Apartment

I moved into an apartment right next to the K-Rep Bank. The place is massive and very nice but does not have any furniture. The bank owns the building and was kind enough to give me one of the vacant apartments for my time in Kenya.

Only… the hot water does not work for the shower and I have to wash my cloths by hand in the sink. The Kenyans thought it was crazy that I had my own washer/dryer combo when I was living in Washington, DC. Here are a few pictures of my spacious yet empty new home.

We are continuing to burn the midnight oil and work some crazy long hours at the bank. My day starts around 7:15 and I usually do not leave the office until well past 7:00pm. These last two weekends I have also spent some time putting this financing deal together for the Grassroots Business Fund. It is so refreshing to once again have some responsibility and a daily purpose. I never in my life thought I would have to evaluate a foreign currency swap hedge (wish I had paid attention in that class at business school).

This weekend… I am scheduled to participate in the opening of a rural Financial Services Association (FSA) that the K-Rep group is supporting with the government of Kenya. These FSAs are like village banks where the local residents can take microloans but are also the owners/shareholders with the ability to vote on board members and whether or not to distribute dividends. It is a fantastic model that has seen some early success in Africa. For all of you who are worried about where to put your money these days maybe you should consider purchasing equity in a few of these FSAs. Rural Kenya is well isolated from the global financial crisis.

PS- I am seriously concerned about my welfare as a US citizen in Kenya if Obama does not win. 89% of Kenyans say they would vote for Obama.