Here is a story about how a variety of Changemakers are improving economic development while preserving the environment:
If you could name one economic development project that directly benefits the environment, what would it be? Or should we say, “bee?”
Honeybees have the power to help secure a food supply, keep a local environment cleaner, bolster biodiversity, and generate income through honey production. And numerous initiatives in Africa are spreading the word about the advantages of honeybees and are training small farmers to add honey production to their agricultural activities.
Read more about this solution, or discuss this topic below.
Enabling Farmers Reach Markets - a 'click-and-mortar' solution combining ICT platform and ground supply chain network to fix the agri crisis. Key pain areas for farmers is marketing support , rising input costs , migration of educated and skilled labour to cities and having to bear all wastage/transport costs for uncertain revenue. For any modern industry the various key functions like production, marketing, sales, HR and logistics are managed by professionals and backed by advanced software and ICT tools .
Created on 06/9/2009 by htcgroup
Join the Geotourism Challenge Changemakers group to share ideas and opinions about issues impacting destination stewardship and wisely managed tourism.
Hear about best practices, identify solutions to key challenges, and link to resources that may help you overcome obstacles and succeed as a changemaker in geotourism. Each week will focus on a specific issue; join the dialogue now and tell your story.
Created on 05/20/2013 by Ste'vntaw Musasa
Orange farmers in Rusitu Valley have been reported to be losing more than 30% of their produce. The project goal is to determine causes of post-harvest losses within the orange value-chain and develop sustainable strategies to enhance post-harvest quality and storability of oranges in Rusitu Valley.
Organization: chinhoyi university of technology
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chinhoyi university of technology
Country where this project is creating social impact
Zimbabwe, ML, chimanimani
Is your organization a
Government
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
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OPTIMISING ORANGE (CITRUS SINENSIS) FRUIT VALUE CHAIN TO IMPROVE POSTHARVEST QUALITY AND STORABILITY IN RUSITU VALLEY, ZIMBABWE
Stage
Idea (poised to launch)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Orange farmers in Rusitu Valley have been reported to be losing more than 30% of their produce. The project goal is to determine causes of post-harvest losses within the orange value-chain and develop sustainable strategies to enhance post-harvest quality and storability of oranges in Rusitu Valley.
Problem
Inadequate orange storage and cold chain management facilities in Rusitu Valley, coupled with poor post-harvest technologies and lack of access to markets have caused exceptionally high post-harvest losses, estimated to be greater than 30%. Oranges are perishable and they tend to ripen almost at once causing seasonal gluts; resulting in post-harvest management challenges when in season
Solution
A business pre-investment study will be conducted to identify and characterize the post-harvest losses in the Rusitu Valley orange value chain. We propose to design and construct low cost evaporative coolers (less energy consumption) for temporary storage of orange fruits in Rusitu Valley. These will be constructed using charcoal. We propose to construct four demonstration evaporative coolers in each of the four oranges producing wards and open one post-harvest training center in Rusitu Valley. The farmers in Rusitu Valley will then be trained on appropriate post-harvest management of orange fruits (handling practices, value addition, construction of evaporative coolers and storage management) to improve the value of their oranges.
Example
The construction of evaporative coolers will help to reduce post-harvest losses through temperature and respiration management at the primary stage (reduction of field heat soon after harvest). A study on pre-cooling systems for smallholder producers by Kitinoja and Thompson (2010) revealed that cold chain management reduces respiration rate, extends shelf-life, and protects produce quality, while reducing postharvest losses by decreasing the rates of water loss and decay. The important technical aspect is that cooling involves heat transfer and is usually done before processing, or storage to enhance produce shelf-life.
Impact
To date appropriate cold chain management has reduced post-harvest losses to between 2 - 12 % in the developed countries especially the United States of America. The project is expected to reduce the reported 30 % post-harvest losses to be less than 15 % in the long run. The project will construct four evaporative cooler in each of the producing wards in Rusitu Valley and one post-harvest management center at Kopa Business Center in Rusitu Valley. At this center at-least 20 post-harvest extension trainers will be employed to manage and facilitate orange fruit post-harvest technology transfer amongst academics, policy makers, and farmers. We intent to train more than 500 local farmers on appropriate post-harvest management each year. With all this capacity, we expect that the improved orange production will play a roll to availability of nutrients in the food-value chain in Zimbabwe.
Marketplace
In Tanzania a post-harvest training center is being established and is only covering training farmers from central and east Africa only. At this center the farmers are expected to learn about fruit and vegetable post-harvest handling issues only. Our proposed project is focusing on orange fruits post harvest management and the construction of storage facilities for the farmers in Rusitu Valley. Farmers from other surrounding areas are expected to be trained on post harvest handling and construction of appropriate cold chain management.
Sustainability Plan
A US$24 374 grant application was made, to cover the pre-investment study and design of appropriate evaporative coolers. This grant was requested from the Chinhoyi University of Technology and is under consideration. We also plan to continue applying for competitive grants to complement the financial resources from Chinhoyi University of Technology. We plan to charge training fees starting in 2015 so that the idea is self sustainable by 2016.
Founding Story
The idea started when the founder was studying Bachelor of Technology (HONS) Post-harvest Technology in 2007. The founder was attached by University of Zimbabwe - Development Technology Center as an attachee research assistant for Chimanimani Fruit - Value Addition project in Rusitu Valley. The founder realised that Rusitu Valley farmers are losing most of their orange fruits at the farm stage. Thus value addition project was threatened. In 2011, the founder carried out a survey to determine the orange production situation in the Valley after the decade of Zimbabwe's economic downturn. It was after this study when it was revealed that orange production still got potential in the Valley since it is still the livelihood source for farmers.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
A healthy environment in the Valley will enhance sustainable orange fruit production (SMART farming practices) that is complimented with more of organic and permaculture farming techniques. This healthy farming situation is expected to improve the livelihood, food, and nutrition security of local farmers in Rusitu Valley, Zimbabwe. The added capacity support a climate friendly farming practices.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 05/15/2013 by ampp2013
AMPP fights poverty, hunger and malnutrition in Malawi by promoting and establishing sustainable cottage industries and permaculture, with a focus on the highly nutritious Moringa Oleifera. The project is based at the heart of a rural lakeside community and works directly with community members.
Organization: The African Moringa and Permaculture Project (AMPP)
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The African Moringa and Permaculture Project (AMPP)
Organization Country
Malawi, MGC, Kasankha Bay
Country where this project is creating social impact
Malawi, MGC, Kasankha Bay
Is your organization a
Hybrid
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
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The African Moringa and Permaculture Project (AMPP)
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
AMPP fights poverty, hunger and malnutrition in Malawi by promoting and establishing sustainable cottage industries and permaculture, with a focus on the highly nutritious Moringa Oleifera. The project is based at the heart of a rural lakeside community and works directly with community members.
Problem
Over 50% of Malawians live in extreme poverty and unemployment is the norm. Each year brings round a time known as "the hunger season". Just under 50% of children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition & more have mineral & vitamin deficiencies leading to many cases of ocular, epidermal and follicle degenerations. Many Malawians walk miles daily to find fire wood and water. Bare, burned soils are eroded and depleted come the rain season.
Solution
Poverty: AMPP provides jobs & opportunities to develop sustainable value added businesses for ready markets. Our main focus is on producing Moringa powder for which we have found ready markets. AMPP also plans to develop value added products as well as commercialising fresh produce. Hunger: Permaculture mimics nature to create resilient agricultural systems and higher and more diverse yields, putting an end to the hunger season. Malnutrition:The highly nutritious leaves of the fast growing, drought resistant Moringa tree are widely used as a multivitamin food supplement, the seeds are pressed for oil and the seed-cake purifies water. Our Moringa will be interplanted with Gliricidia and Cajanus Cajan for fire wood and soil nutrients.
Example
Kelvin is the 3 year old son of a Malawian permaculture designer. As such he has had access to a wide variety of food, including Moringa, all his young life and is in great health. His father Eston is employed as a permaculture teacher. His mother Calo is studying nutrition. When Calo asks people how old they think her son is the answer is 5-6. They are shocked when told he is 3. People are so used to malnourished, stunted children that it has almost become the norm. Permaculture and Moringa can radically change the lives of entire families, providing economic and intellectual opportunities while eradicating hunger and malnutrition. AMPP wants to replicate Kelvin's story and provide similar opportunities to as many Malawians as possible.
Impact
The project has been going for seven months and employs eleven people. All employees have been or will be trained in permaculture and making value added products (eg: jam, soap, dried fruit). Moringa and other trees have been planted in the village where AMPP operates. Community members in contact with us are planting home gardens and more trees. Land is being prepared and tree nurseries built for planting to begin in earnest next rain season with several thousand Moringa, fruit, fuel and soil building trees being planted in the community and on AMPP land. Community produce will be consumed locally and sold in Malawi with AMPP providing market linkages and processing facilities. AMPP has established favourable links with local hotels and farmer's markets for the sale of fruit, vegetables and value added products, providing opportunities for employment and cottage industry development.
Marketplace
Many organisations, big or small, (USAID, Trees for life) have limited scopes. AMPP's focus on commercial permaculture enables us to find solutions to a wide range of problems faced by our community over the long term, while our focus on Moringa targets immediate problems of malnutrition. AMPP believes in collaboration. We work with Kusamala to train community members in permaculture and African Agricultural Operations, a private company, to secure markets for Moringa. We have found untapped markets for which we have a comparative advantage thanks to our location and collaborative efforts.
Sustainability Plan
As well as developing community cottage industries, AMPP will be growing its own Moringa trees and producing goods for sale on a larger scale. Market links have already been established to make this possible. AMPP operates with a revolving fund and profits will be reinvested to scale up our income generation. AMPP is training a Malawian, Sam Baluti, to replicate this model. We currently rely on donations and two small grants secured this year.
Founding Story
My first job in Malawi, early last year, was to establish a medicinal garden on a permaculture farm. That's where I first encountered the highly nutritious Moringa tree. It was quickly apparent that Moringa could help alleviate malnutrition in Malawi and that a market for Moringa products would be readily available. Having seen Eston, Calo and Kelvin succeed, it seemed obvious that permaculture and Moringa together, combined with a collaborative attitude, could put an end to malnutrition and hunger in Malawi and provide sustainable sources of income. The longer I am here the more I believe in what we are doing and that the successful future of such initiatives can only be achieved in a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
This added capacity would allow us to train more community members in permaculture and in making value added products, expand our presence further down the Bay into other communities, further ensure that our produce meets marketable standards, expand our tree planting initiative, particularly focused on Moringa Oleifera, free up resources for further market research and provide resources for establishing further collaborative partnerships in Malawi and abroad. These benefits will create greater sustainable economic stability and allow us to significantly scale up our efforts in Malawi.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Food gardens are fundamental to ensure food security. FTFA introduced Permaculture to South Africa in 1991 & these principles are applied to all FTFA food gardening projects.Today hundreds of communities & schools apply to FTFA for assistance to develop permaculture food gardens & many are helped.
Created on 05/13/2013 by matthewoa2010
To improve income level of each rural dweller above $2USD per day by growing their agribusiness to sustainable livelihood:Networking rural areas with urban centers and international markets via social media and extension agents for supply and demand of edible food alongside environmental management.
Organization: Ideal Makers Linkage (IML)
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
Ideal Makers Linkage (IML)
Country where this project is creating social impact
Nigeria, OY, Ibadan/Lagos
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
NO. The organization has just started with young innovators who have won different awards in academics, entrepreneurship and research.
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Trade as Aid: Alternative Rural Development Framework (ARDF) in sub-Saharan Africa
Stage
Start-Up (a pilot that has just started operating)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
To improve income level of each rural dweller above $2USD per day by growing their agribusiness to sustainable livelihood:Networking rural areas with urban centers and international markets via social media and extension agents for supply and demand of edible food alongside environmental management.
Problem
Sub-Saharan Africa is most infectious victim of poverty and nutritionally insecure,most especially in its rural areas. Food insecurity, environmental challenges, ill health, unemployment and low income prevail among them despite aid interventions. Rural areas--farmers--lack aid for economic empowerment of their agribusiness that ranges from input supply to optimum production with environmental management, and to marketing for their profitability.
Solution
In sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural growth is said to be 11 times more effective against poverty. Raising agricultural production and productivity up to profitable marketing underlying environmental sustainability remains crucial for reducing poverty in a cost-effective manner and to prevent endangering ecosystem, especially in low-income countries.
We are thinking about "Ecology of Commerce" by Paul Hawken; under consideration for environmental sustainability, agribusiness would be grown to empower rural people to a profitable and sustainable livelihood. When they are economically stable with high income through agribusiness, other problems like ill health, malnutrition, food insecurity and unemployment would be easily solved thereby.
Example
This deliberative framework promises to alleviate poverty by networking rural farmers for marketing, investments, storage, zero-waste management and, to bring their hearings to quick aid intervention in terms of environmental pollution soil and water management: Using Young Extension Agents and Social Media as tools for outreaches.
One of our agents on 13th of April,2013,contacted Mr. Shotade,a rural farmer at Ado-Awaye,who has been affected by low demand of his plantain in the area and tends to loss. Our agents helped him to market through our Social Media Skills(Technological Modern Rural Market) on facebook,wordpress etc, and also contacted people at Ibadan city who are highly demanding for it.He had 70% net profit increase.
Impact
Current reach: Our Technological Modern Rural Market (TMRM) through mobile phones and social networks is reaching up to 5% of farmers (19males, 1 female) in rural communities we have just started with in 2012 till now, and reaching up to 500 Ibadan/Lagos dwellers for marketing and environmental campaign through our social networks.
Future reach: We would Improve income level of about 5 million rural dwellers above an average of $2 USD per day, by growing their agribusiness through a controlled market price, optimum storage, and zero-waste management, starting from Ibadan, sub-Saharan Africa, in the next ten years.
If we could get funds, aids, and other grants up to $500,000 USD; we would grow to reach up to 50, 000 rural farmers in affiliation; also, we would market and campaign to about 5,000,000 urban communities' dwellers in the next one year.
Marketplace
Some organizations in sub-Saharan Africa help to alleviate poverty by supplying input to farmers, others in production stage and some educate to sell. Our organization trades as aid, have to have-not, empowers rural farmers by marketing their produce, educate them to expand and diversify,and supply them cheaper inputs through their investments with us. Our new cyclic strategy combines marketing for profitability, modern storage,urban food supply, environmental management through recycling and campaign, investment through saving, supply cheaper inputs, and rural aid broadcast--via social media.
Sustainability Plan
ARDF will continue to grow in as much there is existence of rural, urban and suburban centers whose needs are insatiable. And, base on the fact that the urban areas cannot do without food supply. We collect 5% of farmers net profit after we have market for them as maintenance fee. We collect agricultural wastes and commercial biodegradable wastes, recycle them into bio gas, paper and organic fertilizers and sell cheaply--money got keeps us going!
Founding Story
During my primary education, I grew up in the village of less than 20, 000 population who depend on agriculture as major occupation. My Father owed laborers in many cases due to poor sales, and this was the same story for many others. In 2012,when I visited villages to collect data for my research on rural development as a final year undergraduate student, 50kg tuber of yam cost me about $2USD in the village,when I got to Lagos(most populated city in Nigeria), I sold the same 50kg of yam at about $20USD and made a gross profit of about $15USD. I was moved to help rural people. Then, I included ARDF project (Trade as Aid)as part of IML's projects as the CEO, to aid rural people using social media marketing skills and young extension agents.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Nutrient-rich farming for full nourishment foods supply is an initiative we project to curb malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.We will encourage rural farmers by supplying those improved cultivars of crops and breeds of animals of high economic and nutrient-rich value from Institute of Tropical Agriculture(IITA)and others—to plant and rear.Doing this will make our project achieve a high degree of economic empowerment and sustainable livelihood impact on rural and urban centers.Food production and supply would increase by at least 50%,with continuous balance diet food supply, free of poisoning.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
AMPP fights poverty, hunger and malnutrition in Malawi by promoting and establishing sustainable cottage industries and permaculture, with a focus on the highly nutritious Moringa Oleifera. The project is based at the heart of a rural lakeside community and works directly with community members.
