growth, it is all too easy to make poor choices....be it a new location, a new piece of equipment or a new employee.
      Good luck!

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