MobiHaiti

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MobiHaiti: "Diaspora NeTraders"

Port-au-Prince, HaitiPort-au-Prince, Haiti
Year Founded:
2014
Organization type: 
for profit
Project Stage:
Idea
Budget: 
$100,000 - $250,000
Website:
http://www.mobihaiti.com
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Project Summary
Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

 DiasporaNet is an Initiative to write 1694 pioneers mobipreneurs success-story through two steps : 1) Exporté-US training for confectioners to master FDA rules 2) Launch of MobiHaiti responsive platform to reach 2.5 Million prospective Diaspora-consumers.

WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"

What If we "connect" 2.5 million Diaspora-people to their Alma Mater agribizproducts ?
About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

Lack of exported products, that's one of main reasons that Haiti is the poorest Americas country so far : although agriculture still represents 50% of employment (USAID 2013 data) here, we have sent only U$ 25 millions of agriproducts to USA according to 2014 BRH (Banque de la Republique d'Haiti, the central bank here) yearly report. The biggest entrepreneurial mistake is : none platform is offering our agribusiness in the richest webmarket.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

MainBiznis (business in your hands, in creole language), so an ex nihilo e.commerce service that we will offer : A) The most richest but untapped Demand for local agribusiness products,i.e. the niche market constituted by overseas citizens and their family whose purchase power represents an amount of U$ 300 millions every year. Of course we won't reach all US-based 2.5 millions immigrants, nor the 1 Million living in NY-NJ area but our 1st-year goal will be to have U$ 1,5 million as on line yearly sales. & B) Traditional-confectionery entrepreneur b.1 we'll start through Cassava ("the tropical bread") b.2. after "Mamba" (or peanut better) , coco-based Tablets...
Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

MobiHaiti is into the idea-stage step but the example about the potential of employment about our Diaspora-buying-candy Platform is real. During 2 months : March-April 2014, I was asked to organize an entrepreneurship seminar for 34 young people for JMOVE, a youth club constituted by low-revenues family people but I noted this observation : a) only 3 out of 34, so less than 10%, have a regular work. b) But 100% of the 6 groups were able to present in the final-expose day their Start-up Business Plan : so a sustainable traditional confectionery mamba (Group 1 : rated average), "Tablet pistach" (Group 2 : the most well-presented), "cremas"... A few weeks after, I wonder myself : why not offer them & others an ex nihilo market ?

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.

1) 2013 U$ amount of agricultural exported products : 25 millions 2015 projected " '' '' '' '' : 26,5 millions 2) 2014 percentage of agricultural family in poverty : more than 65%, according to Prof. Kesner Pharel, Radio Metropole economist 2015 projection : 10% less 3) number of Haitian immigrants in NY-NJ : more than 1 Million (according to geographer Georges Anglade) Currently less than 10% of diaspora Haitian houses eat "Alma Mater" while they are in the Capital of the Neteconomy era, so they will be offered to buy positive-impacts confectionery of their country...on line.

Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?

A) Organizing the "Exporte-US" training I A.1 to hire a webdeveloper & int. commerce instructor: First A.2 local Media-campaign launch : Secondly A.3 1st FDA-rules training : Summer 2015 A.4 Selection of the 121 producers*, that will be offered to participate in a workshop, to open a mobipreneur account B) Agreement with Distributors chosen in Brooklyn,Queens,Long Island,... C) Platform launch : Fall 2015 D) Organizing the "Exporte-US" (every 6 months) E) Debut 2016 : Launch for another LAC country one. PS* : most are women and don't own regular revenue.
Sustainability

Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?

We have made the choice to have prepaid business model : in a few words, before the launch of the pioneer platform, all the costs will have been addressed thanks to on line adbans fees , official sponsorship agreement with key-partners and the bankable choice of a prepaid-card partner-provider ( unbanked among our 2 Mill. possible clients) We will be ready to give more details our exploitation of the monopolistic innovating, a la Paul Romer.

Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?

We will be the 1st in Haiti to offer the entrepreneurs-"confiseurs" the unique opportunity to reach ON LINE the richest niche market for any Alma Mater product : more than 2.5 million of immigrant potential-consumers living in New York-New Jersey area (about 1 Million), Miami (600,000), Massachusetts (330,000), Fort-Lauderdale (100,000)... And the pioneer to lead a New Economic market is the 1st and definitive winner... in general : Ford (car industry in USA), Ali Baba (e.commerce in China),..,
Team

Founding Story

The idea of a "mobipreneurship-portal" came to my head through a Monday Business Class volunteer session for J/P HRO NGO most crowded refugees camp during summer 2010 : after tragic earthquake, almost everybody in the world wished to help Haiti but is Launch an "amazonian" responsive website to sell products from local entrepreneurs for a durable development better than Giving millions that we're still search impact five years after this tragedy ?

Team

Terry Gray will be the responsible of the responsive (available for PC & mobile-based clients) development of the portal codenamed temporarily MobiHaiti. Jacob Riche, Master in Finance, is VP of Administration. Henry Fombrun, Master in e.learning, VP of Marketing & Communication
File attachments: 
File diaspora_netraders_conceptpaper.docx

Comments

Ricardo Polycarpe's picture

Finally we have selected DirectionWorks, a floridian marketing & website provider, as the company that will be responsible of the responsible mobile business portal.