Tag Archives: African Diaspora Marketplace

Nigerian Fruit Jams the Competition

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Nwando Ajene is a marketing specialist based in Chicago. She is launching AACE Foods with her Nigerian partner Ndidi Nwuneli, founder of African Alliance for Capital Expansion.

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa.

The logo for AACE Foods.

The logo for AACE Foods.

We here at AACE Foods are delighted to have a $100,000 grant. We are using the money for the purchase of equipment to manufacture jams, spreads, baby foods, and spices. Our immediate machinery needs consist of storage bins, washing facilities, fruit crushing and processing equipment, packaging machines as well as a back-up power generator.

We anticipate that we will begin production of jams and spreads in April, becoming the first Nigerian company to produce such products. We have established contacts with hotels, restaurants and supermarkets as buyers. Our jams will be made from mangos, papayas, guavas, cashews, and pineapples; our spreads from honey and peanuts. Our line of baby foods will consist of soya, carrots, sweet potatoes, guava and mangos. Our main spice will be hot peppers.

We expect to be able to displace a large portion of similar imported products. In time, we plan to expand distribution of AACE Food products throughout West Africa.

Fleet Management for Transportation Efficiency, Safety in Ethiopia

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[guest name="Zelalem Dagne" biography="Zelalem Dagne has lived in the United States for 29 years. He has worked as a senior process engineer for advanced manufacturing systems in the plastic industry and provided consulting services to corporations including Comsat and Qualcomm on the deployment of mobile and wireless technologies."]

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa. Some of them share how they plan to use the money on the New Enterprise blog.

With the newly developed highway infrastructure and high accident rates, road transportation is a major challenge in Ethiopia. I believe our company – Global Telecommunications PLC – can help improve the efficiency and safety of road transportation by deploying a fleet management system based on the global positioning system (GPS) and related technologies.

The fleet management system implementation will have a positive impact on business and commerce by helping to move agricultural and industrial products to the intended destinations on more reliable schedules and at lower costs. Our two-year old firm will help freight companies manage their operations, and this, in turn, will help their clients improve management of their supply chains. The monitoring and tracking of the fleets across the country will allow their owners and operators to monitor fuel expenses and other costs, more accurately plan fleets’ operations, maximize the use of those fleets while keeping the vehicles safe and reliable, and extend the life of the vehicles.

When we began, we saw inadequate telecom infrastructure as a main obstacle. But the speed at which the country is catching up in this regard has surprised us. In the last six months, a third generation wireless system, which covers 85 percent of the country, was rolled out. To provide 100-percent coverage within Ethiopia as well as globally, we partnered with a Canadian satellite company to get a backup for our operations where the network of the terrestrial general packet radio service (GPRS), a mobile data service, is unavailable.

Initially, after a series of presentations, only few potential clients expressed any interest. But since we opened the office in Addis Ababa and started a pilot project with up to 30 vehicles the interest has grown significantly. My sister Elizabeth Dagne, who is my Ethiopian partner and has experience in the transportation sector, helped recruit potential clients too.

We also see potential markets in the tourism, rental car, and the oil and mineral exploration sectors. For example, a personal tracker service can help rental car companies establish the location of the victims of car crashes and alert emergency services. We are launching the promotion of the personal tracker in late March with free trials.

As a result of our win in the African Diaspora Marketplace competition, we have received inquiries from other contestants about possible partnerships in the countries they start their ventures. Given that our system was developed to work globally, the potential of such ventures is huge. Our plan is to use grant money to finance the launch of new services and buy additional equipment.

Goat Ranch in Ghana Aims to Start an Industry

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[guest name="Henry Adobor" biography="Henry Adobor teaches corporate strategy, ethics and leadership at the School of Business, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut. His background is in retail and human resource management. His business interests in Ghana include a small IT center in Accra and a large-scale aquaculture project. He lives in Cheshire, Connecticut."]

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa. Some of them share how they plan to use the money on the New Enterprise blog.

Henry Adobor

Henry Adobor

You may not believe it, but goat farming is my passion. It connects me to my childhood during which my mother kept a few goats (as do most people throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.)

What I am trying to do with Aceritas Ghana Ltd. – the company I have started – is turning the passion into a commercial enterprise. The company will own and manage Green Acres Goat Ranch. Beginning with 100 goats, this commercial goat farm will use improved breed stock imported from South Africa and modern husbandry methods to produce the animals for meat and breeding. This will be a huge improvement over traditional small-scale livestock farming, which is inefficient and unsustainable in the long run.

