adventurerneil    Feb 17, 2013

Greetings lenders! My name is Neil DiMuccio, and I am a Client Relationship Manager with Zidisha in Kenya. I am currently visiting borrowers to learn more about them and support them with their Zidisha loans. It is my hope that this work will build bridges to better connection and understanding, and that Zidisha and its borrowers will increasingly grow, communicate, and support each other.

I recently had the opportunity to meet and work extensively with Robert Ndungu, who also goes by Robert Njoroge. To be perfectly honest, I was thrilled to meet this man, because he was the first person I had lent to using the Zidisha platform last year! I decided to lend to Robert because he was offering a high interest rate (at the time), because he had numerous sources of income, and because he seemed to be something of a pillar in his community. My visits to Karunga have affirmed these thoughts – Robert is a well-known, hard-working, and productive member of his community!

I made several visits to Karunga, a small agricultural community some 12 kilometers North and East of Nakuru near Bahati. This town is a hotspot for Zidisha borrowers, with some 30-40 persons having Zidisha loans in the area, due in part to the work of gentlemen such as Robert, who is a Zidisha Community Organizer for Karunga. Luckily, the ride to Karunga is gorgeous. Imagine this: getting on back of a motorbike, and zipping along a bumpy and rutted dirt road, seeing fields of wheat, corn, and sunflower underneath a canopy of trees. All this while cows and goats graze idyllically, and locals smile and wave to you. Living and working in Kenya may not always be easy or comfortable, but it certainly has its pleasures!

Anyway, Robert was kind enough to let me photograph him in his shop, and was selfless in giving of his time to walk me around and introduce me to many Zidisha borrowers, translating to Kikuyu, Swahili and English as needed. We also had lunch together at one point, with other Community Organizers of Karunga, where we talked, laughed, and discussed Zidisha’s impact on the community. It was agreed that Zidisha’s low-interest loans were very helpful, but that further services would be of benefit, such as medium-scale agriculture and engineering projects, to do things like aiding farmers in irrigation (I believe the region is currently mostly without irrigation).
Please join me in thanking Robert for setting a great example with his use of Zidisha, as well as his tireless service of helping those around him in his community. Thank you, Robert! Best wishes and God Bless.

dcembrola    Nov 10, 2012

November 10, 2012

Hello, my name is Dan Cembrola, one of Zidisha’s Kenya Client Relationship Managers. I am currently visiting Zidisha borrowers in Nakuru and its outskirts.

Today, I visited Robert Ndunga at his business in Karunga Center. Karunga is located about 25 kilometers north of Nakuru. Robert greeted me with a warm smile as he customarily does when I alight at Karunga on the back of a motorbike. His butchery is located right in the center of the small town and he is normally the first person I see when visiting this village.

Robert has owned his butchery for the past five years. Previous to this business, Robert was employed as a plumber. A friend of his in a neighboring town was operating a butcher’s shop that was enjoying a great amount of success so Robert decided to open his own shop in Karunga. While Robert does own two cows on his farm, he sells mainly sheep and goats at his shop.

Robert and ten other local businessmen rent a lorry each week to transport goats and sheep from the Masai Mara. A goat or sheep can be purchased for 300 Kenyan Schillings. Robert typically slaughters four sheep or goats each week and receives a profit of 1,500 Kenyan Schillings from each one. Each animal that he slaughters is first inspected by a local government veterinarian to ensure that the animal is healthy. A stamp is applied directly to the flesh of the animal certifying that it has been inspected.

In addition to the butchery, Robert also operates a four acre farm where he cultivates maize and tomatoes. He earned a profit of 150,000 Kenyan Schillings from his most recent harvest. He also has two cows which he gets about 20 liters of milk from each day. He then sells each liter for 40 Kenyan Schillings. He used his first loan to supplement his three businesses, the butchery, cattle, and farming.

With his next Zidisha loan, Robert plans to invest in a motorbike. He believes that this will enable him to be more efficient in the delivery of the milk from his cattle and meat from the butchery. He also explained that this will allow him to be less dependent on renting a lorry to buy sheep and goats from the faraway Masai Mara. He insists that he’d be able to transport up to three sheep on the back of his motorbike. I have not witnessed this, but Robert kindly assured me that he would be able to do it easily.

Robert    Jul 18, 2012

my brother suffered from kidney failure and unfortunately passed on on the 8th of July. this forced me to overspend the money granted to me as a loan. i am kindly requesting you to reschedule my payment and increase the period to 24 months paying 4,600KSHs each month.my brother suffered from kidney failure and unfortunately passed on on the 8th of July. this forced me to overspend the money granted to me as a loan. i am kindly requesting you to reschedule my payment and increase the period to 24 months paying 4,600KSHs each month.

• MaxEmerika    Jul 18, 2012

  Dear Robert Ndungu,
  We're sorry for the loss of your brother. We understand your situation and send best wishes to you and your family!

  Log in to reply • Share

adventurerneil    Apr 30, 2012

Congratulations on getting your loan funded.

Can you tell us, how did you come to be involved with Zidisha?

adventurerneil    Apr 6, 2012

Best of luck to you sir!

Mikey    Mar 27, 2011

good luck Robert!