I plan to open and operate an Mpesa shop in my area. Currently, there are only two Mpesa shops nearby, and many people receiving transfers from GiveDirectly have to travel long distances to withdraw their transfers. By opening my Mpesa shop, I aim to serve over seventy people, significantly reducing the burden of traveling long distances. I have been saving from my DStv business, and by November, I expect to be ready to start my Mpesa business.

In March of this year, I secured a DStv subscription on loan to start my own business. I run a venue where people come to watch football and contribute a fee for the service. Each month, I need to pay $52 to keep the broadcasts running. Recently, I spent $102 to reduce my outstanding debt and added extra funds to ensure uninterrupted service. I am deeply grateful to GiveDirectly, as their support has enabled me to pursue this business and earn an income for myself.

I am thinking about opening an M-Pesa business in our area since there are only two M-Pesa outlets currently available. People have to travel long distances to access these services, so I believe opening another branch would be beneficial. I estimate that I will need around $400 to open the business. I plan to generate income from various sources including video savings and my monthly transfers to ensure that the business can sustain itself. With careful planning, I am hopeful that the M-Pesa business will be successful in our area.

I run a video business that provides the daily income for my family. I pay $50 per month to rent the premises, and I often use my monthly income to cover this cost. When I recently received a transfer, I used the entire $102 to pay the rent, ensuring that I can continue running my business without any interruptions. I'm really thankful to GiveDirectly for this great support. Since I started receiving these transfers, I have never defaulted unlike before. Even during hard times when the business is down, I could still pay my rent on time, and I really appreciate the support.

As I said earlier I achieved my dream of putting up a watching place. I am lucky that now the African cup of nations games are on, I get clients in the volume of the popularity of the game or teams in play. I would want to have more services to encourage more people into coming to my place of business,I hope to save= my transfers as well my earnings so that I get a fridge which I will use to store drinks so that when its hot like now people can always come in to buy water of soda as they watch something.

I started a new business in the last three months. I previously used to get clothes from our main second hand market in Mombasa to sell but my passion was to find a way of running a business I was passionate about. I had been saving towards opening a local place where people could watch football matches as well as movies. This dream was actualized in November. I used my entire November transfer to buy sticks that I used to build the hall where people would come watch. This was in addition to cash I had previously. I also used my January transfers to pay for cable subscription which allows me to access football games. In December I bought a goat for the festivities at $40 where I added to my transfers to purchase.

My primary goal is to expand my current business of selling second-hand clothes by diversifying into the shoe-selling market. Over time, I have been diligently setting aside a portion of my profits every month to accumulate enough capital for this expansion. As part of my strategy, next month, I plan to invest $60 to kickstart the shoe-selling aspect of my business. This goal reflects my commitment to growing my business and meeting the evolving needs of my customers, ultimately aiming for a more successful and sustainable venture in the world of second-hand fashion.

I utilized the GiveDirectly money in a way that significantly improved both my personal and business life. Initially, I had longed for a smartphone to enhance my online marketing efforts for my clothing business. With the funds received, I decided to invest in a smartphone that cost $150, taking a step towards my goal. I began paying off this investment on a monthly basis, and the recent transfer allowed me to make a substantial payment of $15, reducing the remaining amount considerably. Additionally, the unexpected passing of my aunt had left me financially strained, especially when it came to covering the expenses of traveling to her funeral. The transfer proved to be a timely blessing, as it enabled me to address this pressing need by allocating $19.70 towards my transportation costs. I am so grateful for the support that GiveDirectly has provided,

I want to start a video theater where locals may watch their favorite films. We don't currently have a facility like that around and so I want to take advantage of that. I've already saved money toward this objective in savings, and I intend to maintain doing so until I have enough to begin. I'll keep saving a part of the transfers from Givedirectly. Once this business is up and running, the income from this will help me meet my day to day needs and allow me grow stronger financially.

Recent years have seen a severe shortage of jobs and informal employment, which is made worse by the lack of formal education beyond a certain level. In order to improve my prospects of finding employment, I joined and have been attending a driving school in Mariakani town for the past two months. About $20 of the May transfer has helped me cater for transportation to and from school. I also purchased three chicken for raising for $15. These will be useful if I need quick cash because I can always sell the chicken when it is old enough or the eggs it produces.

I intend to start my own business selling second-hand clothes as I continue to search for job opportunities. I aim to get reliable work in the future so that my future family would have a reliable source of income.

In a family of five siblings, where I am the eldest one I have had the responsibility of helping my parents who are casual laborers pay for my younger siblings’ school fees. I have been doing so by using $10 of my transfer for this course. Having cleared my secondary education a year ago, I had the passion to enroll in a driving school which I have been saving towards. By the time I was receiving my January transfer, I had saved $70 and I topped up with $30 from my transfer to enroll in the driving classes. I am happy that through Givedirectly I have been able to fulfill one of my goals.

GiveDirectly, in my opinion, performs admirably well in all areas of operation. For instance, consistent with how it functions, it makes sure that potential respondents from the community where it works have an equal chance of being enrolled in its program. It guarantees that all eligible households are visited during enrollment. Additionally, it strengthens positive relationships with community members through regular follow-ups, which gives us faith in its operations. In actuality, it does not exclude anyone from the program. However, there is nothing that GiveDirectly does not do well.

We are a family of four members. While my father works as a driver, my mother has no other source of income. However, my father's income is insufficient to support us. As a result, we frequently experience financial limitations that subject us to going without meals. As a result, we could not purchase food on the day transfers were sent due to a lack of funds. I opted to spend KES 2,200 to buy a bale of 2 kg of maize flour. I am happy that our family has had access to enough food owing to this transfer. A situation that has spared us from going without meals. As a result, our lives have significantly improved, and we have been at peace for the past two weeks.

In my life, I had never been as happy as I was when I noticed that I had received my transfer. I had been anticipating the support although, I never knew when it would finally come. It was late in the evening, and I was just at home. I did not have much to do because I was just taking a rest. I was together with me were my younger brothers. Being driven with joy, I hastily informed them about the transfer. And from their faces, there was nothing, except a feeling of happiness. I am indebted to GiveDirectly for that kind of support.

Since receiving my transfer, I have been able to purchase both food and a new set of clothes. It has made a positive difference in my life. Having a new wardrobe has improved my preventability. I had not purchased any clothing in the previous two years, but thanks to the transfer, that has changed. These have left an impression on my life because without the transfer, I would not have considered and purchased new clothes. I am extremely grateful to GiveDirectly for considering such timely assistance.

When I received my transfer, I withdrew just a portion, KES 1,700, and spent it on buying food for my family. At that time we did not have food. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of maize flour. That was a worrying state for our family and in collaboration with my parents, I opted to make a contribution to help in buying more food. I used the rest of the transfer to buy new clothes. The ones I had were old and not very presentable. This has helped me a lot because I do have a job. I had lost my job from the company I was working for due to the outbreak of Covid-19.