Created on 05/12/2013 by dimyati786
The existing groups of backyard food gardens provided portion of household needs of nutrients, mostly fruits and vegetables. They will be enhanced and organized to create closer-to-balance nutrient supply at the community level. Community kitchen will provide freshly-cooked food with local material
Organization: Yayasan Bina Insan Hayati
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Yayasan Bina Insan Hayati
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Please select
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName your entry
Shared backyard food gardens with community kitchen
Stage
Start-Up (a pilot that has just started operating)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
The existing groups of backyard food gardens provided portion of household needs of nutrients, mostly fruits and vegetables. They will be enhanced and organized to create closer-to-balance nutrient supply at the community level. Community kitchen will provide freshly-cooked food with local material
Problem
Low income families have limited resources to get nutrient-balance freshly-cooked food. The existing individually-managed backyard food gardens lack of protein supply and have unbalance supply of other nutrients. Join management at the community level and adding backyard livestock into the activities will rectify this. Household cooking is costly and burdensome encouraging people to consume instant food and sell their own fruits and vegetables
Solution
Community learning process on the importance of balance nutrients through freshly prepared or freshly cooked food should be facilitated. Institutional designing and building is necessary as the main prerequisites for community-level management of the backyard gardens and the kitchen. Technologies for backyard farming of crops and livestock should be demonstrated and practiced. Main infrastructure and equipment for the new activities, e.g. livestock farming and community kitchen, should be provided. Recruitment of necessary practicioners from inside or outside the community should be formulated in a participatory fashion. Additional funding should be self-sustained from income-generating activities, e.g. selling excess products/material.
Example
The current government-led project on backyard food gardens provide the household with the food material especially fruits and vegetables. The families become more self-sustaining for fruit and vegetable needs. Some excess supply may be sold or bartered. The practice might have helped the familis save their income and get better health and wellness. In some communities the gardens are managed individually, while in others they are managed in groups. The experiences in group-level management may be beneficial for further improvement to create expertise for community-level management. In all cases, cooking is done at household level. Instant food materials such as noodles, porridge, nuggets, and cereals are available and tempting
Impact
Cooking local material in the community kitchen will become a routine excitement. Community farmers and cooks will be recruited as volunteers or professionals. Community level management of the gardens and kitchen will be a challenging endeavour, creating new expertise useful for overall community affairs. The successful managers could be promoted into administrative or political positions at the village or higher levels. Change-making leaders will be recruited and trained systemically. Further social and cultural innovation will be created without imaginable limitation. The low income and marginal communities will have good vehicles for sustainable learning process, making them more creative and self sustaining. Politically this process will enhance the building of political independence and money-politics resistance. Horizontal cohesion under cultural diversity will be enhanced.
Marketplace
Ministry of Agriculture has facilitated the use of backyards as food gardens through the concept of Rumah Pangan Lestari (RPL) or Sustainable Food House (SFH). RPL is a residencial house utilizing the backyard optimally using local resources to provide sustainable supply of various good quality food material. In some areas RPLs have developed at community or village level to create Kawasan RPL (KRPL) or SFH Areas (SFHA). The main goal of the project is to create consumable supply of food material and marketable supply. It does not promote fresh cooking to avoid instant food material.
Sustainability Plan
he activities should be fiancially self-sustaining for the long term. If the coordinated gardens and community kitchens have reached a sizeable coverage, the economy of scale will work. The successful communities will become good models frequntly visited by government official and other community leaders. The experiences, products and expertise can be shared in a professional manner which may generate income for the people and communities.
Founding Story
Founder has meditated about the needs for locally run empowering institutions without political string. This thought has been induced from observation that most development agents are not politically independent and are not free from money politics. RPL and KRPL are good efforts but still need some improvement in terms of institutional setup and sustainability design. Exposure to the philosophy and methodology of Ashoka Changemakers as well as potential networks offered by the scheme prompted the founding of the project.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
The added capacity will improve the intensity and quality of interaction between our activists and the targeted people throuh more frequent visit, longer discussion and closer direct interaction. It will also improve the intensity and quality of learning process among the involved parties through additional scope and further indepth of activities. Furthermore, it will open new opportunities replicate the approach in other types of empowerment activities.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Training of Rural communities of Umtata on agriculture and farming ,so as to enable them to create economic activity .Supply of implements .The products will be supplied to local markets and allow for communities to have better nutrition,alleviation of poverty and curb unemployment in villages.
Work to improve access to and control over food, farming systems and natural resources. Promote local production, storage and consumption, prioritize local markets and the consumers' right to safe and nutritious food.
The women's groups have shown that even the very poor farmers, once in control of their agriculture and natural resources, with a bit of help and access to financial resources, can feed themselves and the non-food producing members of their community. They have proved that even in some of the most degraded land areas of the world, people do not have to seek out Genetically Modified crops or multinationals to feed them.
BAIF is committed to provide sustainable livelihood to the rural poor through management of natural resources and promotion of livestock development, watershed development and agri-horti-forestry as major income generation activities.
Mission is to alleviate poverty by creating extremely affordable, water efficient irrigation solutions for small-plot farmers in developing nations.
The Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC’s) are generating large quantity of organic waste from fruits, vegetables . Project have developed a technology which can extract the leachate from APMC’s waste and upon certain processing (optimized by organization) the said leachate can be used as a source of plant micronutrients, and the remaining solid dry biomass can be diverted towards the making of biomass palette , which can be a best source of alternate fuel to the traditional fuel sources.
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: African Food Initiative.
Created on 04/17/2013 by wemhazi
239 million Africans are chronically hungry. Many of them are poor smallholder farmers who already produce most of Africa’s food. We help improve their yields and profits. Our approach focuses on information and training, agro-ecology, loaned inputs, and risk management and appropriate technology,
Organization: African Food Initiative
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
South Africa, MP, Malelane
Country where this project is creating social impact
South Africa, MP, Malelane
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideStage
Idea (poised to launch)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
239 million Africans are chronically hungry. Many of them are poor smallholder farmers who already produce most of Africa’s food. We help improve their yields and profits. Our approach focuses on information and training, agro-ecology, loaned inputs, and risk management and appropriate technology,
Problem
239 million Africans are chronically hungry. African malnutrition claims the lives 3.5 million children each year, and contracts economies by 2-3% yearly. 65% of Africa’s population runs 30 million smallholder farms that produce 80% of the continent’s food. Those farmers are overrepresented among the poor, and their yields are 1.5-2 tons/ha while Western farmers obtain up 5-10tons/ha. We need to help them get higher yields.
Solution
Our mission is to combat hunger and poverty in Africa by enlarging the yields and profits of the continent’s smallholder farmers. Our approach includes farmer training; loaned inputs (such as improved seed and fertilizer); appropriate irrigation technologies (such as treadle pumps); insurance against drought or market collapse; constant contact with farmers through mobile phones; and access to markets. We emphasize sustainability and empowerment of local communities, as such we (1) train farmers on agroecology; (2) take a participatory approach; we (3) don’t give handouts, but we charge reasonable fees and ask for loan repayments when farmers sell their produce; and (3) we are especially keen to work with women farmers.
Example
Rudo is a smallholder farmer in rural Zimbabwe. She is a widow, and has four young children. Rudo grows corn on a 1 hectare piece of land they owned with her husband, but her yields are very low and her family often experiences hunger. We sit down with Rudo and her friends to discuss their needs and suit our work to their context. We bring a local extension worker to train Rudo on maintaining her farm, and on basic nutrition, pros of improved seed, smallholder irrigation and insurance. We then lend those things to her and her friends, and continue monitoring them. After the harvest, we help her store food for subsistence, and to find the best prices for their corn. We collect repayments from her and give her another loan soon afterwards.
Impact
Projected impact: we expect to triple yields and double incomes of smallholders. We also expect to reduce chronic hunger in Africa by 35% within 15 years. In turn, we expect significant pro-poor economic growth and continent-wide improvements in adaptation to climate change and in environmental management. We also expect higher incomes among the poorest to translate to improved access to healthcare and education, and thus to generally improved standards of living. Further, we expect to strengthen millions of women’s farms; strengthen self-worth among poor farming communities and strengthen local farmers’ organizations and institutions.
Marketplace
One Acre Fund trains and lends inputs to farmers in East Africa, and myAgro uses mobile phones to encourage saving and early input purchases among Malian farmers. While both are doing great work, they don’t have some crucial markers: (1) they are not continent-wide movements; and more importantly (2) they overlook important bottlenecks such as risk, climate change, access to markets, and gender dynamics. Helping African smallholders out of the poverty trap effectively requires a whole-systems approach—and that’s what we’re doing.
Sustainability Plan
We don’t give hand-outs—we lend. That empowers farmers, and makes us financially sustainable. Similar smaller-scale work has had repayment rates of over 96%, so we’re not worried. We expect to fund 100% of field costs through farmer repayment by 2023. We also plan to establish a fund (like an endowment), that generates interest and helps us fund more of our work.
Founding Story
AFI was founded by Douglas Mapondera. Douglas grew up in rural Zimbabwe where he experienced hunger during the country’s recent depression and after his father’s death. When his mother turned to smallholder agriculture, he was both struck by the obstacles she faced, and impressed with her creativity and resilience. He continued to identify with farmers like his mother while studying at Macalester College in Minnesota, which is why he fundraised to repair communal irrigation infrastructure at her village during his sophomore year. That empathy for his mother and her fellow smallholder farmers across Africa led him to create AFI in January 2013.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Our current approach only addresses farm sustainability, and not general environmental management around those farms. Such added capacity would enable us to partner with local communities at the grassroots level to improve the the general health of their environments (for example, reforestation). We would also like to promote human wellness and vitality by training farmers on basic nutrition, as well as extending support to gardening projects and diversifying our crop program.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 04/6/2013 by Anna Papadomarkaki
Utilizing the ancient knowledge on herbal treatments from ancient Greek Ippocrates and Indian Ayurveda, a company in a rural area could offer assistance to people in preventing diseases and treating mild conditions with herbal treatments. This could improve the health level of population through natural therapies, decompress the healthcare system and contribute to the local agriculture.
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Type of Organization
For‐profit
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Idea phase
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
It was the story telling about ancient scriptures that refer to Asklepios and Ippokrates transferring the knowledge of medicinal plants to Asia and back, for maintaining health or healing patients. Traditional medicine through plants, can be achieved nowadays through the knowledge of ancient Greece scriptures and Ayurveda. Both can work, in a supplementary way.
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Preventive medicine through natural sources
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Herbal therapies have always been in demand in this certain Cretan region. People in the rural area of Heraklion, are close to nature, as most are farmers. According to the storytelling of the elder in the villages, they already apply certain available recipes to themselves. But the complete knowledge of herbal medicine is lost through the years. Moreover, that is an aging region, so not much knowledge can be attained.
But still, ancient Greek scriptures exist and more organized knowledge can be added through Ayurveda (the traditional medicine of India), after adapting with the available plants, according to the climate and the possibilities of cultivation.
Using herbal remedies to recover from easily managable diseases, can be very cost effective, even though it is not applied extensively in Greece. But as patients follow instructions of their physicians, research on wild flora of Greece has led to certain formulas for skin treatments, with few products already approved and found in the market.
The use of herbal remedies could also be most effective for the society, with the use of the agricultural cooperatives in several parts of the country, in order to get the supplies needed for these remedies. The agricultural unions or farmers themselves, they have started showing great interest in medicinal plants, changing cultivation in favor to those herbs, following a new agricultural market trend. Indeed, for special kind of cultivation, farmers can achieve EU funding, in assistance for cultivating these plants.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
So far herbal remedies are only applied in spa's and especially in forms of aromatherapy, along with alternative methods of healing, in large cities of Greece. The present model has nothing to do with this. It is focused on the use of the herbal remedies given though nature for treatment, not only wellness, along with education of the people on keeping a healthy way of living. (Lately, the Mediteranean diet in the region is fading away and alcohol consumption is increasing).
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
A small company,in a suitable location, into an olive oil plantation could be self sufficient for the beginning, by using the income of olive oil production, plus the use of part of the same production as base to the medicinal preparation, in oily forms of administration of the herbs. Collaboration with the agricultural unions for supplies though, would give the company easier access to the market, by giving another perspective to the products the farmers are selling, making it well known to the area, in an easier way.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
This kind of treatment, refers to the individual, treated according to its needs. Being completely customised, possible challenges, could only come from the established health care system which is under a lot of pressure at the moment and for the next 3-5 years, at least. Meanwhile, there are chances for establishing the model company, improving its fame and given the rise of alternative medicine in the country, there are strong possibilities of expanding, in other islands, where primary care is insufficient.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Realign the incentives in the public healthcare system in mature markets, or
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
The continuously increasing costs of healthcare, drives the public healthcare systems in the developed countries in restructuring as funding is becoming harder. Given this situation the role of preventive medicine as well as primary care, seems as a valuable option. Both preventive medicine and primary care, are capable of sustaining the public health in reasonable levels, avoiding costs of hospitalization. But the primary care through the healthcare system of Greece it is offered through hospitals mainly, making the access very difficult to the patients. So, preventive health especially through traditional medicine, could be important solution to relieving the pressure to the public system.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Idea (poised to launch)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare).
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
New skills, Consultation.
Please describe your solution in more detail
The idea is based on the individual approach of the patient, including training on how to prevent the disease, by changing everyday’s habits. At the same time, it accepts the distinctiveness of everyone’s needs, taking care of aspects of life that cannot be changed, and at these cases, in intervenes with the use of natural medicines, according to the whole constitution of the patient, treating him and not only his disease.
The solution can work outside the public healthcare system, functioning complementary, at a time when pressure of healthcare services demand is intense. The whole approach refers to a cheap solution, bringing relief to the patient as well as the public system.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
The vision is to help people in identifying the hazards of health through bad habits, learn how to handle them if it is not possible to avoid them and maintain a good level of health through prevention. So, when the first signs of the disease are aproaching, simple treatments can be efficient. This way the health level of the population can increase, permitting the health care system to handle more serious cases.
What is your value proposition?
Who is your customer(s)?
In the beginning about 30.000 people in the close region could be possible customers. In the case of expansion, then more people of the areas where the organization will operate, could be supported, as well as tourists, In that case, tourist agents could also be customers.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
What are your primary activities?
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Possible accusations of unapproved medicines, which can be solved through clinical trials according to the recent EU regulations.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
What are your key growth objectives?
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
Approximately 200 words left (1000 characters).
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
It could work in any place where the effect of the local plants is known, in combination of the personal needs of every patient.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Use of local agriculture for the benefit of the health level of the local society, with prevention and easy access in a very low cost, decompressing of the local healthcare system.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Friends and family, Individuals, Patients.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
National government.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
NGOs, Private businesses.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Created on 04/2/2013 by Kelsey Hartman
Humans and the environment are fundamentally connected: healthy communities cannot exist without a healthy planet. Recognition of this connection inspires Health In Harmony’s innovative integrated systems model. We collaborate with communities to trade healthcare for rainforest conservation, and break the link between poverty, poor health, and environmental degradation.
Organization: Health In Harmony
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
United States, OR, Portland, Multnomah County
Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating for more than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
2008: Health In Harmony receives the Mongabay "Innovation in Conservation Award"; 2009: Founder featured as a "New Eco Role Model" in O (Oprah) Magazine; 2009: PBS featured our work as part of the "Under-Told Stories" segment on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; 2011: Indonesian co-founder Dr. Hotlin Ompusunggu wins the Whitley Award; 2011: Outside Magazine ranks Health In Harmony in the top 30 charities for citizen philanthropy in "The Year of Giving Adventurously"; 2012: finalists in the Changemakers "Innovations for Health: Solutions That Cross Borders" competition; 2012: Founder presents at TEDxJakarta .
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
While doing undergraduate research in Gunung Palung National Park, founder Dr. Kinari Webb witnessed her assistant, Tadin, slice open his hand with a machete. He could not afford medical care to save his livelihood without resorting to illegal logging, which made Dr. Webb realize the connection between poverty, poor health care, and environmental destruction, and resolve to help.
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName Your Entry
Healthcare as a Conservation Incentive
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Humans and the environment are fundamentally connected: healthy communities cannot exist without a healthy planet. However, where there is endemic poverty, people are too often forced to chose between their health and that of their environment. Without accessible, affordable healthcare, the only way to pay for necessary care is usually unsustainable exploitation of local resources. The resulting environmental destruction hurts both local and global communities, contributing to climate change on the global scale, and decreasing local water, soil, and air quality. Degraded ecosystems can also have less predictable negative impacts on human health: disturbed rainforests have been linked to increases of disease-carrying mosquitos (Olson et al., 2010).
