Hannah Wanjiku Ndungu:
painting Thika green

As a little girl, Hannah enjoyed working hand in hand with her grandmother who was a businesswoman in Thika town. The old lady was a supplier of green groceries in Thika market. With time, she grew her business and became a major supplier in the market. This inspired Hannah to start her own business. Twenty- four years down the line, she is also a major supplier of green groceries in Thika.

In the early days of the business, she used to buy her supplies from farmers in Sabasaba area and sell to retailers in Thika market. Business was doing well and in 1999, she bought a 14-seater matatu that operated along the Nairobi-Thika-Karatina route. Unfortunately, the vehicle was involved in an accident. This was a major setback to Hannah as she had invested all her savings in the transport business. After her insurance company compensated her, she opted to invest in a piece of land on which she grows some of the products she sells.

In 2009, Molyn Credit approached Hannah and shared with her an idea that changed her business. “We had to form a group so that we could join Molyn Credit and start benefiting from some of their products and services,” says Hannah. The group comprising eighteen women started saving weekly with Molyn Credit and to date, members have benefited through loans and other services. The group has a merry-go-round whose contributions benefit all the members (members guarantee each other for loans). In addition, one can easily get a soft loan of up to Kshs. 4,500 to finance emergency needs.

By saving with Molyn Credit, Hannah has managed to secure loans adding up to Kshs. 50,000. She has been able to channel some of this money into her business hence boosting its performance. She runs a wholesale store in Thika’s Moi market and is now planning to buy a transport vehicle for her business.

“By being a member of Molyn Credit, I have seen my business (plus those of other members of my group) grow. I now appreciate the benefits of working and saving as a team which has by and large instilled financial discipline in me,” she ends.