Riding to Liberty
This initiative allows low income people to purchase a bicycle via a financing strategy. This transportation facility provides an average savings of $80.000 (U$36) monthly to workers and/or students that mobilize daily, thus improving their quality of life and help them to solve problems regarding protection of environment, traffic congestion and public health. Transport is one of the most representative expenses for Colombians, apx 18% of the minimum wage is used to cover this service by employees, small merchants and students who are the customers for this initiative. Considering the importance of a bicycle we found out that if we can generalize the use of this transportation facility we would be also contributing to the social integration of a city. For this purpose it should be easy to purchase a bicycle using a commercial strategy that allows its financing and payment with the savings they provide. Bicycle dealers ignore the richness existing in the low income population, but we have created a market strategy that through financing, a campaign addressed to change the culture and concept regarding the use of a bicycle and the compromise of enterprises and institutions provide the way for a generalization in the use of an economic and good quality bicycle.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Sector of activity
Healthcare
Other sector of activity
Alternative Transportation
On the mosaic diagram, which of these factors is the primary focus of your work?
Factor
Limited purchasing power of individual clients
Principle
Design products and services that tap into the wealth of poor
Name Your Project
Riding to Liberty
Describe Your Idea
This initiative allows low income people to purchase a bicycle via a financing strategy. This transportation facility provides an average savings of $80.000 (U$36) monthly to workers and/or students that mobilize daily, thus improving their quality of life and help them to solve problems regarding protection of environment, traffic congestion and public health. Transport is one of the most representative expenses for Colombians, apx 18% of the minimum wage is used to cover this service by employees, small merchants and students who are the customers for this initiative. Considering the importance of a bicycle we found out that if we can generalize the use of this transportation facility we would be also contributing to the social integration of a city. For this purpose it should be easy to purchase a bicycle using a commercial strategy that allows its financing and payment with the savings they provide. Bicycle dealers ignore the richness existing in the low income population, but we have created a market strategy that through financing, a campaign addressed to change the culture and concept regarding the use of a bicycle and the compromise of enterprises and institutions provide the way for a generalization in the use of an economic and good quality bicycle.
Innovation
Description of your products or services:
This initiative allows low income people to purchase a bicycle via a financing strategy. This transportation facility provides an average savings of $80.000 (U$36) monthly to workers and/or students that mobilize daily, thus improving their quality of life and help them to solve problems regarding protection of environment, traffic congestion and public health. Transport is one of the most representative expenses for Colombians, apx 18% of the minimum wage is used to cover this service by employees, small merchants and students who are the customers for this initiative. Considering the importance of a bicycle we found out that if we can generalize the use of this transportation facility we would be also contributing to the social integration of a city. For this purpose it should be easy to purchase a bicycle using a commercial strategy that allows its financing and payment with the savings they provide. Bicycle dealers ignore the richness existing in the low income population, but we have created a market strategy that through financing, a campaign addressed to change the culture and concept regarding the use of a bicycle and the compromise of enterprises and institutions provide the way for a generalization in the use of an economic and good quality bicycle.
Description of the operational model:
The initial objective of this project is the distribution and financing of good quality bicycles at a reasonable price that are obtained through an agreement between the Fundaci?n Horizontes de Libertad (FHL) and manufacturing and importing companies and that are paid with 10% of the initial payment contributed by an institution, enterprise or group and 90% covered by the direct beneficiary with weekly payments corresponding to 5% of the savings made in using this alternative transportation facility. FHL, following the business plan prepared, purchases bicycles with an innovating design prepared by us through an agreement with manufacturers and importers that reduces commercialization costs; the units are afterwards given to the interested parties and payment is received in installments through enterprises, organizations and institutions. The financial model established requires an institution, trade union or an enterprise that guarantee the payment of the product, this is, in addition to the personal compromise there is an inter institutional contract eliminating the mercantile spirit between manufacturers and beneficiaries. With the purpose of maintaining a permanent social link with the beneficiaries and guarantee the good use of the bicycle, we offer maintenance services during a year and a link to ?ciclopaseos? during week ends
Impact
Description of the financial model:
The direct beneficiaries pay for the product in installments, but the initial quota is a contribution made by the state, the organization, education institute or company with whom the agreement is made and who will pay 10% of the total cost of the bicycle: 90% will be covered by the beneficiary through low weekly installments corresponding to 5% of the savings made in transport which guarantees the use of the alternative transportation. The term is 12 months. FHL has a business plan prepared on basis of the experience gained when participating in the Ventures Prize, Colombia, 2003 ? Social category. We got the First Place as the best business plan in this category which allowed to consider that Riding to Liberty is financially self sustainable, as only a small seed capital is needed for starting the program, which is recuperated through the weekly payments made by the beneficiaries. Surplus is reinvested again, thus guaranteeing the self sustainability and the replication of this initiative.
