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ANASTASIA NDANU: LIGHTING THE WAY in KENYA

Anastasia Ndanu is the proprietor of the Kuwait Fuel Station in the township of Mbumbuni, in Kenya. In addition to fuel, Ndanu also sells kerosene for domestic use. Mbumbuni township has no electricity so most of the area residents depend on kerosene for lighting and cooking.

Ndanu, a holder of a diploma in Applied Biology from the Kenya Polytechnic in Nairobi, attributes her success in the business to sheer drive. She graduated in 1997 and, seeing no jobs forthcoming, started devising her own business ideas.

Over the next five years, she embarked on numerous business ventures with her husband, David, including poultry farming and posho milling. Competition was high, however, and during the dry season they had no maize to grind. “We used to live from hand-to-mouth,” she says. Eventually, Ndanu and David were forced to close down the milling business.

At this point, Ndanu remembered that her mother used to borrow money from Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) in order to support her business. An affiliate of Women's World Banking, KWFT provides small business loans to nearly 100,000 women clients throughout six regions of Kenya.

In 2002, Ndanu obtained a loan of 20,000 Kenya Shillings (Sh), or USD 300, from KWFT, with which she bought 160 liters of kerosene, 200 liters of diesel and 40 liters of petrol. Using tins of various sizes to measure the different quantities, Ndanu was able to resell the fuel and repay her first loan within three months. She then took another loan of Sh 50,000 (USD 751), adding some profits from the business and bought a small plot of land in Mbumbuni.

Over the next four years, using repeat loans from KWFT, Ndanu continued to invest in her business—building a shed, a fuelling station with twin pumps, and installing underground fuel tanks. During this period, Ndanu also bought a second-hand lorry, with which the couple started their own transport business. David now runs this business from Mbumbuni to adjacent towns.

In 2006, thanks to a loan of Sh 400,000 (USD 6,010) from KWFT, Ndanu was able to achieve a new milestone—the ability to purchase fuel straight from certified dealers at the depots (at a minimum order of 8,000 liters).

Not content to sit on her laurels, Ndanu says she now intends to buy a bigger plot next door and build a petrol station, complete with retail store. She is pleased with the progress she has made with KWFT loans and would like to encourage other clients of KWFT to invest more of their savings in their businesses.