Recognition of this connection, plus the key ingredient of community input and involvement, makes up Health In Harmony’s innovative model. We put it into practice at our pilot project Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, integrating high-quality, affordable healthcare with strategies to protect threatened rainforests. ASRI allows cash-poor families to barter reforestation supplies, manure for organic farming, local crafts, and labor for health care, and provides further “green discounts” to villages that do not log. The ASRI clinic functions as a community resource, providing education on conservation and human health, as well as training in organic farming and animal husbandry. Combined, these services allow both people and the planet to prosper.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Our model addresses the patient's needs more holistically than others in our field. Many organizations, most notably Partners In Health, provide high quality healthcare in rural areas with a high degree of community engagement, but they focus exclusively on human health. Others focus exclusively on conservation, offering incentives for conservation, or as in the case of the World Conservation Society, work with communities to offer alternative livelihoods to unsustainable resource extraction. We focus not only on the patients' immediate medical needs, but on creating a healthier environment - physically and economically - to prevent future medical crises by combining health and conservation education, and alternative livelihood trainings with healthcare.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
HIH’s role is three-fold: 1) raising funds and cultivating partners; 2) raising awareness and telling the story; and, 3) providing our program partner, ASRI, with the stream of medical and conservation volunteers and researchers that add value to the full expression of model while simultaneously assuring that Indonesians are leading and truly forming the foundation of success at ASRI. ASRI is legally and operationally separate as an Indonesian-based NGO.. This simplifies functioning within the Indonesian legal system and creates a more genuinely community-based project, run by Indonesians for Indonesians. It also creates more day-to-day efficiency in our operations, as the staff at ASRI is fully independent and able to effectively direct and lead projects as an expression of the model.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
Our ongoing innovation is based on regular communication with the communities with which we work. By staying in touch with our beneficiaries, who know best what needs must be addressed, we can adapt to changing and challenging circumstances. This has already led us to new innovations: when discussing our model with the local communities, many people requested organic farming training, which is now one of our most popular programs and has provided over 300 people with an alternative livelihoods to logging. Based on enthusiastic community feedback and desire for more extensive healthcare, environmental education, and livelihood trainings, we plan to break ground on a larger community center this summer, showing again that the communities we work with are constant sources of innovation.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Follow-up.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Through our work with the clinic and mobile clinic, we want to address the low standard of health, poor access to good healthcare, and debt incurred by healthcare. Major problems include a lack of potable water and correspondingly high rates of diarrhea, low immunization rates, lack of access to birth control, and high rates of tuberculosis and malaria. Healthcare services are either unavailable, of extremely low quality, or require 2 to 12 hours travel (assuming passable roads). As healthcare costs represent the third greatest family budget expenditure and often drive families to illegal logging, HIH also provides training in alternative, sustainable livelihoods to reverse practices that degrade local habitats and watershed conditions and lead to increases in mosquito-borne diseases.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Start-up and growth (pilot is successful and starting to expand)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare).
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
New skills, Consultation, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
The heart of our solution is high quality affordable healthcare in exchange for conservation and training in sustainable livelihoods. At clinic, patients from green villages (no illegal logging for the past 30 days as verified by ASRI Forest Guardians) receive an 85% healthcare subsidy. If patients can’t pay cash, they can “pay” with bartered goods. Regular community meetings and lively healthcare and conservation presentations engage participants in appreciating links between their health and rainforest health. Healthcare outreach includes a mobile clinic, and a highly successful DOTS program led by trained community healthcare workers. As healthcare represents a substantial economic burden, ASRI also provides alternative livelihood trainings in organic farming and animal husbandry.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
We envision healthy communities and vibrant, functioning ecosystems as mutually supportive systems for a sustainable future. We aim to improve access and quality of healthcare while reducing related debt; increase stores of health and environmental knowledge through public education programs; promote economic and environmental sustainability by providing alternatives to illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture; and protect and restore threatened ecosystems. Our objective is to eventually create community health centers combined with conservation incentives in underserved but biodiverse areas across the globe.
What is your value proposition?
We provide accessible high-quality, low-cost healthcare with flexible payment options to prevent economic hardship while incentivizing conservation. While visits to our clinic cost roughly the same amount as a trip to the government clinic, our non-cash payment options create less economic hardship, so that our patients do not have to go into debt or choose between food and medicine to afford our services.
We provide alternative livelihood training in organic farming and animal husbandry, creating sustainable livelihoods with low start up costs, low risk, and high returns. There are no other organized trainings in these occupations in the area, and demand is very high.
Who is your customer(s)?
Our customer is the average person living around Gunung Palung National Park (GPNP). The majority are agricultural workers farming small plots of land or domestic workers, and their children. Most live in extreme poverty with the little to no opportunity for advancement: the average daily wage is $1.47, and as of 2012, only 27% of the population had any education past elementary school. The vast majority are Muslim people of the Melayu ethnic group. The population skews very young, with a median age of 21.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
We reach new customers largely through community outreach and word of mouth. ASRI staff hold regular scheduled dialogues with community leaders and any interested community members in the villages that we work with to discuss ASRI's programs and if they could be improved. These dialogues, as well as mobile clinic visits to more remote villages and educational presentations in schools, increase our visibility in the area. Otherwise, we rely on word-of-mouth: the 61% of people who had heard of the clinic and our discount for non-logging villages had told others about the discount. Additionally, the Forest Guardians trained to monitor logging activities in each village spread the word about ASRI with their neighbors.
What are your primary activities?
Providing primary care is our central activity. We examine, diagnose, and treat common illnesses, and provide preventative care such as immunizations, mosquito nets, and education on good hygiene and health practices. We concentrate on health and conservation education both in and outside the clinic, through presentations in the clinic's waiting room and in the village primary schools. In addition, we provide alternative sustainable livelihood trainings in organic farming and animal husbandry. Finally, we run an organic garden and forestry nursery that is used in trainings, and provides food to the clinic and seedlings for our reforestation projects. We reforest and monitor between 4 and 7 hectares of rainforest each year, depending on funding.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our peers and competitors are the government clinic and hospital, and the village nurses. We must compete against the public clinic's established reputation, and the convenience of the village nurses, but do not see them as long-term threats to our growth. The biggest threat we face is our code of conduct that does not allow ASRI to offer or accept any bribes. Our clinic is both more accessible to many communities, but also much more affordable once our non-cash payment options and conservation subsidies are taken into account, and the doctors have much more training and resources than the village nurses. The communities surrounding GPNP are still underserved, so we do not anticipate competition between healthcare providers in the foreseeable future.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
1) Bribery and corruption. HIH/ASRI do not accept or give bribes, which has meant that achieving official permissions for programs is always a long and complex process. We practice patience and diplomacy. 2) Securing the engagement of remote villages with the highest illegal logging rates. We identify opportunities to engage village members in immunization and healthcare programs to build trust and do not turn anyone away. 3) Palm oil plantation expansion. We rely on and engage with NGOs that are fighting expansion and maintain focus on our model. 4) Awareness of ASRI’s programs and discounts. Adding, by request, conservation education programming in the schools reaches the next generation as well as many families that would not otherwise know about ASRI.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
We plan to increase our presence in the GPNP communities through continued outreach and designing solutions in and with community for additional livelihood trainings and monitoring of forest conservation. Critical to this is expanding our healthcare facilities with a community healthcare center/hospital. Further on, we hope to replicate our model in other underserved and biodiverse areas.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Our pilot clinic and program has demonstrated remarkable success in achieving our objectives, and is functioning at and beyond capacity. We have a strong and dedicated donor base, as well as the internal capacity to pursue more funding for additional projects. An exploratory site visit is planned for Raja Ampat, Indonesia to assess feasibility of establishing a similar program.
What are your key growth objectives?
1) At ASRI, the construction of a larger community health care center with urgent care and surgical capacities. A larger, more comprehensive facility will greatly increase our impact in the communities, as the average cost of an emergency hospital visit is nearly 90% of the average family's yearly income; and serve as a training site for replication. 2) Replication of the model in a new location.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
In the short term, we plan to begin work on the ASRI community healthcare center/hospital by this time next year. For this to happen, we must meet our fundraising goal to begin construction and lay out a longer-term, sustainable operations plan. In the mid-term, we are investigating what it would take to replicate our model in a different setting. The key activities in that process are scouting a new location; working with the surrounding communities to identify the key health and conservation issues, and the most effective incentives. As in 2005 when the site for the current clinic was scouted, community “buy in” and permissions from local and regional government officials will be essential to replicating in Raja Ampat, or elsewhere.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
The results of our internal five-year survey show a remarkable impact. In the five years the clinic has been operating, we have served 15,000 patients with over 34,000 total patient visits. Common disease symptoms have declined dramatically across the board by as much as 68% (p<0.0001 for all). Infant mortality declined significantly by 18%, and there was a corresponding significant increase in midwifes present at births. Preventative care is also on the rise: the percentage of children receiving any immunizations increased 25% to 84%, and complete immunizations increased by 11%, while mosquito net usage rose from 86 to 98%, and 98% of households now boil their water before drinking, a 24% increase (p<0.0001 for all). Smoking declined 14.7% in men and 64.8% in women to 55.8% and 5.6% respectively, while smoking rates were actually rising countrywide. Additionally, ASRI patients were less likely to defecate in river, more likely to use a restroom, and more likely to use birth control than their counterparts.
Importantly, ASRI appears to be lowering barriers to care. While ASRI patients’ income is not statistically different from non-patients, ASRI patients were significantly less worried about affording healthcare (57% vs 73%) and accessing healthcare (57% vs 70%) than non-patients (p<0.0001), and having to choose between food and medicine was significantly less likely in patients who had been to ASRI.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
We are using comparison surveys to quantify and evaluate our impact. A baseline survey of 1,348 households surrounding GPNP was completed in February 2007, before any work was done by ASRI. A repeat survey was conducted in February 2012, with 1,497 households. Households were randomly selected from the village leader's list, and interviews were conducted by nurses who had been trained for one week in confidentiality, bias, leading questions, and comfort with the survey. The survey measured demographics, health and hygiene indicators, conservation attitudes and practices, and attitudes towards ASRI's work. We plan to repeat this survey for further evaluation of our social impact in another 3-5 years.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Yes: where there is overexploitation as a result of community practices, particularly where health care insecurity continues to drive those choices and leads to resource exploitation that leads to poor community and global health. HIH is actively exploring this question of where and how. An exploratory site visit is planned to assess other geographies and regions. Although we offer healthcare discounts based on logging at ASRI, our model could be adapted to other threatened, biodiverse ecosystems, such as world-renowned coral reefs, where the incentive is based on protecting both the coral reefs and fisheries.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
With the construction of a community healthcare center/hospital, HIH/ASRI will perform emergency care and surgical procedures; it will also create greater conservation incentives, as green discounts will be more attractive for more costly surgical and emergency care. Also, though not previously noted, ASRI offers a dental clinic and this is an area where we forecast some of the greatest growth in patient care given survey results. We expect this to raise our profile and thus our impact across the board in communities surrounding GPNP. We have also recently launched ASRI Kids, a much more extensive educational program for children, that we expect will further improve health and conservation knowledge. Due to consistently high demand, we are also scaling up our organic farming training.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
We rely on government and private foundation grants and individual giving to support programs and general operations. In addition, revenue to support clinic operations is generated by patient fees and the sale of handicrafts that have been bartered for care.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Individuals, Patients.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
HIH supports extensive donor and foundation fundraising for our program partner, to tell our story and ensure medical, conservation, other volunteers and researchers are available to ASRI based on their expressed needs. Volunteers have provided over $2 million of in-kind services. We also work with ASRI to build revenue generating options through patient fees and sales of bartered goods in exchange for healthcare services; and, through on-site and virtual collaboration, enhance staff capacity to engage Indonesian agency and donor funding sources. Both organizations engage donors through social media and fundraising campaigns as well. Annually, an ASRI staff leader is hosted domestically for training and outreach as well.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
HIH launched ASRI as a pilot program with a clear mission: saving rainforests with a stethoscope. The clarity of mission inspired long-term foundation funding and a dedicated pool of donors, many of whom have served as ASRI volunteers. The commitment to measuring impact (5-year survey) and on-site (and virtual) collaboration are both critical foundations of HIH’s approach: we embrace the importance of telling our story with facts as well as personal stories of success. Currently grants and donors including multi-year grants from government agencies and private foundations finance HIH. HIH has and is growing an active and involved donor pool that accounts for 40% of HIH’s current revenue. HIH also works with ASRI to develop greater revenue independence.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Over the next few years, we will continue to seek out a variety of grants from both the US and Indonesian governments, from private foundations and other organizations and build capacity for generating revenue locally and sustainably at ASRI. HIH is actively leveraging international interest in preserving the exceptional biodiversity present in Indonesia and has engaged a number of potential financing opportunities; one especially promising source of funds is the "Debt for Nature" fund established when Norway agreed to forgive $1 billion of Indonesia's debt if that money was put towards preserving threatened rainforests. We also sustain funding through long-term, multi-year grants, such as a recurring grant from the US Fish & Wildlife Great Apes Conservation fund that supports our conservation initiatives. Individual giving is another important part of our plan to sustain funding in the upcoming years. We have and continue to build a generous donor pool, most of whom find to us through outreach and speaking tours, or through current “friends”. We hope to expand our social media presence in the coming year with the goal of crowd-funding specific initiatives.
Kijani Tecnology wants to bring renewable energy to every home on the planet. Heat is energy, and energy is what drives our world. By focusing on developing radically affordable solar energy collection we are positioning ourselves to do more than just provide electricity to the world, we are providing energy and what we can do with energy is only limited by our imaginations.
Created on 03/23/2013 by vijay.aditya
Ekgaon is working to enable access to information and services to under-served markets primarily rural. The focus is to enable those services which support rural livelihoods and increase competitive advantage of rural artisans and farmers in the market. OneFarm is agriculture advisory service focussing on providing farmers advisory services localised for there land and crop (and variety), customised to there micro-climate and personalised to be delivered on there mobile phone in text or voice in local language.
Organization: Ekgaon Technologies
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India, TN, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore
Is your organization a
Hybrid
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OneFarm: Localising farm advisory services and enabling access to smallholder farmers on Mobile phone
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Ekgaon is working to enable access to information and services to under-served markets primarily rural. The focus is to enable those services which support rural livelihoods and increase competitive advantage of rural artisans and farmers in the market. OneFarm is agriculture advisory service focussing on providing farmers advisory services localised for there land and crop (and variety), customised to there micro-climate and personalised to be delivered on there mobile phone in text or voice in local language. OneFarm platform provides weather forecast, crop management, soil nutrient management, disease alert, market prices, networking with inputs suppliers and supply chain integration, while helping reduce fertiliser and pesticide usage by 30% and increase farm productivity by 15%.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Our top three priorities for next year are
1) Secure growth funding for the company
2) Scaling OneFarm services across geographies and crops/varieties
3) Build business development and customer support team for customer acquisition and support
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Message & Brand Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Consumer/Audience Acquisition:
We seek to scale our services to new markets (geographies), crucial for the same are strategic channel partnership for distribution and outreach of our services across remote rural distribution networks/franchisees of various companies. We also need to identify strategies for building our own franchisee/distribution network, franchisee retention strategy and customer retention strategies.
Message & Brand Strategy:
OneFarm is a highly customised service for individual farmer and his/her farm. This is the distinguishing feature of the service against the prevailing competition. We want to place the project USP amongst the stakeholders of the sector in such a way that its brand catches attention, recall and repeated customers, while also attract attention of other services providers who can utilise the platform/network thus created for accessing there services to the farmers.
1.
Focus on the customers satisfaction through service quality
2.
Synergy in mutuals goals for service/sector/customers
3.
Focus on sustainability of services and long term parnership
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support for American Express would focus on specific service, viz OneFarm only as per the identified areas of technical support. However some of the strategies could also have impact on over all organisations business planning, customer acquisition strategies and brand promotion.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have focussed on all these areas previously, however have never used any consultants for the same due funding constraints. However in other areas of our work such as crop content development, voice dubbing, translations of content in local language, we always use consultants.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
More savings from reduced use of agri-inputs and increase income of the farmer
2.
Better crop management practices, improving soil and crop health, enhacing productivity
3.
Repeated customers for utilising OneFarm services
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Over two years of impact assessment studies we have identified that farmers have been able to reduce usage of agri-inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides by over 30% while enhancing productivity by over 15%. The services could help save over 12 $ per farmer per crop season (2 acre farm) in agri-inputs (fertilizers & pesticides), healthy soil with enhanced farm productivity and hence better return on investment to farmers. The indirect impact on environment is by reduction of nitrogen poisoning due to over use of fertilizers in soil and water. The services has reached over to 300000 farmers, with active subscribers changing in each crop season. The service helps farmer diversify his/her farming with better choice of crop and variety as per market demand.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
The future impact of the project could be larger on the small holder farmers if the proposed scale is reached. However this impact would be both a factor of right amount of investment as well as professional support. If the professional support helps to create strategic partnerships which would help scale without requiring much investment then the prospects of scale and impact could be much wider. For example a partnership with a mobile network operators could be potentially beneficial partnership, which would help get both scale as well as larger sustained revenues.
This Entry is about (Issues)
239 million Africans are chronically hungry. Many of them are poor smallholder farmers who already produce most of Africa’s food. We help improve their yields and profits. Our approach focuses on information and training, agro-ecology, loaned inputs, and risk management and appropriate technology.
Created on 03/17/2013 by Prateek Parakh
Approximately 50 words left (400 characters).
Organization: Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD)
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Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD)
Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
Not registered
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Idea phase
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
SCMHRD emerged as the national runners-up in cHRysalis - a national level HR case study competition at Transcend '13 - SIBM - Pune
SCMHRD declared as runners up for the flagship event - "Secret Formula - Intaglio 2013, IIM Calcutta"
SCMHRD won ShyLock at Ojas 5.0, SP Jain-Mumbai
SCMHRD won Finatics at Ignisense, SIIB-Pune
SCMHRD won Cut The Mustard at Ojas 5.0, SP Jain, Mumbai
Paper authored by final year SCMHRD students has been selected for presentation and proceedings in the 42nd IFTDO World Conference in New Delhi
Dewang Mehta and Amar Ujala B-School Excellence Awards for SCMHRD
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
We were working on a healthcare business plan competition organized by Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. The plan was quite similar to "Enabling Global HealthCare on Cloud".
Our plan got selected for the finals and was highly appreciated. At that time we realized that this plan is practically feasible and can be implemented in long term.
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Enabling Healthcare Omnipresence through Cloud
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
In Myocardial Infarction, every minute of delay results in 11 days of loss of life of the patient, during the first 3 hours.
If Reperfusion treatment is given within the first 15-30 minutes of the heart attack, damage to the heart can be REVERSIBLE.
One-third of the patients having cardiac arrest die before getting admitted to the hospital.
Early treatment is vital in such condition and if TELEMEDICINE is implemented properly and efficiently at least 1/3rd of patients dying from heart attack can be saved.
The model, however, aims to a lot broader scope than what telemedicine can serve.
The centralization of the database of medical history of patients with its access through the Cloud provides a real time interface to the doctors, patients & Government alike helping in improving the quality of service rendered. The critical time utilized in offering the service & the ease with which this database can be handled electronically.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Till date no service provider in Healthcare industry has tried to create a central database leave apart exploring its cloud compatibility.
Currently some companies provide Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and some others provide Tele-Medicine but none of them has never tried to integrate this technologies into a single service. We integrate these individual packages into a single product.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Government support is anticipated. So risk can be distributed.
When adequate data is available, very efficient operations management and inventory management can be carried out to do cost cutting.
R & D can be carried out effectively, when data is available in adequate amount.
Currently government support to the Telemedicine is given only for 5 years. After that the service dries up. Maintenance is necessary after that. So we do not implement cloud in rural area yet. Cloud can cover the spectrum till the district area and from there onward, rural area can be covered by the present practices of Telemedicine. The data collected by Telemedicine shall be put on cloud periodically, by sending the data to the district level and then putting it to the central database.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
Innovative ideas can be generated in order to counter the connectivity issues & cost of cloud. For example, to decrease the usage of cooling equipment and run the data centers in hot climate. Also, the efficiency of equipment should be increased so as to reduce the power consumption of the server.
There is a lot of scope for everyone, (e.g. ISRO included 100 hospitals including 22 tertiary hospitals, but there are still thousands of hospitals and a lot of area left.) but for cloud to be effective, huge data collection is necessary and for that, as large portion as possible should be affiliated.
EMR and research can take a long time before it can be utilized fully and can be converted into profitable ventures. So for short term, focus should be mainly on telemedicine & data collection.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Follow-up, Long-term care, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Healthcare in India is not much efficiently managed till recent times. With the entry of corporate giants like Apollo, Max and Fortis, this trend seems to be changing but still when it comes to efficient usage of technology, Indian hospitals lag behind the other countries’.
With the law regarding mandatory storage of medical data electronically, in USA a big potential market has opened up. Rationale behind doing this is to manage the data smoothly and to keep the history available to medical fraternity as well as the patients themselves.
The role of cloud has till now been limited in either providing EMR facility or giving telemedicine. But quite a few efforts have been made in the direction of making healthcare omnipresent, i.e. integrating both.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Idea (poised to launch)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare).
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
Doctors can consult one another across the globe. In rare cases, life- saving advises from the best brains of the world can be obtained
A good number of patients will be treated at PHCs only, so no need for them to go to the district hospitals.
Less dependence on any specific doctor, for the patient (flexibility to continue the treatment from where it is, by the other doctor)
Transparency in the treatment and less scope of Irrational Drug Therapy
From rural population, those who want to spend on health and want a premium on services can get a chance (by connecting rural area with private sector by telemedicine). It will lead to decreased number of patients in the tertiary government Hospitals which are already overburdened, and redistribute this number to the private hospitals.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
Vision: Achieving Global HealthCare Omnipresence through Cloud Computing
To develop a healthcare collaboration platform for Consumers and healthcare service providers. To enable consumers to centralize their medical history and providers for their referral communication on investigations, procedures, and medications after patient visit.
To initiate comprehensive practice management source for physicians and integrated interface to communicate with preferred labs, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers.
What is your value proposition?
To Doctors:
Reduction in paperwork
Data synchronization
Laboratories connected
Easy access to medical histories
Ease of consulting the other doctors
Platform to showcase research
Telemedicine - More number of patients
Long-run reduction in cost
Reduction in time-per-patient
To Patients:
Storage and access of clinical history
Avoidance of duplication of investigations
Technology utilization
Online follow-ups
Appointment booking
Online advice from the consulting doctor
Research and opinions of all the doctors accessible
Telemedicine - ease of access
Reliable healthcare information over internet
Who is your customer(s)?
Doctors, Patients and Hospital Chains.
We carried out a Primary Research and ran a Cluster Analysis in order to segment and target our customers. The results indicated the following target segments:
Doctors of all age groups seeking the proposition of Convenience (reduction of paperwork, diagnostic procedural smoothness) and doctors in the age group 20-30 years and seeking the proposition of Value-for-Money (cost reduction, reduction in average time spent on each patient).
Patients who are Benefit seeking (tech savvy, online appointment booking, online advise and follow ups) and Comfort seeking (avoiding duplication of their medical records and thus reducing high expenses), in Transferable jobs and living in Metropolitan cities.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
We carried out a Primary Research to identify the factors influencing the consumers. The 3 major sources of promotion (in descending order of effectiveness) are:
1. Doctor recommendations
2. Online social media
3. Posters in hospitals and health magazines
Thus we decide to adopt a 3-pronged strategy:
Doctors – Personal Selling, Direct Marketing
Patients – Recommendations by doctors, Online Social Media
Hospital Chains – Pitch-ins and Promotions
What are your primary activities?
On technological side, the primary activity shall involve setting up servers and database & developing the Cloud platform. An application for user interface shall be developed. Then accounts (unique login id and password) shall be provided to all the customers.
On operational side, at present, the telemedicine involves:
Primary health centers
Ambulances
Tertiary care centres
Here, one lab technician shall be present in such clinics who shall collect blood & prepare peripheral blood smears. He can be trained further to take the ECG. Such clinics are widely distributed in the rural area. Patient can be taken to such clinic in lesser time than to a PHC. Thus, vital time is saved; less chances of patient dying acutely; more admissions to hospital; more profit and less mortality.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Few start-ups like MDYantra have taken initiative in this field. But they should be considered more as peers than competitors because this idea is in nascent stage in India. There is enough room for multiple players to venture into this segment and develop their capabilities.
However, large IT players like Microsoft or Google pose a threat as they may venture into this segment because of their technological capabilities. Similarly healthcare giants like Fortis or Wockhardt may enter the segment because of their medical excellence.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Presently the mindset of population is inclined towards physical visits to the clinics. They will not like to get treated completely virtually, no matter how accurate it may be. A large portion of population is very peculiar to value-for-money and they find the value for money not only in the end-result of treatment but also in the process of getting treated.
Keeping this in mind, the invention is a supplement to the current medical practice. It aims to organize the medical practice in a drastic way. However, it would not be marketed as a replacement to the traditional doctor visits.
Many players are there who are not using cloud but providing these services in fragments.
e.g. EMR and PH storage – Siemens, Wipro GE, TCS, Vepro, etc. telemedicine – Apollo hospitals, ISRO
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
The long term growth strategy is 2-pronged.
Firstly, we aim to cover maximum number of villages of India through Telemedicine. Collaborating with the Central Government, we aim to cover government hospitals as well.
Parallel to this, we leverage the power of cloud to go Global. Promoting the service to doctors as well as hospital chains abroad shall be a part of the growth strategy.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Government support is anticipated in this field in the next couple of years.
Government is preparing ‘Rural Doctors’ who, by a course of 4 years, learn basic treatments. This workforce can be utilized to treat the patients with the help from Telemedicine, which will lead to decreased incentives to be paid.
What are your key growth objectives?
The key growth objectives are:
Implementing Cloud based Healthcare system in 5 major hospital chains across India.
Connecting rural India's primary healthcare centers with these hospitals (villages within 250 km area of each hospital) through Telemedicine.
Financial break-even by the end of 3rd year in operation.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
Profit Analysis:
Profit will be Rs. 110000 per month per cluster. (considering 10 patients per week getting telemedicine treatment and 4 of them actually contributing to the hospital treatment, with 25% of the profit earned by hospital.)
Thus, at the end of 1 year, each cluster can break-even.
After that, if 10 clusters are made, almost Rs. 1.1 crore per month will be the profit.
7 colleges (100 licenses per unit)
3 research centres (50 licenses per unit)
25 hospitals (20 licenses per unit)
Average usage: 4 hours a day
Revenue generated will be approximately Rs. 3200000 per month or Rs. 38400000 per year.
Taking the loan and interest into account, and also expecting more participation from the healthcare firms, the system is expected to start generating profit from the 4th year.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
The proposed solution is to be implemented.
Meanwhile we conducted a Primary Research while working on a case study on Google Health. The results helped us understand the factors which inhibit customers from using online healthcare services. These factors (in descending order of importance) are:
1. Complicated to use
2. My doctors doesn't use it
3. Not useful at all
4. Privacy and data security concerns
Since we have already assessed the impact of Google Health and identified the reasons of its failure, we have a fair share of idea of what gaps need to be fulfilled in order to make our model impactful and sustainable.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Social impact would be measured on the basis of 3 parameters:
1. Number of patients registered as users of the Cloud based service
2. Number of doctors registered for the service
3. Number of Multi-specialty Hospital chains integrated the platform on there IT systems
4. Geographical coverage in terms of Number of cities, towns and villages
5. Reduction in mortality rate due to lack of primary healthcare
6. Reduction in the number of doctors required in OPD
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Cloud computing is a global service.
For example: A patient in India registered for the proposed service go for treatment in a Multi-specialty hospital in USA without carrying any medical records if that hospital has implemented this service on their systems. The hospital need not conduct all the tests again as they have electronic access to the patient's medical history.
We conducted a Primary Research to determine the factors important for choosing a location. After running a factor analysis on the data, the following factors were obtained along with their relative weight-age:
Climate – 10%
Number of Population in the rural area to be covered – 15%
Per capita of first 25% of population – 35%
Distance of the the tertiary hospital from the rural area – 20%
Government Policy – 20%
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
In the first year of operation, we target 80 multi-specialty hospital chains and nearly 400 doctors.
Over the next 3 years, we aim to have our service implemented across 200 hospitals in India. We aim to have approximately 1000 doctors as our customers during this time period.
Mortality rate from emergencies such as a heart attack to reduce almost by 33%.
Almost 20% of the requirement of the doctors can be reduced in the OPDs.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
The break up of the cost of implementing the required technology is as following:
Cost of a server – Rs. 150000
Interest @5% & 3 year amortization – Rs. 157500
Infrastructure Cost (Transformers, UPS, Generators) – Rs. 18400
Power Cost – Rs. 5957
Network Cost – Rs. 4000
Total Cost per Server (Inclusive of setup and other components) – Rs. 185857
Total Cost for 600 servers: Rs. 11,16,00,000
600 servers would be required to serve 300 clusters or data centers. So the above equipment would serve our model for the first 3-4 years of operation. We seek this investment from Venture Capitalists and explore the opportunity of getting some technology from the government at subsidized rates.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Patients, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Regional government, National government.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
The annual cost of an account of a Multi-specialty hospital shall be Rs. 50000. This subscription fee would be paid by the hospital every year.
Similarly, the annual cost of an account for a doctor (stand-alone practitioner) shall be Rs. 5000
For the first year, subscription fees shall not be charged for patients. They shall be charged once they get acquainted with the software, start feeling that the service adds to their convenience and much of their medical records go online via hospitals and doctors.
The model once implemented at a location, can be replicated at other locations as well.
Rural India is a large untapped area where patients have a willingness to consult specialist doctors but do not have the capability to do so. So, Telemedicine would lead to sustainable revenues.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
We shall follow 5 approaches to diversify our philanthropy portfolio:
Providing immediate, unrestricted and crucial support to the nonprofit sector
Supporting needs and priorities - actively solicit proposals in our areas of interest
Building capacity for growth and sustainability - strengthen nonprofits for scale-up
Solving social problems by addressing root causes
Sharing solutions and building knowledge - partner with others to reduce redundancy and share knowledge
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
First time investment shall be obtained from Angel Investors. The start up investment would be around Rs. 1 crore which shall be used to establish one cluster of Telemedicine. Hence, seeking investment from Angel Investors is the best option.
As the business expands by the beginning of 3rd year of operation, replication of model shall be made possible by finding investors in Venture Capitalists.
Healthcare subsidies from government shall constitute a major chunk of investment
After the first year, Premium Accounts with following benefits shall be launched for the customers:
Telemedicine for rural area – Database increase, Brand image, increased Revenues, easy follow ups, quick consultation, enhanced customer satisfaction
No advertisements
Online Appointment Booking
Mobile Alerts to the patients
Improved profile visibility
Ability to know the profile-viewers
Free unlimited chat support 24*7
The premium accounts would lead to loyal customers and better profit margins
Besides, Medical Tourism is an upcoming area in which can be explored after 3 years of operation
Trabajaremos con una metodología de implicación de toda la comunidad en las soluciones a las situaciones que impidan la salud física, siquica o social de alguno de los miembros. Bien resolviendo el problema o paliandolo a corto plazo
El enfoque de derechos civiles en todas las edades de la vida y la implicación como sociedad civil organizada
Pick-A-Pepper is a elegant, user-friendly service that creates a direct market between local food producers and local consumers. Though the idea is simple, the potential for making change in our food systems is huge.
With the movement towards web based sourcing of products, imagine the potential that a central online shopping site for local food, from your own local community, could have.
The Zoom System is a user centered, leapfrog technology that embraces both a need for energy in rural Africa and the innovative, entrepreneurial nature of Kenyans. With the prevalence of mobile phone technology as primary means of Internet and telecommunications, our distribution model will reach the movers and shakers of rural Kenya and empower these entrepreneurs to take matters into their own hands. Collaborating with family and neighbors and taking advantage of mobile phone payment system, the Zoom System will bring modular energy storage to the bottom of the pyramid.
Bangalore India
12° 58' 17.7564" N, 77° 35' 40.4268" E
Builds water tanks next to village kiosks of partner entrepreneurs, treats and tests water to pronounce it safe before it is sold at 0.20p per liter. A family of 5 can thus meet their daily need of drinking water for a cost of Rs 2 to Rs 3. The entrepreneur makes a 25% margin on water sales and benefits from the increased traffic directed to his shop, and the increased status from providing a basic need to his community. Community benefits from clean and affordable drinking water and decreased instance of water born illnesses.
Bangalore India
12° 58' 17.7564" N, 77° 35' 40.4268" E
Builds water tanks next to village kiosks of partner entrepreneurs, treats and tests water to pronounce it safe before it is sold at 0.20p per liter. A family of 5 can thus meet their daily need of drinking water for a cost of Rs 2 to Rs 3. The entrepreneur makes a 25% margin on water sales and benefits from the increased traffic directed to his shop, and the increased status from providing a basic need to his community. Community benefits from clean and affordable drinking water and decreased instance of water born illnesses.
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Mycelium.
Created on 01/7/2013 by wprice
To create a successful, trusted, socially and ecologically responsible, ecommerce business which integrates the best mushroom related products and technologies. This business will serve as a base to support the educational databases of the site and will fund global projects to conserve ecologies and fight hunger,
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
I turned 21 in Tamil Nadu, studying Intentional Communities.
My first business was shoveling snow when I was 10, at 16 I started my own landscaping company, at 22 I started my own construction company, .
I attended the University of VT for one year in 94-95. I took and class on the environment. I learned about all the problems, but no solutions.
So I read books.
I learned permaculture from Fukuoka, radical ecology from Bookchin, globilization from Norberg-Hodge, mycology from Stamets, I learned education from Friere, educational inequality from Kozol, french intensive gardening from Jeavons and Coleman I learned Buddhism from Hahn and commerce from Hawkins.
What I found were ideas, which became solutions.
I earned a degree a degree in Biology.
I enjoy puzzles.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Stubborn, patient, synergistic problem solver, relationship builder, communicator, ability to listen. Ability to listen some more. Can visualize the invisible, dream the impossible, and still have a sense of humor.
Carpenter, Scientist and Jewish (but not Jesus).
Computer savvy.
Not afraid of working hard. Learn from failures, change accordingly.
Biophilic. Empathic. Don't know everything. Humility. Ask for help.
Believe is something. Believe in others. Believe in myself. Set goals.
Take responsibility. Remember how to breathe.
Not afraid of learning new things. Not afraid to use the tools I have.
Not afraid to try and try and try.
Saddened by the state of the world.
Not afraid to cry.
Hopeful.
Integration. Interconnection
Father. Brother. Husband. Son.
Company Country
United States, MA, West Yarmouth, Barnstable County
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
United States, MA, West Yarmouth, Barnstable County
Additional countries or regions
Look to have a global impact, not restricted by country
Industry
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
1. Over 1 Billion Hungry, Over 1 Billion Malnourished
2. Population Growth Expected to Reach 9 Billion by 2040, 11 billion by 2050
3. Deforestation for protein production and fuel increases arable land under cultivation
4. Ecosystem thresholds are being stretched to capacity : Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Landfills, Ocean Pollution (see Worldwatch Institute Report and "Our Ecological Footprint")
5. Cultural and Biological diversity is being destroyed by 'current paradigm' business practices (see "Ecology of Commerce")
6. Product Design Crisis created by Market Forces which elevate Profit over Sustainability (see "Cradle to Cradle")
7. 15 Global Challenges located at http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html
8. Integrated, place based solution
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
1. Databased support network to rapidly increase transfer of information leading to a more intelligent conversion of agricultural waste products, utilizing greater biological efficiencies, leading to a more stable, less energy intensive food supply chain.
2. Technology provides easier access to education and global issues
3. establish Mycelium based network for protein production, decreasing reliance on myopic agricultural practices
4. Mycelium based restoration, regeneration of degraded ecosystems, leading to an integrated sustainable permacultural roadmap
5. Innovative "Cradle to Cradle" business whereby cost externalization is rendered impossible and considered irresponsible
6. Utilize natural systems as guideline for product design cycles (specifically enzymatic degradation pathways)
7. http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html
8. My current model is under development and would require a confidentiality agreement for further agreement. Cradle to Cradle...
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Integrates an untapped network of people with common interests, goals and vision.
Engenders an Empowerment through shared knowledge and new human connections.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
b2b, b2c, triple bottom line, Hybrid,
Mission Statement
At Mycelium, we believe that ecology is economics.
It is this belief that is at the core of our business model.
We believe in a vision which elevates the understanding of our dependence on the health of the Earth’s Ecosystems. And this understanding is acted upon through our Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, profit) Hybrid Business Model.
We strive to promote ideas, products and technologies which integrate the “Cradle to Cradle” design philosophy.
In so doing, we are working to conserve, protect and sustain the rich cultural and biological diversity, which makes our planet unique, rich and habitable.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
I have undertaken a detailed investigation of peers/competitors in this industry/field from local to global.
My peers are those who recognize the need for a radical shift away from business as usual. My competitors are those, whose commitment to profit is still primary.
My peers may also prove to be my competitors, but this will not serve to hinder my proposed solutions, it should increase the speed of their implementation. By creating a self sustaining business, whose charter is socially and ecologically focused, we will be able to help implement (through education and customizable, localized-mycelium based systems planning) a long term, culturally sensitive and ecologically sensible answer to the question of global/local human impact.
see "Mycelium Running" by Paul Stamets
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Each year for my birthday, or Christmas, my mother would buy me a puzzle. The ones with a thousand pieces were, and still are, my favorites. The only puzzles that i enjoyed doing were of Norman Rockwell paintings. He was, and still is, my favorite artist. I would sit for hour upon hour studying the nuances of color and light, wondering how anyone could paint like that, all while putting the pieces where they go. This youthful penchant for puzzles has influenced the way I perceive the world and how it is I came to my "Aha" moment. A moment, which for me is still happening. A moment that is being built upon the momentum of a lot of hard work and years of wandering. In 2004 I went to study for a month with Paul Stamets as an internship, while working towards my degree in Biology (microbiology). I was touched by Paul's genuineness and sense of purpose.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
As of now, I have been networking, working on the edge pieces of this proverbial puzzle.
My solution is actually an anti impact solution. That is, it aims to help transform waste streams into nutrient streams. And by so doing, anticipates alleviating some of the burden which we have bestowed upon our children, while simultaneously empowering people to work with nature and eachother.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
The value is a business organization which is principled in a cradle to cradle design philosophy and serves as an business model example for others to learn from and adopt . This company will strive to create a network/supply chain to accomplish social and ecological goals and seeks to become a trusted, expert source of knowledge/information and to, through social networking, distribute that knowledge to where it is needed.
I am creating a business that will highlight the value of mushroom and mushroom related products, a key component to ecological and social sustainability as well as part of the hunger solution in the coming century. Waste equals food.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
It is said that 20% of one's work is responsible for 80% of ones results. Meaning the intelligent use of time, money and knowledge is imperative for a successful initiative.
I have taken a two free online courses through ITunesU on ecommerce. I have organized a searchable database in my hours after my full time job. I have learned how to build a website (www.capecodmushroom.org) using online tools. I have taken the free training courses offered by the ecommerce platform Magento to familiarize myself with how to run the website. I have consulted with web designers, marketing specialists, social networking companies, and branding consultants, all in an effort to leverage internal resources. Using my time to work with experts in there fields save money and costly mistakes, creating a positive feedback loop
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
The Social and Ecological mission of this company will be accomplished through and during the successful operation of the business. The long term funding of this initiative will be based on the triple bottom line business model (people/planet/profit).
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Relationships are the key to any successful initiative and/or enterprise. This is true in both the short term and long term. I have made inroads with numerous product manufacturers, suppliers, and distrtibutors, through email and phone conversation, both locally and internationally. I will be carrying items which are not currently available in the U.S. market.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
I have only told a few people about this project. Those with whom I shared it are excited and optimistic. I have been advised by them to take baby steps and not get overwhelmed by the size and scope of what I am working on.
Push back I received is people questioning my motivation and very real concerns on how to pay for start up costs.
Everyone I have spoke with thinks I have a sound idea and am capable of developing and implementing it.
I have undertaken a detailed investigation of peers/competitors in this industry/field from local to global.
My peers are those who recognize the need for a radical shift away from business as usual. My competitors are those, whose commitment to profit is primary.
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: UTOPIA.
Created on 01/1/2013 by jaideepankit
We have developed vehicles for specially abled and poor. We will hire them as permanent salaried employees to serve the transportation system with ultra modern vehiclesdeveloped by us. Also we will deliver innovative water purifier kits cum rickshaws to villages to be as a permanent cure to water borne illness.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
I AM JAIDEEP SINGH B.TECH MECHANICAL FROM DELHI. CURRENTLY I AM WORKING AS ASSISTANT MANAGER - R&D DRIVELINE MAHINDRA RESEARCH VALLEY, MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LTD. UTOPIA INCLUDES VERY TALENTED & YOUNG INNOVATIVE MINDS. RAJANDEEP SINGH IS ONE SUCH GEM. A TALENTED IT PROFESSIONAL CURRENTLY PURSUING HIS MBA IS MIND BEHIND OUR BUSINESS PLAN. ANKIT KAUSHIK IS THE MASTER MIND BEHIND OUR INNOVATIVE PRODUCT AQUASOL. ANSHIKA CHAUDHARY IS THE LEAD FOR DESIGN & MATERIAL SELECTION. AKHIL GUPTA HEADS CAD DEPARTMENT WHICH INCLUDE ALAN BABU, PRATEEK BANSAL & ANKUR WADHWA AS KEY MEMBERS. TEAM HAS WON YOUNG INNOVATORS AWARD FROM Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.WE ALSO RECEIVED AWARDS FROM NASA, QUEST, MARUTI, MAHINDRA, SAE, ANSYS ETC. TEAM HAS PUBLISHED 11 SAE INTERNATIONAL PAPERS & FILED 3 PATENTS
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I BELIEVE CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS FOR OUR GOOD. WITH MY AGE I HAVE SEEN INDIA DEVELOP. BUT WITH THE PACE OF DEVELOPMENT, RIGHTS OF POOR & SPECIALLY ABLED PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS NEGLECTED. UP TILL NOW THERE IS NO STALWART POLICY FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIALLY ABLED PEOPLE. MY VILLAGE STILL LACKS A SUPPLY OF CLEAN POTABLE WATER. THESE THOUGHTS ENCOURAGED ME TO STAND TALL TO FIND THE SOLUTION TO THESE VITAL PROBLEMS. I POSSESS THE ABILITY TO TURN A GOOD IDEA INTO A FULLY-FLEDGED OPERATIONAL VENTURE. AS WE SAY NEED IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. THE NEED THAT IS THERE IN THE SOCIETY TO MAKE THE FUTURE OF SPECIALLY ABLED, POOR & VILLAGERS BRIGHT ENCOURAGED ME TO MOVE ON THE PATH OF BECOMING A SOCIAL INTRAPRENEUR. I POSSESS LEADERSHIP SKILLS & I HAVE A FOCUSED VISION TOWARDS MY GOAL TO MAKE UTOPIA RISE...
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
Villages : All over India
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
The BPL population finds it hard to survive with the rising costs these days & the differently abled people are relegated to the margins of the society without due respect and dignity. The city roads are crowded with vehicles, fossil fuels are scarce & cause air and noise pollution; the villagers & rural poor find it hard to travel long distances in search of potable water but the best they often get is unhygienic water. Millions of Indians currently lack access to clean drinking water. Over 70% of our people live in villages and lack safe drinking water. The so-called green vehicle rickshaw is source of income for more then 70,000 families. Most rickshaw pullers do not own the vehicle they ply.it on daily rental basis. They earn about Rs 3500/month which is making their situation worst.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Problem statement seems wide as we talk about environment pollution, sound pollution & water pollution altogether. But if we imagine a city with high-end human assisted electric vehicles instead of fuel guzzling & noisy auto-rickshaws, then we can clearly imagine how significant relief would it be for our noise & ear. Similarly the potable water crisis among the poor rickshaw pullers & villagers is dealt by the young innovators of utopia by developing ultra modern modular water purifier kit that can be fitted into any cycle or even our city rickshaws. Once the rider fills water form any source available to him & pedals the vehicle. Without extra effort our system would yield him pure potable water. Other innovations is Rickshaw for the differently abled people. A steerable vehicle for those who do not have hands and a peddled vehicle for those who do not have legs. Our aims is to provide "mobility" to the so-called "immobile". We will hire disabled & BPL people to drive vehicles for us
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
We have designed Rickshaw for the differently abled people. Yes, a steerable vehicle for those who do not have hands & a peddled vehicle for those who do not have legs. Second innovation is an electric rickshaw cheaper than any other vehicle on the road and is more effective, safer, comfortable and quicker than any auto rickshaw or pedal rickshaw with a lot of patented innovations put together in one vehicle. Aquasol, water purifier kit is the most awarded product from utopia
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
We believe that the innovations of science should benefit all strata of society,only then can it help the entire nation rise to progress. We will make these modern machines, for which we would hire BPL people & specially abled people. We would unite them under a common umbrella called Utopia. Utopia help rise in following ways:
1. Socioeconomic upliftment
• Our innovation does the Promethean task by providing the rural population with a mobile water purifier. We will distribute our modular water purification kit that can be installed on to any village cycle and can effectively purify water as and when a villager peddles the cycle .
• Utopia is our approach towards reaching out to the differently abled people. Our vehicle has been specially modified to suit the needs of a differently abled person. They would not only get employment as rickshaw pullers but would develop a great level of self confidence,respect & dignity.
• BPL population in cities would gain fixed salary employment with us and could become owner of their own vehicle.
• Access & egress are the weakest links in a public transport chain.We would improve this & help transportation system rise
2) IT based Developments
• Organizing all vehicles under Dial-a-Rickshaw Service & providing door to door service.
3) Innovative products
4) Employee bank etc.
Along with this we would extend our social horizon by distributing the special water purifier kits to the poor & villagers with the help of NGOs & state government. This would be a big step in providing pure water to the masses.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
The market space which we are targeting at is still majorly untouched. There is no common umbrella that unites specially abled & poor to help them earn a dignified and self-reliant life. We do not aim to sell our vehicles, we intend to provide permanent employment to the needy. We work under "MAKE-DRIVE TRANSFER" policy which gives rider the ownership. Even if we look at our products and compare them with the available electric rickshaw, our products are Rs 50,000/- cheaper then them. Their is no vehicle on the road which can be steered by people without hands or peddled by people without legs. Our innovation Aquasol- Water purifier kit itself is proof of sustainable inclusive innovation. Our products combined with our stalwart business plan see no competition from anyone in the market
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
In summer of 2008 me & family went to our village. While staying there realized that each time we ask for water my aunt used to rush to hand-pump to fill water. This was very sad to see that there is no feasible water treatment solution since electricity was not available all time of the day plus the available electric or non-electric units are very expensive. Then i realized one thing common in all villagers house is a bicycle. That time I decided to built a modular water purifier kit so that this basic element of life could be enjoyed by all.
Coming back to city, i saw that Cycle rickshaws are an instant source of employment for about 700,000 to 800,000 people & involve low capital investment typically ranging from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 4,500. They are availed of by the least skilled and those with the least employment opportunity. Also there is no stalwart employment solution for specially abled. Thus decided to make vehicles for specially abled & poor under common umbrella "UTOPIA"...
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Till now we have manufactured 3 vehicles & 5 water purifier kits. Two vehicle are given to a rickshaw puller for testing it & letting him earn his living from it. Water purifier kits are serving about 20 families in my village. These are tested prototypes. We have given it to the society with a moto to help them and test our products in real life usage profile. We aim to expand our horizon by making more prototypes. Our vehicles for specially abled are design ready and we have recognized various NGOs who are working for these people to help us get employees. We need funds to convert our design into prototypes so that we can deliver millions of smile to the families of specially abled, who are keeping an eye on our product to be launched for them.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
This Idea will aim to help 500, 1000 & 1400 people (inclusive of BPL people & Specially abled) by providing them with fixed employment in 1st, 2nd & 3rd year respectively. We plan to cover BRT and 6 Major metro stations of Delhi in 1st year & then would spread toward other parts of city. We hope to roll our water purification kit across India in about 20, 40, 50 villages thus helping around 5000, 10000 & 12500 people in 1st, 2nd & 3rd year respectively. We will achieve breakeven in 3rd quarter..
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The idea is very noble and simple, but actual execution of the project will require a lot of planning and hard work. First of all, we will need to convince the actual beneficiaries of the project. However, we don‘t perceive any resistance from the rickshaw operators, but we may face strong resistance from the rickshaw owners. The concept will in a way organize their role in the sector. However, we will also require the support of rickshaw owners. In the initial phase, our idea is not to completely change the rule of business but add value to the current operation & bring about technological advancement into the business. Utopia want that the operator should be the owner. The other important task is to arrange the initial funding and support from other agencies only then mobility will start
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
We are benefiting our business socially as our target audience is the destitute and the specially abled people ,With the help of NGO's we will distribute our rickshaws to these people , so that they can a mean of likelihood also our rickshaw is a green rickshaw so we are preventing our nature adding a social value to our business . Apart from social values we have a high revenue generating business model which will help us achieve profits in 1st year of our existence and because of these values we will be a sustainable and a profit generating business
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
We are team from engineering and MBA background with strong technical and business knowledge.One of our member has published 11 SAE international papers and among 35 young innovator so we always have been inclined towards innovation .We are group of working professionals but we are involved in this project with zeal and vigor with which we stated and we still manage to devote time .We have a complete schedule laid out for our project and we regularly conduct team meeting to discuss development our project .As our rickshaw is very cost effective and we have a really strong business plan meet had some sponsors before in our college time and using those funds we have developed two models of our rickshaw and we plan to develop 3 more models of our rickshaw using the funds from our sponsors.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
We have a very strong business plan which is high revenue generating. We are able to achieve break even in 3rd quarter of our 1st year.We have a unique "Built and Give" policy under which we make drivers owners of the rickshaw so as to make them financially stable that is why our business is sustainable in long run.Another point is that our rickshaws are are very cost effective because of which we are able to achieve high profits.Using the funds from our sponsors we are planning to setup a small scale industry in which we can manufacture 100 rickshaws and we will expand our horizons as we receive money from different sponsors .After this we will run on the profits generated . Our project will help rise the and the specially abled socially and make the financially stable .
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Our team has members from diverse backgrounds but the thing that united us strive for innovation. We all had our roles specified from the beginning that helped us a lot. We were always eager to help in each other modules so as to learn new technologies that helped us to absorb speedbreakers. Externally we are supported by our seniors at work ,professors in colleges and our peers who constantly through positive criticism hone our project.Now we plan to engage more people .
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
We started our project in college days and because of our strong innovation and cost effective rickshaws we have attracted many sponsors now and then. Ruchi strips sponsored our project in college we now have Indian Merchant Chamber keen to financially support push back our project .Hero is also interested in getting involved with us an support us , Apart from this several NGO's have also approached us . We are now planning to start a small scale industry using funds.
youtube.com/watch?v=-4xv2NVc6oE
This Idea aim to help 500, 1000 & 1400 people (BPL people & Specially abled) by providing them with fixed employment in 1st, 2nd & 3rd year respectively. We plan to cover BRT & 6 Major metro stations of Delhi in 1st year & then would spread toward other parts of city. We hope to roll our water purification kit across India in about 20, 40, 50 villages thus helping around 5000, 10000 & 12500 people in 1st, 2nd & 3rd year respectively. We will achieve breakeven in 3rd quarter.
Idea's 30-Day Plan
1. Prototype Development & Distribution
The project clearly explains that make the huge money by trees and help our beautiful world to prevent global warming, and to provide a good returns to farmers as a good source of insurance and selling of agricultural land is the one more problem which the world is going to face and particular in India so if farmers plant trees in there farm this will be reduced as well as we can save our world from global warming. A recent research shows each person on this earth must plant 2 trees to prevent global warming lets make this happen true come on friends
Rickshaw Bank project is the flagship activity of the CRD. The project was started in November 20, 2004 with the strategy of mobilizing poor rural migrants, urban poor and facilitating them with asset-based micro-finance package to have their dignified livelihood. The project is being recognized as an innovative one and well-acclaimed both at national and international level.
Created on 09/12/2012 by FiveTalents
We improve access to financial services for marginalized communities through a community-led approach. This helps build stronger and more empowered communities
Organization: Five Talents International
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
Five Talents International
Organization Country
United States, VA, Vienna, Fairfax County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Burundi, XX, Bujumbura, Muyinga, Gitega, Makamba, Matana, and Buye
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Five Talents won an online voting/social media contest in 2012 that awarded us $10,000, from the Giving of Life Foundation. We have also been recognized in the Catalogue of Philanthropy and received certification from ECFA and Guidestar.
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Which of the following best describes the barrier(s) your innovation addresses? Choose up to two
Cost.
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Many communities in rural Burundi live in extreme poverty and lack access to financial services. About 89% of Burundi’s population live in rural areas, and the United Nations Human Development Index ranks it at 185 out of 187 countries, making it one of the poorest in the world. With a lack of access to formal banking institutions and low literacy and education rates, this largely excluded population is in need of community-led training and savings programs to create sustainable, long term solutions to poverty in the country.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We are working with locally-led literacy circles and graduating them into community savings and credit groups. We are doing this in a way that builds upon the strengths of the existing literacy groups and enhances them with financial literacy and business training.
The groups who have learned to read and write work together to decide on the policies and procedures of the group and save and lend together. The groups also learn business skills in the process.
With 92% of rural households owning land and practicing farming, this solution provides a great business opportunity for communities.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
A Burundian woman learns to read and write in a local group. After 12 months, she learns to understand numbers through our financial literacy scheme. Then she starts to save with her group. Her confidence grows. Before long she can borrow money from the group for her agricultural work. The business training helps her to see her plot of farmland as a business, not just a means of subsistence. Her life has been transformed. She trusts the group and appreciates the local facilitators who have guided the group through the process.
These local facilitators were trained by our team. The facilitators learned how to establish a savings and credit group and how to teach basic business skills, passing this knowledge on to the group members.
Over time, the groups become self-sustaining and their businesses flourish. Their talents are clear, no longer buried, but multiplied. This in turn strengthens and transforms group members’ families and wider communities.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are other non-government organizations carrying out microfinance projects in Burundi, but few reach out into the rural areas and many do not provide training before loans are given out. Some provide a safe place for program members to keep their money.
Five Talents sees training as an integral part of the program, both in business skills and savings group formation. We are unique because we work with recently accredited literate and numerate men and women to give them business skills training along with opportunities to save and borrow with group accountability.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Five Talents partners with the Mothers’ Union, an organization that has been training trainers and facilitators to enable over 30,000 people to become literate in Burundi over the last 12 years. An external program evaluation was conducted in 2008 and found that program beneficiaries expressed the desire for further training and capacity-building in the areas of business skills and savings group formation. The Mothers’ Union was familiar with Five Talents’ expertise in this area and contacted Five Talents in order to develop a proposal for funding to provide recently accredited literate and numerate persons business skills and savings group formation training through the Literacy and Financial Education Program.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
The goal is to alleviate poverty and address gender inequality by building the capacity of women in Burundi in the following areas: budgeting, saving and borrowing- resulting in improved skills for good resource management; the opportunity to establish community owned and managed saving and lending organizations; and basic business skills training- to improve the performance of income generating activities.
Which barrier(s) to financial inclusion does your solution seek to address? (select all applicable)
Physical and other accessibility obstacles that prevent communities from reaching financial services, The lack of affordable financial products tailored to the needs of underserved and excluded communities,, Other (Please describe below).
If you selected 'other' above, please specify which other barriers to financial inclusion you solution seeks to address:
No need for guarantees, security of loans, external finance/capital, branch infrastructure; savings and loan capital generated i
For which underserved or excluded communities will your solution create access to valuable, affordable, secure and comprehensive financial services?
About 74% of program members are women, while 26% are men. The majority of program members are recently accredited literate and numerate persons who were identified by a baseline survey and a community-led process as being the most vulnerable in their communities due to their social circumstances. They were also the poorest, and faced challenging circumstances. The program works in six areas within the country. In the majority of these contexts, there are no formal banking or financial institutions for money to be loaned or saved. Target clients include group members who were illiterate until recently and people who have land and know how to farm.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Yes, in rural, post conflict areas. We currently have a similar program in South Sudan which provides literacy, numeracy, business skills, and savings group formation for community members. This program is so successful, in part, because there is an established structure of trainers and facilitators to carry out this work in countries like Burundi and South Sudan, due to our partnership with the Mothers’ Union Literacy and Development Program (MULDP). Both Five Talents and the Mothers’ Union partner with the Anglican Communion worldwide to carry out their programs and this program in particular has been supported and endorsed by the Anglican Church of Burundi.
If your solution is dramatically successful, how will things be different in 10 years?
These savings and credit groups will spread throughout the six areas where we are currently working and touch communities which have not received the business skills and savings group formation training. There are about 30,000 people who have been accredited literate and numerate who are waiting to receive business skills and savings group training. Savings and credit groups will spread through imitation without need for Five Talents. The savings and loan portfolios will grow as the groups grow. Businesses will prosper through access to affordable loans that are reinvested in the community. Communities will flourish. Economic development will be clearly evident and democracy will be encouraged within the groups and practiced in the groups and in their communities.
What will have had to have changed to make this happen?
We will need additional funding to pay for the training of community facilitators who would, in turn, form savings and credit groups in their own communities. Additional funding would also serve to cover the ongoing operating costs of running the program as well as Monitoring and Evaluation expenses.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
To date, the program has 378 groups who have graduated into savings and credit groups and who have received financial literacy and business skills training. There are currently 8,459 members of the program with over 40,000 indirect beneficiaries. Now, group members, the majority being women, are able to carry out income-generating activities, including small businesses for their families in particular, and for the community at large. Because group members decide upon the policies and procedures of the groups themselves, democracy is modelled within the group. This encourages peace and attracts new members to the program.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
We expect to have graduated 440 savings and credit groups by the end of 2012 when the funding finishes. This will have directly impacted close to 9,000 people. Indirectly, over 40,000 more people will benefit, as on average each client has five dependents. The qualitative impact is probably more significant because of the empowerment that comes with being able to read, save, borrow, run a business and provide for the family. This is particularly transformational for women, who are given knowledge and skills to face the daily challenges of rebuilding lives, communities, and civic bodies in a post-conflict environment.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The success of the project could be hindered by political instability and insecurity as well as by ethnic tensions in target communities. Lack of funding will prevent the business skills and savings group training to be cascaded down through a network of community facilitators.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
By February 2013, the project plans to be reaching 8,800 people in 440 savings groups.
Task 1
Community facilitators will need to organize groups of community members to join savings groups.
Task 2
Once a group is formed, community facilitators will need to train group members in business skills and savings group formation.
Task 3
Community facilitators will mentor these groups to ensure that knowledge from training is practiced within the group and that me
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
By September 2013, the project plans to reach approximately 10,000 people in nearly 500 savings groups.
Task 1
Train an additional 110 MULDP facilitators
Task 2
These MULDP facilitators will then start savings groups in underserved communities.
Task 3
Train group members in business skills and savings group formation.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about your partnerships
The Mothers’ Union is a global, grassroots network, of 4 million (mainly) women. Motivated by a Christian faith, they are concerned with the wellbeing of life in their communities. In Burundi they have trained over 30,000 participants to become literate. Once the members have become literate, they continue to meet in their groups, and focus on the development needs in their communities. We also partner with the Anglican Church of Burundi.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your innovation? If so, where and why?
We currently have a program in Sudan and South Sudan, which is targeting mostly women. This program uses a similar model to the Burundi program with a goal of building the capacity of local people in literacy, numeracy, business skills and savings group formation with an emphasis on women's rights and civic responsibility in this post-conflict environment. Because of the strong local Mother's Union network, lessons learned from Burundi and the need for this kind of financial and business skills training in Sudan and South Sudan, we are able to implement this program with the Mother's Union.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Five Talents' work is successful because we emphasize building the capacity of local people and partner with community-led organizations and the local church. Local people are best positioned to meet the needs of their community and Five Talents is structured to support them.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
We need additional funding if this program is going to continue to impact more communities and people in Burundi. We also need to ensure that our story is told via marketing pieces and through social media.
To create a think-tank/research centre that identifies, defines and works toward promoting sustainability at a meaningful scale.
SEED is a non profit seniors initiative to grow fresh vegetables in two empty greenhouses, at Lakeside Park,Nelson.
We intend to provide fresh affordable food to low income sectors in the community, and to involve all ages in growing their own food, almost year round.
The project is designed to help with issues such as poverty, malnourishment, isolation and depression, by offering a venue where people can work together in community gardens, while building social connections.
Created on 09/11/2012 by fosorio
To create a think-tank/research centre that identifies, defines and works toward promoting sustainability at a meaningful scale.
Organization: Columbia Mountains Resource Policy Council (Association)
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Columbia Mountains Resource Policy Council (Association)
Country where this solution is creating social impact
Region in BC where your solution creates social impact
Thompson Okanagan, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, Columbia Basin.
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
Less than a year
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for less than a year
Which of the following best describes the barrier(s) your solution addresses? Choose up to two
Access, Transparency.
The Need: Describe the need for your solution and the size and characteristics of the community(ies) your solution is engaging
To effectively plan for the future well-being of ecosystems it is important to consider the current and future impacts of human disturbance at a landscape level. The Columbia Mountains provide a large geographic extent -naturally delineated by the mountain ranges- that host similar ecosystems within a large latitudinal and climatic gradient. These mountains are home to diverse human populations that share similar climates and have similar interactions with the environment. Normally, land use plans divide ecosystems into jurisdictional boundaries which do not reflect the need to manage the landscape in ecologically meaningful units.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
By studying and advocating for the consideration of ecologically meaningful areas during land use planning and decision making, we aim to address one of the systemic causes for misguided management of natural resources. It is a novel approach since we seek to understand ecological sustainability at a meaningful scale within defined natural boundaries. It is also an original approach since it will take into account the various human interests and uses that affect the ecosystems.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include the primary activities involved in your solution.
When reviewing land-use plans, resource extraction plans, conservation goals, production and distribution of natural resources, stakeholder engagement, etc. -within the Columbia Mountains- it becomes apparent that there are several organizations, industries, governmental agencies, and special interest groups that work within specific areas with very little collaboration amongst each other. However, all these groups are working with and relying upon a region -naturally delineated by the Columbia Mountains- which provides common ecological and cultural grounds.
The solution we are proposing is to identify and collaborate with all entities involved in the use and protection of the natural resources within the Columbia Mountains, to help create a coordinated and comprehensive approach that helps define and achieve economic and environmental sustainability, within a meaningful landscape unit.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others working to address the same needs as you and indicate what sets you apart from them.
Some of our peers are the Fraser Basin Council and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre. The area of interest is what sets us apart from them. Additionally, there are several conservation groups (eg. Wildsight, Conservation Northwest, Yellowstone to Yukon) that address similar concerns but we are different in that we are not interested in promoting a conservation agenda, but rather we seek to facilitate the integration of conservation interest with those of industry, First Nations, and Governments.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
In my quest for personal integrity, reconciliation, and validation of my core values I was often stunned by how my actions often contradicted my ideals and goals. For example, I saw no issue laying out cut-blocks for work, yet during recreational pursuits I longed for wild and pristine landscapes. Similarly, I found my self deeply concerned about the fate of the Mountain Caribou, yet I was willing to use snowmobiles when pursuing recreational objectives. Also, I was amazed by how some of my best friends worked for logging and mining companies, while others were passionate environmentalist and activists. My 'aha' moment was realizing that they are all different sides of the same coin, and the Columbia Mountains are the coin we all cherish in one way or another. Thereafter, I realized these dichotomies not only hindered my personal development; at a regional scale, they represented a barrier to defining and achieving economic and environmental sustainability and integrity.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
We are trying to establish a research centre/think-tank that serves to integrate the various uses and interests within the Columbia Mountains so that we can ultimately develop a realistic and adaptive long-term plan that can steer industry, government and citizens toward economic and environmental sustainability. Our goal is to serve as a non-profit organization that will help integrate the area’s diverse regional land use plans into a comprehensive landscape-level plan for sustainable resource management and protection.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We have assembled a strong board of directors and incorporated our association under the BC Society Act.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
To help industry, conservation groups, government and First Nations understand each others' priorities and to promote collaboration of the different groups. Within the next five years we hope to have a better sense of what sustainability (eg. extraction and protection levels) and self-sufficiency can look like for the Columbia Mountains.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Currently, financial start up costs are the greatest hindrance to our project. Our region is blessed with a wide variety of individuals with sufficient capacity to advance our project; however, we need to provide adequate incentive and resources to procure their collaboration. Last, the nature of our project involves bringing opposing views to the same table; stubbornness, and fundamentalism of opposing values could hinder our project. Tactfulness, diplomacy and highlighting our common goals can help us overcome some of the barriers.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Our six month milestone is to build the economic foundation of the Association and to better define the roles of the BOD
Task 1
Hold our first official Board of Directors Meeting
Task 2
Obtain Directors and Officers Liabilit Insurance
Task 3
Begin to establish contacts and identify individuals, organizations and resources relevant to our vision.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
To have procured sufficient funding to become a well established NGO
Task 1
Continue to write grant proposals.
Task 2
Secure office space and organizational capital.
Task 3
Establish strong connections with members and collaborating organizations.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about your partnerships
We are reluctant to establish partnerships since we have been advised to avoid any such activities until adequate liability insurance is obtained.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your solution? If so, where and why?
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Our Board of Directors is young, enthusiastic and flexible. Since we all have full time employment, we keep our business interactions brief and to the point. We are like-minded individuals with strengths in different areas so we compliment each other well. Simplicity and brevity in our organization is currently our key for sucess.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
I have ticked Human Resources/Talent as both support and need; that is, while we feel confident that we have a solid foundation in human resources and talent, we recognize there are various members of our communities that can offer even greater support than what we currently have.
Lumuno trains and works with small scale farmers to grow chili and herbs organically. The herbs and chili are processed by Lumuno for ownward marketing. This has helped to preserve the environmen and is cheaper way for to grow crops. A chili sauce formulae was developed and is sold on local market. Lumuno initially used chili for pest control in organic farming. However it was too much and market had to be found, thus adding value to involve the community. Through this we also help to pay teachers' allowances at a community school.
Lumuno trains and works with small scale farmers to grow chili and herbs organically. The herbs and chili are processed by Lumuno for ownward marketing. This has helped to preserve the environmen and is cheaper way for to grow crops. A chili sauce formulae was developed and is sold on local market. Lumuno initially used chili for pest control in organic farming. However it was too much and market had to be found, thus adding value to involve the community. Through this we also help to pay teachers' allowances at a community school.
Created on 09/5/2012 by Gloria Arlini
NDI is a youth led social enterprise that aims to end energy poverty and create growth. Our solution? An energy distribution network for women, by women.
Organization: Nusantara Development Initiatives (NDI)
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
Nusantara Development Initiatives (NDI)
Country where this project is creating social impact
Indonesia, RI, Kepulauan Riau
Gender of Innovator
Female
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
We aim to end the worst poverty of all: energy poverty. In particular, we want to make lives better for millions who live without light.
In Indonesia, 2 out of 5 people have no access to light. Without light, children cannot study after sundown. Women find it difficult, even dangerous to go outside the house at night. Families rely on kerosene lamps, whose soot and fumes give rise to multiple health problems. WHO reveals that 1 person dies every 20 seconds due to indoor air pollution through the use of dirty fuels.
There are alternative clean energy sources out there. But these solutions cannot reach those needing them due to lack of physical access (product not available in rural areas) & financial access (villagers' low ability to pay for the technology in one go).
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Our solution is to create physical and financial access for solar lamps to reach rural communities. This is done in two phases. In the first phase, we introduce the solar lamps to selected hub villages. Compared to kerosene lamps, solar lamps are safer and are more cost-effective. We also design a suitable instalment system to ensure their affordability to low-income families.
In the second phase, we train rural women to become solar lamp entrepreneurs so they could introduce the lamps to more communities. We design and conduct in-house training programme on product knowledge, marketing and bookkeeping, as well as 'soft skills' like motivational sessions.
Why women? Because we believe that women is an untapped distribution network to promote social goods. Investing in women has also been proven to have a multiplier effect in benefitting the communities around them. In one year, 8 NDI entrepreneurs are able to sell 750 lamps and have reached out to more than 20 villages.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
The program success hinges on its obvious benefits for both the women entrepreneurs and end users.
For end users who switch to solar lamp, each household saves US$64/year on kerosene while enjoying reliable lighting that is free from health and safety risks.
For the women entrepreneurs, they earn a small commission for each sale made. There is zero risk of them getting into debt because this is not micro-credit. Instead, we adopt a micro-consignment model.They are given a small batch of goods in advance and pay us only after sales are made, not before. On average, a rural entrepreneur is able to earn an additional income of about US$15-US$20/month.
To grow the programme, we adopt a 'hub and spoke' model. This means we develop the systems and capabilities of women in selected villages and turn the village into hubs. These entrepreneurs regularly travel from hub to spokes to sell the lamps. Likewise, faraway customers may visit the hub to purchase the lamps.
The process raises the profile of the hub village and increases the traffic between the hub and spoke, giving opportunities for other local economic activities to grow. A (male) village leader admitted that he did not expect the women to be doing so well as entrepreneurs, especially when the job requires traveling across villages. The women entrepreneurs have overthrown gender expectations and become role models of how women can be part of local economy and provide additional income for the family.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are currently no other providers of solar lighting with social motives operating in the area. There are however many commercial entities selling various chargeable lighting devices at low price. These product are often of lower qualities and break easily.
What differentiates us is the high quality product and the after sales service we offer (such as 1-year warranty program). This first class customer service is a rare concept in the usually forgotten rural areas. We are also trusted because of the presence of our local entrepreneurs who are able to connect with the villagers' lighting needs and provide direct customer care.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThis Entry is about (Issues)
What solution(s) does your initiative address to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities? (select all applicable)
Access to financing, Access to supply chains, Access to technology, Access to economic opportunity.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We have trained 8 entrepreneurs and sold 750 lamps to date. That is a total saving of USD 48,000 annual rural spending on kerosene by switching to solar lamps.
The product we offer is a safe, healthy, reliable, and convenient lighting solutions to rural households. It saves time and money without having to purchase kerosene, refill the lamp, and light it up. It also eliminates exposure to the harmful impact of kerosene.
Our enterpreneurs earn an average additional income of US$15-US$20/month. Part of the earnings are used to pay for their children's education.
It is an enriching experience for the women to be part of our entrepreneurship program as women often have to live up to a set of cultural expectations. Marlia, the youngest NDI entrepreneur, was a shy, timid woman. Today, she is able to travel out from her village and confidently join social gatherings, proudly introduces herself and chats with strangers on the dangers of kerosene.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We aim to train 20 more entrepreneurs in 3 new hub villages by Dec 2013. We aim to sell at least 2,500 lamps by end of 2013 and light up 10,000 lives.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
As we scale up, reach more areas, distribute more lamps and train more women, the quality of after-sales support for lamp-related problems and follow-up trainings for women entrepreneurs may be compromised.
To prevent this,we have started to standardized as much as our processes as possible in the form of standard operating procedures (SOP). This will cut unnecessary work and allow us to manage the project on a larger scale. An SOP we used on how to conduct village forums have been shown to save us about half a day of preparation time. With a team of 5 people, 30 man-hours have been saved and utilized in other key areas.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
To build presence in 3 hub villages, train at least 15 women &reach 1500 households or 6000 people.We have started work on 1 hub
Task 1
To select 2 more hub villages with relevant lighting needs & implement our first phase, i.e. educational and awareness campaign
Task 2
To build staff competency to manage the growing number of entrepreneurs and the wider geographical coverage
Task 3
To create SOPs for as many aspects of our programs as possible so that scaling our work will be done very efficiently
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Partner 3 local NGOs to train over 30 women, reach 2500 families or 10,000 people. NDI work to spread to other part of Indonesia
Task 1
Secure enough funding or grants of at least USD 50,000 to support operations up to Dec 2013
Task 2
To identify and build relations with potential and committed local partners and NGO
Task 3
To strengthen internal monitoring to ensure growth and expansion do not compromise the quality of products and services we offer
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
We wanted to provide a sustainable solution to the problem of energy poverty. When we first began, we directly introduced a small batch of solar lamps in the village. Word of mouth spread and soon, other nearby islanders made requests for the lamps. How do we reach out to these places in a more consistent manner?
We noticed that the social and information networks of women in the area are radically different from the men, yet these networks remain economically untapped. For example, a rural woman’s information network allows them to know which households are more creditworthy than others. Tapping on these networks by introducing meaningful and practical products help ‘activate’ this network, both within the village and across villages. In the long run, this will help strengthen inter-village networks.
That was the beginning of our journey to create an energy distribution network for women, by women.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about your partnerships
We have a one year corporate sponsorship with a potential for a multi year partnership. This sponsorship is in return for NDI to train more women entrepreneurs in the next 1 year in Indonesia. NDI also receives a grant from Singapore's National Youth Council that covers 50% of selected operational costs.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
Growth capital is crucial to sustain operations. Pro bono services in meeting regulatory requirements allows us to free up our budget. Exchange of ideas and innovations, and mentorship will give opportunities for a start up like ours to improve our performance and achieve our goals.
In exchange, we are able to provide insights on bottom of the pyramid issues in Indonesia.
Anthelmintics are expensive and administration of them is time consuming. The use of anti-microbial drugs is problematic. Solution - Ethnoveterinary medicine.
Created on 09/4/2012 by Cheryl Lans
Anthelmintics are expensive and administration of them is time consuming. The use of anti-microbial drugs is problematic. Solution - Ethnoveterinary medicine.
Organization: Lanstales
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Region in BC where your solution creates social impact
Vancouver, Coast and Mountains, Vancouver Island, Thompson Okanagan, Kootenay Rockies.
Is your organization a
Not registered
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for more than 5 years
Which of the following best describes the barrier(s) your solution addresses? Choose up to two
Access.
The Need: Describe the need for your solution and the size and characteristics of the community(ies) your solution is engaging
Ethnoveterinary medicine is the scientific term for traditional animal health care. Research into ethnoveterinary medicine is often undertaken as part of a community-based approach that can contribute to farm incomes, maintain the resilience of farm communities, promote self-reliance and contribute to a safe and good quality food supply; in addition to providing improved and affordable livestock health care. It can strengthen rural community capacity building, leadership and skills development. As such it can serve as a contributor to the economic survival for needy communities; A widely disseminated ethnoveterinary manual can help preserve the ethnomedicinal heritage of British Columbia. The manual would provide a locally-based sustainable long-term solution to animal health problems.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Disseminating ethnoveterinary medicines which are community-derived technological solutions to farmers’ animal health problems that are based on affordable traditional knowledge. A manual already exists: Bevan J, Lans C, Mathias M. (Eds). 2004. Alternative animal health care in British Columbia. A manual of traditional practices used by herbalists, veterinarians, farmers and animal caretakers. The Traditional Animal Health Care Collaborative. University of Victoria. SSHRC funding: Traditional animal health care in British Columbia. I propose to add removable data collecting forms with my address to the existing manual and print enough copies for each library in British Columbia. Borrowers with ethnoveterinary knowledge can fill in the forms and post them to me. I can validate the knowledge using the UBC library and online databases and add the new ethnoveterinary practices to future versions of the ethnoveterinary manual. This solution eliminates the need for transportation funding.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include the primary activities involved in your solution.
Affordable and available health care is an important constraint to animal production in many rural communities. Farmers need low-cost alternatives to veterinary drugs. Sheep farmers in Ontario and British Columbia have claimed that sustainable production is not economically viable because of internal parasites. A manual already exists: Bevan J, Lans C, Mathias M. (Eds). 2004. Alternative animal health care in British Columbia. A manual of traditional practices used by herbalists, veterinarians, farmers and animal caretakers. The Traditional Animal Health Care Collaborative. University of Victoria. Original funding came from the SSHRC Research Development Initiative Project Title: Traditional animal health care in British Columbia: Testing an innovative dissemination method. Most of the data was collected from March to November 2003. The research area covered the most populated parts of British Columbia: Vancouver Island as far north as Port Alberni, the lower mainland and areas in the Interior (Armstrong, Chase, Salmon Arm, Kelowna,Cawston and Fauquier). I will add removable data collecting forms with my address to the existing manual and print enough copies for each library in British Columbia. Library borrowers with ethnoveterinary knowledge can fill in the forms and post them to me. I can validate the ethnoveterinary knowledge that they have provided on these forms using the UBC library and online databases and add the new ethnoveterinary practices to future versions of the ethnoveterinary manual. This solution eliminates the need for transportation funding.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others working to address the same needs as you and indicate what sets you apart from them.
Everyone working in holistic animal health care is both peer and competitor. Sixty research participants in 2003 were either organic farmers, animal breeders and trainers, or other specialists in alternative medicine and holistic veterinarians. They were willing to share their knowledge in order to obtain a manual of all the documented practices. Since I am a interested in research, validation and dissemination, I may undercut the sales of a few practitioners but I may also interest members of the general public to investigate holistic practitioners. I have spent years validating the practices and publishing them which people with clinics would not have time to do. I live close to the UBC library. Larger university libraries are more likely to have the necessary journals and books.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Ethnoveterinary medicines used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in pigs and pets in British Columbia, Canada was published in Veterinary Parasitology, September 2007, Pages 325-340 Lans, C.; Turner, N.; Khan, T.; Brauer, G. It was in the top 25 most downloaded category in the Agricultural and Biological Sciences for 4 years. Veterinary Parasitology July to September 2007 # 4. October to December 2007 #2 January to March 2008 #5 April to June 2008 #9July to September 2008 #5 January to March 2009 #22April to June 2009 #8 July to September 2009 #20 January to March 2010 #22 April to June 2010 #13October 2009 - September 2010 Academic Year #18October to December 2010 #24. My work was replicated on the cheap in the Netherlands so I protested. Dutch- Vet Parasitol. 2011 Jun10;178(3-4):389-90; authorreply 391.Validation of ethnoveterinarymedicinal treatments. Lans C.Comment on Anthelmintic effects ofphytogenic feed additives in Ascaris suum inoculated pigs.[Vet Parasitol. 2010]
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
o To help agricultural rural communities share their alternative solutions for animal health problems and disseminate the already collected ethnoveterinary practices in British Columbia.
o To update a manual on ethnoveterinary medicine in British Columbia by putting data collection forms into the back of printed copies that will be placed in each library in British Columbia.
The manual describes the preparation, use and efficacy of ethnoveterinary medicines in a form that is relevant to British Columbia and globally, and it can be understood by farmers and the general public. The manual is not designed to replace standard veterinary information. Sixty copies were given to research participants in 2004. Now I hope to place a copy in each BC library and to update the information.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Ethnoveterinary medicines used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in pigs and pets in BC, Canada. 17 citations
Plants used in rearing locally-grown organic small-scale poultry and rabbits in BC, Canada. Current Nutrition & Food Science 8(3): 220-234. Requested reprint of the 2010 paper.
Organic parasite control for poultry and rabbits in British Columbia, Canada. J Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 7:21
Medicinal plants used in British Columbia, Canada for reproductive health in pets. Preventive Vet Med 90: 268 – 273. 4 citations
Medicinal plant treatments for fleas and ear problems of cats and dogs in British Columbia, Canada. Parasitology Research 103 (4): 889-898. 5 citations
Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 3(1):11. 48 citations
Ethnoveterinary medicines used for horses in Trinidad and in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2 (1): 31. 18 citations
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
The manual will be disseminated throughout BC at low cost. Library borrowers can use the manual to contribute to rural incomes, maintain the resilience of rural communities, promote self-reliance and contribute to an internationally recognized safe and good quality food supply; in addition to providing improved and affordable livestock health care. It will strengthen rural community capacity building, leadership and skills development. As such it fits the mandate of serving as a contributor to the economic survival for needy communities. The interest in sustainable agriculture is driven by several concerns: revival of the small family farm; a general unease with the impacts of agribusiness practices; a desire for greater levels of civic engagement, and the hope for profits.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Library borrowers may not know of the manual or that they can add information on the data forms at the back and return these.
Reminders through the library system that the manual is available and that data forms can be filled in and returned. Reminders through farm and rural newsletters and bulletins. Borrowers may not consider their knowledge to be valuable. Again ask the libraries to link to my slideshare presentations and already published research papers.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Task 1
Create data forms, insert them in manual. Print manual.
Task 2
Send manuals to all libraries. Obtain list of all libraries. See if main library can handle distribution to all others.
Task 3
Reminders that the data forms should be filled in and returned.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Task 1
Start validating the information on the returned data forms.
Task 2
Add the new data to the existing manual.
Task 3
Print the updated manual and devise a dissemination plan.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about your partnerships
Professional co-authors Professor Nancy Turner and Dr. Tonya Khan DVM. Farmer co-authors are Willi Boepple, Victoria, BC and Jan Bevan, Hornby Island. A future co-author will be Kerry Hackett a Medical Herbalist located in Southern Ontario I also collaborate with Drs A.G.M. (Tedje) van Asseldonk IEZ: Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy, the Netherlands. She disseminates my research through her institutional publications.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your solution? If so, where and why?
No. It is specific to BC.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
It is claimed that only drug companies with sales of US$5 billion can engage in traditional validation and drug discovery so this research will evaluate the ethnoveterinary plants used with a non-experimental method. This method consists of:
1. obtaining an accurate botanical identification
2. determining whether the folk data can be understood in terms of bioscientific concepts and methods
3. searching the chemical / pharmaceutical/ pharmacological literature for the plant’s known chemical constituents and to determine the known physiological effects of either the crude plant, related species, or isolated chemical compounds that the plant is known to contain. To assess whether the plant use is based on empirically verifiable principles.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
I will need volunteers to contribute time to remind borrowers that the manual is available and that is has forms that can be filled out and returned.
Created on 08/30/2012 by shailendra Negi
Kisan Raja is a revolutionary device (invented and manufactured by Vinfinet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) that helps to bring the fruits of technology to rural India – particularly to farmers and unemployed youth. The solution allows farmers to remotely control the agricultural motor using their mobile or landline
Organization: Vinfinet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
Vinfinet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
For‐profit
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName Your Entry
Kisan Raja- Technology Solution for Farmers
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
While operating the agricultural motor pumps
1.Farmers have to travel to fields during odd hours just to switch ON/OFF the motor pump due to erratic power supply and facing risk to life from wild animals.
2.Irrigation equipments frequently gets damaged due to voltage fluctuation and farmers have to spend lot of money,time and energy to get them repaired.
3.Risk to irrigation equipments of getting stolen.