But my goal is far from pushing small farmers out of competition. With a small laboratory and education center, the ranch also will work as a platform for sharing knowledge with local farmers to help them upgrade breeding and farming methods and grow. Aceritas is forming an alliance with a local university to promote research on goats, particularly on the new breed. My hope is that this project becomes the nucleus of an emerging industry. I plan to entice others to form a Commercial Goat Breeders Association to lay industry’s foundation.

The Accra Plains where goats soon will roam.

The Accra Plains where goats will roam soon.

My partner in Ghana -Stephen Adrah who owns several companies and farms – will manage Aceritas operations.

Because the market for goat meat is huge in Ghana, the initial focus is on selling the animals to large buyers, brokers and individuals directly from the ranch. Breed stock will be sold to farmers. Thinking ahead, Aceritas also will prepare for farming milk goats and selling goat milk in the future.

The ADM grant has come handy. It will help to defray the cost of importing the breed stock (that is substantial because the animals will be air-freighted, no first class please!) and building housing for goats.

In Ethiopia Efficient Orchards to Grow on Superior Plant Tissue

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[guest name="Michael Asamere" biography="Michael Asamere, who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, has a background in information technology. He resides in Seattle where he works for Fidelity National Information Services."]

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa. Some of them share how they plan to use the money on the New Enterprise blog.

Hunger and malnutrition are not foreign to Ethiopians. I see improvements in local farming as the best way to address these problems. My father-in-law – an Ethiopian American who teaches agriculture at Fort Valley State University in Georgia – suggested that one could contribute to these improvements in a major way by propagating quality tissue cultures selected from local edible plant stock, particularly fruit stock. With that goal in our minds, the company we jointly started – TAF Plc. – will build and operate a commercial-scale plant in Addis Ababa, which will grow and multiply select plant cells, tissues and organs in a laboratory-type environment for sale to farmers. (Later, we plan to open satellite offices in Oromia, Amhara and other regions.) A lab building already has been constructed and a small greenhouse will be ready soon. The $100,000 grant will be used to buy laboratory equipment.

So far farmers have had to rely on the government to provide them with seeds and other planting materials. But those supplies are insufficient, costly and often not of the best quality. As a result, some large farmers idle chunks of their farm lands. With foreign investors buying or leasing land for large-scale farming, demand for quality planting materials will grow tremendously.

When the company was launched three years ago, it had to gain trust of the farmers as it had no name recognition to rely on. Through the word of mouth – with support of a network of relatives and family friends – TAF has established an initial customer base. Now potential customers come to our local partner – well-connected businessman Tsega Asamere – asking him when we will open.

Our main goal is to help farmers increase crop, produce technological spill-over effect in the agriculture sector and make profits in the process. The venture also will create close to 100 jobs. In the future, TAF also wants to make a concrete contribution to sustainable economic development by producing materials for reforestation of deforested areas.

We are excited about this venture and the prospect of helping the agricultural sector in Ethiopia that represents a significant portion of the economy.

Grand Aspirations for MicroClinics in Ghana

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[guest name="Kojo B. Taylor" biography="Kojo B. Taylor is an entrepreneur who expanded a franchised information technology company into a 13-unit chain in 12 cities across the country. He later sold the company to a division of IDG, the publisher of “Books for Dummies” series. He lives in Minnesota. "]

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa. Some of them share how they plan to use the money on the New Enterprise blog.

Kojo B. Taylor

Kojo B. Taylor

As my background is in franchising, I thought of leveraging my related knowledge to improve the public health system in Ghana. In the country the greatest need for basic health care services is in urban fringes and rural areas where such services are either scarce or unaffordable. Yet, there are nurses and medical assistants who potentially could provide accessible care in those areas. Three years ago, I started a company – MicroClinic International – that creates conditions for nurses to own and operate their own clinics. We assembled a team with the aim to create a network of community micro-clinics and recruit medical personnel to run them as franchisees.

A model micro-clinic is almost ready.

A model micro-clinic is almost ready.

The clinics are 1,100-square-feet buildings with small labs and living quarters for franchisees. We provide business training, oversight, accounting services, a management information system and manage the brand. We also provide quality control and sources for supplies including the drugs that meet intellectual property protection criteria.

But what might be most important for many is our help in getting loans for franchisees from venture funds and other sources in the United States and other capital markets. A nurse earning on average $100-$200 a month can hardly afford building a $25,000 facility. