Going from $60 to $560 Per Month: The Cascading Effect of Entrepreneurship
Meet Martin!
A husband, father and farmer who is a story of inspiration in his community.
Martin is thirty-six and resides in the lush region of Maara sub-county, Kenya. He is married to Rita Mwende and they are blessed with one son. Martin was able to complete his secondary school education but could not proceed because his passion was in business. He was given a small piece of land at his home where he started small-scale horticulture farming. He planted passion fruits, kale, spinach, and tomatoes and would get a monthly income of KES 6,000 (USD 60). He continued to work hard and was soon able to expand his farm and his income increased. A few years later, he was able to purchase a dairy cow.
Entrepreneur Martin with his wife Rita on their farm
Martin now has two cows along with goats, pigs, and bunnies.
Martin joined Wanaruona Self-Help Group in 2018, where he met like-minded entrepreneurs who were passionate and determined to move from struggle to success. The group attended a five-day business training where the members received training on budgeting and business planning, agribusinesses, record keeping, and some health topics. The group received funding in November 2018 where Martin received KES 60,000 (USD 600). He used the loan to purchase a Heifer that was in-calf, which soon gave birth to a calf. He now had an additional source of income since he got up to twelve litres daily and a monthly income of KES 14,400 (USD 144).
With his increased income, Martin now also raises bunnies
Having a dairy farming business turned out to be a huge advantage. This is because he now had a steady source of manure for his horticulture farm and was able to expand to another piece of land. This in turn boosted the income from the horticulture business since it was no longer small-scale. Monthly, he could now get a monthly income of KES 15, 000 (USD 150). With the increased income, he was able to install piped water for farming.
Martin built a fish pond on his property for raising catfish
He also started strawberry farming and green banana farming. He has also constructed a fish pond and will soon be rearing catfish for sale.
Strawberry farming - this sack system raises the berries off the ground so they don’t require pesticides
After the group successfully repaid the first cycle, they qualified for a second cycle loan. Martin was funded with KES 80, 000 (USD 800) in December 2020 which he used to start a dairy goat rearing business. He currently has five goats and two kids.
Martin’s goats
From dairy farming, he currently gets 18 litres of milk daily and a monthly income of KES 21, 600 (USD 216). He has expanded his zero-grazing unit to allow room for expansion.
From the strawberry business, he gets a monthly income of KES 20,000 (USD 200) by selling avocados, spinach, tomatoes, kale, and amaranth.
From green banana sales, he gets a monthly income of KES 4,000 (USD 40). From strawberry farming, he gets a monthly income of up to KES 10,000 (USD 100) during the harvesting season.
Martin in the pen that he built with his pigs
With the increased income, he has started a pig rearing business which will start giving him income in two months.
Martin dreams of constructing a two-story home for his family and expanding his various enterprises. He has achieved so much in a short time and we are so proud of his accomplishments.
Before Martin joined the HopeCore Micro Enterprise program, he was making only $60 a month. After receiving a loan from HopeCore and starting his farming business, Martin now makes $560 per month.
This is a story of how HopeCore's business training and entrepreneur mentorship program helps small business owners not only sustain but also thrive in their enterprises.