Client fees represent this approximate percentage of operational budget:
10%
Key operational partnership:
Among the most important alliance we have ?Pedals for Progress? who have donated us 1600 bicycles and ?Bicycles for the World? with whom we have socialized the initiative and are interested in sponsoring. Ashoka, world network of social entrepreneurs that support the projects of their fellows, the Chamber of Commerce of Ibague sponsors the transport of the donated bicycles and the Municipalities of Cajamarca and Engativa facilitate the use of the bicycle as an education and social integration tool and 50 social organizations that have been benefited from the delivery of bicycles in bailment. We have contacted several manufacturers of bicycles who have found social and commercial benefits and are interested in become involved. We are sponsored by the program IESO of the School of Administration of the Universidad de los Andes and other educational institutes between high schools and schools that see in this proposal a viable alternative. We have made contacts with enterprises and institutions to which we have proposed to finance 10% of the cost of the bicycle in exchange of benefits that are fiscal, to corporative image to the improvement of fulfillment of their employees.
Current outreach:
We are at the Scaling Up stage. We are the start up stage In expansion. The program started in the city of Ibagu?, Department of Tolima, where we have delivered in bailment approximately 1500 bicycles to low income persons, educational institutions, local government entities, social organizations and unions. On basis of this experience we got to know the impact secured by the bicycle in the economic, social, environmental, cultural aspects as a tool that improves the living condition of low income persons and the interest of the community to purchase them. We want to go from the delivery in bailment of used bicycle to the distribution and financing of new and economic bicycles that are accessible to the community; we are trying in Bogota where 50% of the bicycles of Colombia are commercialized, a city with 9.000.000 inhabitants and 315 km of cycle routes (the longest cycle route of the world).
How many clients have benefited from your product/service in total? Over the last year?:
1500 persons to whom we have delivered bicycles in bailment. A great percentage of these persons have recently recuperated their liberty and see in the bicycle a transport and work tool that facilitates their return to society; additionally students who use the bicycle to go to class, children of rural schools who make their journey in 45 minutes less, housewives that take their children to school, children with disabilities that are help in their development by the bicycle, employee and members of social organizations who use it in work and social activities have been benefited. During the last year we benefited approximately 500 persons. Please note that this is not the number of bicycles delivered directly, but the bicycle is normally used by 2 or more persons.
What percentage of your clients is below the poverty line ($2 per day)?
70% Persons that use a bicycle as an alternative transportation in a 70% correspond to population that is below the poverty line.
What is the order of magnitude of the potential demand for your products or services? Which other low-income groups, countries or regions could benefit from it? Try to quantify (number of clients, market size in currency).
The demand of bicycles can be quantified in millions and the initiative has the purpose of spreading the use of a bicycle as an alternative transportation. This program can be replicated in any part of the world. In Colombia, as reported by Fenalbicicletas, 2.000.000 bicycles are commercialized each year, and 1.200.000 employments are generated either directly and indirectly. This initiative intends to commercialize 2.000 bicycles per year on its first stage.
Scale-up strategy:
How many low-income individuals do you plan to benefit in three years from now? How are you planning to scale up or replicate your solution? What are the major constraints to scale up?
We hope to deliver 11.000 bicycles in three years that will benefit approximately 30.000 inhabitants considering that a bicycle is generally used by two or more members of a family, company or organization. In the initial stage we have a publicity campaign that promotes the bicycle. We are working in the creation of a network that articulates the different initiatives fostering this type of programs in Colombia and in the world and to become united for implementing a financial strategy that allow low income persons to purchase their bicycle; in a more advanced phase and as soon as this program is self sustainable we plan to organize an assembly company to lower even more the cost of the bicycle allowing better higher benefits. Within the challenges we can mention the need of obtaining seed capital, to obtain the compromise of government authorities for the suiting of roads, guarantees for those riding bicycles established in transit regulations that protect them and the cultural efforts for respect towards bicycle users and bicycles.
Which specific areas - and why - in your field would benefit most from investment by corporations, foundations, and other investors:
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
The organization: How does the initiative fit with your overall organization's strategic goals and priorities? How did the initiative start?
The mission of FHL is to ?Work in the construction of a citizen culture for ethic prevention of crime incorporating conditions of human dignity and social projection in jails and society?; On basis of this purpose we created a Messenger company that offers work opportunities to the prisoners that can enter and leave the prison or that have recently recuperated their liberty, and thinking that the bicycle is a key tool as transport facility for messengers and that further represents liberty we contacted Pedals for Progress, who donated appx 1600 used bicycles which we have used to develop different initiatives where besides being a working tool they have become a practical instrument for social transformation using it as a healthy, cheap, solidary and including transport. The mission of FHL is ?To work in the construction of a citizen culture for ethic prevention of crime incorporating conditions of human dignity and social projection in jails and society?; On basis of this purpose we created a Messenger company that offers work opportunities to the prisoners that can enter and leave prison or that have recently recuperated their liberty and thinking that the bicycle is a key tool as a transport facility for messengers and that further represents liberty we contacted Pedals for Progress, who donated appx 1600 used bicycles which we have used to develop different initiatives where besides being a working tool they have become a practical instrument for social transformation using it as healthy, cheap, solidary and including transport.
Organization's legal status:
Non for profit social organization
Number of Employees:
17
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