Entrepreneur
Name
Alex
Member since
December 2017
On-time repayments
73 installments • 47%
About Me
I am the firstborn in a family of six children. All of us are in various levels of education, two of us in college, one about to join college, one in high school and two in primary school. I am pursuing a BA degree in Literature, Linguistics and Sociology at the University of Nairobi.
I have had a rough time in education due to financial constraints. I overcome these hurdles by leaving school for a year or two to do menial jobs and save some money for my fees and upkeep.
As part of my efforts to generate income and better my life and that of my family, I bought a dairy cow worth 500 USD in May 2017 out of my savings.
I have also invested some money in small-scale rabbit rearing. Currently I keep local rabbits which I usually sell to neighbours.
I also engage in small-scale vegetable farming, selling vegetable seedlings to neighbours.
I engage in these activities during the holidays. When I get back to school, I stop the vegetables business but continue with the dairy cow and rabbits business with the help of my parents.
In the village where I come from, the land is fertile and suitable for dairy farming on a commercial scale. There is very ready market for milk at reasonable prices. The area is also developing fast and hotels and restaurants are coming up. This means there will be more demand for milk and rabbit meat as well as organically grown vegetables. My vegetables are unique in that I grow them organically. The people here like supporting their own by buying products grown or made locally especially if they are of high quality and offer great value for their money.
I like writing as a way of sharing information with others. As such, I am a blogger on two free WordPress blogs. I am making one of the blogs, an agriculture-based blog on the dairy farming niche so I can share my dairy keeping experience with others.
I intend to self-host the two blogs and commercialize them so as to supplement my income streams.
Farming is a great pastime for me. I derive great joy and fulfilment from watching crops or farm animals grow from tiny ones, and increasing in value and production with time.
My Business
From the one-dairy cow agribusiness, I make about 50 USD per month. The main product I sell is raw milk to neighbours and milk cooperatives. My milk is liked by most neighbours because it has high fat content, despite the fact that mine is a Fresian/ Holstein cow. Once in a while I sell surplus cow manure. Daily costs include labour, commercial animal feeds and supplements such as mineral salts, and outsourced fodder or forage.
From the rabbit agribusiness I make about 20 USD per month by selling out young ones for rearing, or adults for meat. The rabbits are liked because they are local and have lean, tender meat. They are also more clean compared to those of other farms. Daily costs include labour and commercial feeds (rabbit pellets and maize bran).
The vegetables business brings in about 20 USD per month. The main product is the vegetable seedlings, which are greatly liked because I grow them organically. Major costs include labour, water for irrigation, and seeds purchases.
I chose these three agribusinesses because the products are usually in high demand, and because they complement each other. I use the manure from the cow and the rabbit droppings to grow the vegetables. I also harvest rabbit urine to use as pesticide and fertilizer on the vegetables. I feed any damaged vegetable parts to the rabbits.
When I get back to college, I offer online freelancing services in the English language content proofreading and editing niche. I also do article writing for clients or sell out pre-written articles on personal finance and social issues that are trending in the society. Once in a while I take up transcription jobs to diversify my income sources.
Online freelancing is a business I practice on a part-time basis as I have to balance between it and my studies. In a good month, I make at least 50 USD by selling out my services to both international and local clients. The biggest problem in freelancing has always been finding a stable, affordable, and reliable internet plan. I intend to overcome this by buying a home internet package at a cost of 60 USD in the near future.
Most of my income goes to supporting my education. I also help my parents with some of it in running the home so we can better our financial situation.
Project Proposal
I plan to use the loan to boos my online work business by buying an internet device that will enable me gain better access from my home.
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Project Info
Project Type
Pay It Forward
Disbursed amount
$14.00
Date disbursed
Jul 17, 2022
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