4.Due to auto starters there is a wastage of water and electricity as motor keeps on running.Due to excess water soil and fertilizer erosion takes place thereby decreasing the productivity.
So Kisan Raja is a one stop solution to all these problem and hence contributing to farmer's individual growth and strengthening the country's growth
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
•Control the operation of the motor from a mobile or landline from absolutely anywhere – freedom from visiting farms at odd hours.
• Provide flexibility to delegate operation of motor to anyone as it involves just instructing through mobile.
• Provide flexibility to run the motor for specific time intervals leading to savings in power bills and more importantly, conservation of ground water.
•Automatic power detection to communicate to the farmer on the availability of power – helps keep track of erratic power supply and make the most of the limited power supply in villages.
• Provide acknowledgment of water being pumped so that farmer is assured of the water supply to the crop.
• Detect voltage fluctuations and 3 phase connectivity faults to prevent damage to the motor.
•Automatically shutdown the motor when water is not available to prevent damage to the motor
.Raise an alarm and make you a phone call if anyone try to steal it
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
1.Revenue from Product sales:
a. Customer pays 100% down payment
b. Facilitate credit through Rural Banks or MFIs.
2.Monthly subscription model in collaboration with Distributional Channel Partners.
3.Royalty Charges for Design Services from OEMs like Motor/Starter Vendors
4.Commissions from other partners in the Eco system (TELCOs, FMCG, etc.)
5.Revenue from selling Carbon Credits
The solution is deployed in the following states of South India:
1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Karnataka
1.Cost saving benefits to the farmers:
1. Labour costs
2. Motor Repair charges
3. Electricity charges
4. Water
5. Fertilizer runoff
6. Fuel Costs, if farmer uses any form of conveyance
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Competitors are
1.Auto starters
2.Labors
3.Nano Ganesh
4.Micro Jai kisan
5.Khyatee
6.Real Mobile Starter Controller
7.
6.
Competitive edge:
1.Local language IVRS driven menu
2.Protects motor and starter from faulty power supply
3.Voices Alerts on :
Motor running status
Confirmation of water being pumped
Device being attempted for theft
4.High availability (Rechargeable battery backup)
5.Secure Access to Device through PASSWORD
6.Ease of Installation and use
7.Multiple modes of operation:
Manual
Auto
Timer
At this earlier stage penetrating the market will be a tough task due cost and availability
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What solution(s) does your initiative address to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities? (select all applicable)
Access to technology.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Listed below are the key social benefits that we expect to positively impact over long run:
1.Reduced Government’s Power Subsidy Bill or Improved Margins for farmers
2.Increase in personal productivity and Per Capita income of farmers
3.Reduced Government Power Subsidy Bill
4.Improved Agricultural Productivity and Food Security for the Nation
5. Employment for Rural youth through dealership and tech-support jobs
6. Improved Margins for farmer, with reduction in labor, fuel, equipment maintenance and fertilizer costs
3. Environmental impact
1.Reduced Carbon Foot Print (Fuel and Electricity)
2.Improved farmer safety and personal productivity
3.Reduced water wastage and soil erosion
4.Improved agricultural Productivity and food security for the nation
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Making the agriculture the first choice profession among the farmers.
Providing more technology solutions to agriculture sector.
Making presence across the country and there by increasing the job opportunity to rural youth.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
1.Financial constraints
2.Threat from big companies
Looking for Venture capital and other sources for funding
To create Kisan Raja a well established brand and have its unique positioning
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Task 1
To have distributor in each district of Madhya pradesh and Gujarat
Task 2
To come up with a new products for the farmers
Task 3
To provide Rural employment
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Task 1
To make presence across the country
Task 2
To make product available at block level in each state
Task 3
To come up with atleast 3 new products in irrigation sector
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Vinfinet Technologies is a leading firm based in Bangalore, passionate to bring fruits of technology to rural India thereby bring in change in the lives of – farmers and unemployed rural youth.Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Dinnepu is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vinfinet Technologies Pvt. Ltd.Vijay brings more than 11 years of design and development experience in various categories of networking and embedded software.Vijay holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras. He has won several laurels national and state-wide for outstanding academic performance throughout.
Hailing from an agricultural family and a person with entrepreneurial appetite Vijay envisions the benefits of taking technology solutions to the agricultural and rural markets. His passion is to get the best use of his technical experience to bring in a change in the lives of rural India.
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Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
Vision - To develop, manufacture and maintain clean energy technologies at an affordable cost.
Products –
We plan to enter the market with 2 products in its 1st year of operation –
1.Evacuated tube water heater
2.Concentrated steam generation system
Afro Energy Solutions PLC (AES) is an early stage private company established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The company will engage in the distribution of all types of solar lanterns in Ethiopia.
Our solar lantern distribution company is currently building up its own distribution network from scratch. The company is recruiting farmers, housewives and teachers to sell solar lanterns in rural communities. The company is also recruiting retail shops which sell other goods to begin selling solar lanterns.
Green Waves Social Enterprise is piloting a successful model for rural social enterprise that addresses environmental, social and economic issues in the Myanmar Delta, severely affected by the 2008 Cyclone Nargis. A 100-acre parcel of salinized and abandoned land was purchased; eight farm laborers were hired to restore and cultivate paddy and raise livestock. Profits were shared between GW and the farmers, who were then able to lease their own tenant farms the following year. GW invested its share into SE grants to local village committees.
Kootenay Carshare Cooperative (KCC) is a member based service cooperative that maintains and coordinates the shared use of vehicles including cars, trucks and vans to our members. We actively promote our services to increase our membership and support other communities in the Kootenays that would like to develop this service. KCC began in August of 2001 in Nelson and grew slowly for the first fi
We engages children and adults through creative activities and value based programs to promote “Indian Heritage” and “Culture”. Our principle is to establish the connection to the cultural roots by offering a chance to explore them through hands on experience and by creating possibilities to imbibe them in our life. RootZ works with Educational Institutes and Corporate India for various creative workshops. The thought behind designing workshops is to build a “Real Connection” between Heritage and Participants.
Created on 08/18/2012 by yotam
Bennu-Solar exists to make bringing solar energy
to rural poor a piece of cake.
How exactly? ..with:
- free resources database
- free consulting
- group purchasing
Organization: Bennu Solar
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
Hong Kong S.A.R., China, KKT, Hong Kong
Country where this project is creating social impact
n/a
Is your organization a
For‐profit
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Solar 'groupon' for the rural poor
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
There are hundreds of businesses and organizations in developing countries which are bringing solar to low-income villagers. That is great! except..
Except that when they contact a factory to buy the solar products they are viewed as small clients, and as we all know, small clients pay higher price.
So here we are in this twisted world where people in Germany can buy solar panels of higher quality at a lower cost. But for clients in Africa which need solar badly, the price is higher and the quality lower.
Why? Because they don't come with big purchasing power?
Well.. Lets see about that..
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Mmm.. one small business in Kenya indeed can't place big orders and become a VIP client of a factory to enjoy top quality products at a low price.
But! how about that business in Kenya + one in Zimbabwe and Cambodia and Tanzania, and in other developing countries combined?
Well, yes. Together they represent a decent size buyer.
So that is what we do, we coordinate solar buyers in developing countries into a group, and leverage our collective purchasing power to get a better deal from the solar products factories.
At the end of the day, it is the villagers which those businesses and organizations serve that benefit from the cost reduction and the higher quality.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
We recently completed a group purchase with businesses from Cambodia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. They told us that our group purchasing service reduced their costs by 30%, and they were also more confident in the products since we include a third party quality inspection at the factory. On top of that, they saved time because we handled the negotiation, purchasing and logistics process.
So how did we do it?
simple, these 3 companies were going to contact the factory on their own,
not knowing about each other.
But, since they learned about our service, they decided to let us handle the purchase, and we were able to bundle them together and when we approach the factory we were representing 3 buyers, making the order bigger and receiving the bulk pricing from the factory.
(http://tinyurl.com/group-purchasing)
We later got feedback from the business in Zimbabwe, he said he installed the solar system for a family living in a rural area. For the first time in their life they had electricity to power a fridge and TV!
Without the the cost reduction they wouldn't have been able to afford it.
(this kind of feedback is what keeps me going!!!)
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are a couple of ways to buy solar products for use in rural areas in developing countries:
- through trading companies
- directly from the factory
The benefits for buying through a trading company is that they buy big, so they get lower prices from the factory, but they too mark up the price, and they might have certain agreements with specific suppliers, or maybe keep goods in stock, so the buyer doesn't really have access to the best product on the market at the best price.
The benefits of contacting the factory directly is that buyers can approach any factory, but the problem is that they are only representing their own purchasing power, so they don't receive the prices and quality which big buyers get.
Our coordinated group purchasing offers just the benefits.
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What solution(s) does your initiative address to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities? (select all applicable)
Access to supply chains, Access to technology, Access to economic opportunity.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We can help bring solar energy to over 1 billion (very nice) villagers in developing countries who have no access to electricity.
(1 billion is not a lot, if we increase collaboration among all those who are on this mission)
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Barriers:
1. Trust.
2. Habits.
3. Fear of helping a competitor
(http://nextbillion.net/A-Wish-for-Sharing)
Solutions:
1. we ask our users to leave a review online (via LinkedIn)
this is what it looks like on our new website (still being built..)
http://bennu-solar.com/wpsite/services/
2. we make it easy to start purchase through the group purchasing,
buyers can transfer the payments directly to the factory as they are
used to. The only difference is that we are the ones who email and
communicate with the factory. (this is important since the factory
views us as a single point negotiation representative of dozens of
buyers)
3. this is gradually being solved as more buyers become aware of the
benefits of doing it the 'groupon' way.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
bigger awarness of the availabilty of our group purchasing service
Task 3
introduce our BennuValue verification stickers (like Sproxil - http://sproxil.com/ but for solar products)
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Task 1
to manage villagers feeback and after-sales support platform for users of BennuValue verified products
Task 2
to make group purchasing a requirenment by social investors
Task 3
to open source the technology and design of solar products for rural areas
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
I was thinking it would be nice to live on one of these beautiful South Pacific Islands,
so I googled to check living costs, and was blown away by how expensive the electricity was.
Since I was a researcher of solar technologies for big consulting companies,
I was only aware of the debates in the US and Europe on whether or not to subsidize solar,
yet, here on these islands I suddenly find out that solar is the most economic solution.
So I check a bit more, and realize that there are over 1 billion people who have no access to electricity, and for them solar is the most affordable solution.
But soon enough, I find out about the ugly truth that since buyers in these region don't place big orders, they get higher price quotes, and low quality.
By that time I'm already in touch with dozens of buyers as I was trying to learn about this market segment, and always in the background I hear this 'groupon' everywhere.
And it just came to me:
why not solar groupon?
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about your partnerships
we are in constant contact with hundreds of solar businesses, organizations, investors, producers, etc.
While we have no contracts they view us as partners because of the insights and knowledge we share with them:
http://tinyurl.com/free-consulting
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
Created on 08/7/2012 by Brydie Hill
SPF is a non-profit charitable organization committed to developing and funding sustainable projects that improve the overall life and community for impoverished around the world.
Organization: Sustainable Pathways Foundation
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Name
Sustainable Pathways Foundation
Organization Country
United States, WI, Milwakee, Milwaukee County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Gender of Innovator
Female
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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ToileTrees Micro Production Facility
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long have you been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Of the 33 million people living in the rural areas of Kenya 68% or 22 million people do not have access to an improved sanitation facility. This means that the majority of the population will meet their bathroom needs by using a non-piped sewer system, septic tank, pit latrine, an open pit, bucket, a shared facility or no facility at all. These unimproved sanitation facilities are unsanitary and are the cause of the many health problems that the Kenyan people face. Some of the most prevalent infectious diseases that are associated with unsanitary water contact include bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and schistosomiasis. With the ToileTree Slab many of these health concerns can be greatly reduced.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The ToileTree is designed using a special innovative process. This process uses an EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam encased in a proprietary fiber reinforced cement mixture. This cement mixture is used in a batch manufacturing system with virtually no waste except clean up. The end result is a 3' x 3' slab that is used as a composting toilet. The slab is affordable, easily washed, portable, sanitary, used by an individual family, and provides future site of fertile soil. The ToileTree offers a clean and safe option for people to go to the bathroom. The way it works is simple; a family digs a pit near their home 1-2 meters deep. They place the ToileTree over it and they can enclose the area as well if they like. Once the pit is full, the family simply digs another pit and moves the lightweight ToileTree slab to the new spot. Another benefit that the ToileTree offers is a future fertile source to grow a fruit tree.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
The facility itself will be relatively simple and allow that the entrepreneur to start with a low initial investment and risk. The average cost of a micro production facility will be $30,000. Half is given as a grant and half as a loan to the entrepreneur. This set-up is also very simple because it has been designed to be initially run without machines or electricity. The facilities are given five molds for the ToileTree slabs and production begins with hand labor methods. As demand increases factories can be adapted for use with machines and electricity. The facility will employee 8-10 people to begin with and increase with sales and demand. In one year the micro facility is projected to make enough in profit to fully pay back the $15,000 loan.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Current competition offers their products at no cost for the consumer. HSM believes that we can overcome this obstacle because many of the sanitation options that these NGO’s offer are community based for schools and small towns. The NGO’s do not offer facilities on a per family basis. This means that the primary locations for defecation include; a non-piped sewer system, septic tank, pit latrine, an open pit, bucket, a community shared facility or out in the open. With large community options like an open pit, septic tank or a pit latrine is that they are not maintained to a healthy standard.
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What solution(s) does your initiative address to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities? (select all applicable)
Access to financing, Access to supply chains, Access to technology, Access to economic opportunity.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We have piloted the project with 270 composting toilets and we have had much success. The composting toilets provide not only a place for the excrement, but also help with providing fertilizer for food security. We are monitoring the families that are using the toilets and assessing the health and environmental benefits. In June, 2012 we visited with 5 families and found no problems with the squat slab, that the composting was working well, and that the family was healthier. We will continue to monitor and evaluate.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Over the next 1-3 years we hope to be a crucial partner in establishing open defecation free communities. We have begun discussions with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. We also anticipate multiple micro production facilities providing sanitation solutions across Kenya, which will mean increased jobs and a positive impact on the economy. We already have interest by eight other countries who would like to set up a sanitation facility. We anticipate millions of people, families, and lives being changed because of a innovative portable toilet.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest barrier we face is with the people themselves. Sixty-eight percent of the rural population in Kenya does not have access to an improved sanitation facility. Without these improved facilities the people are faced with many health risks. The problem is that many of the people do not know that these health issues are caused by the unsanitary sanitation facilities. Due to this fact competition comes from the lack of knowledge about the health risks. Changing people's habits and hygiene practices is a challenge. Using material put out by Public Health departments and using the schools we will need to run an aggressive education campaign. We will also use radio advertising and have workshops on bettering your health and hygiene.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Task 1
Raise the additional $13,600 for the micro production facility to being in Bungoma, Kenya
Task 2
Train the staff and monitor the operation of the facility for 3 months. Keeping an eye on quality and control issues.
Task 3
To increase the facilities capacity and move from manual operations to electric/machine operations.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
To see the loan repaid by the entrepreneur, thus allowing us to set up the next facility.
Task 1
To set up another facility in Kenya or elsewhere to provide for sanitation needs.
Task 2
To create and develop ancillary products including sitting toilets, hand wash stations, and enclosures.
Task 3
To see success in more than one facility and that the model works. And to see a drop in sanitation based disease.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
I have been a mission worker in Kenya since 2006. The one thing I dreaded the most were the toilets. I didn't mind squatting, but the smell, the bugs, and the uncleanliness even made me want to go in the bush. I realized that even though they had toilets no one liked them. I also realized that the bush was full of feces and it was contaminating the water. Poop became a constant topic on all my trips. I never thought finding a place to poop would be so difficult or challenging, but it was and not only for me. Many women were scared of the toilets and disgusted by the smell. Women would tell stories of men hiding out by the toilets and then attacking or raping them even. Then I heard stories of kids falling into the toilets or babies being cast into the pit latrines to die. I began to realize that I was not worried about where I pooped because I was a visitor, everyone was worried. Everyone wanted a better, safer, cleaner, personal alternative. Thus the ToileTree was created.
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We partnered with Rotary District 6270, who provided us with $15,750 to conduct the market study, make and ship 270 toilets to Kenya for testing and use.
We also partner with a local nonprofit, Project Kenya Charity, who is has the in country (on the ground) connections. Both of these organizations have expressed interest in continuing to assist us and are partners still to do this day.
Lastly, the Little Sisters of St. Francis will be our main partner. They will oversee the facility, the staff, and have already mobilized the community for their support. The entire diocese is involved.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
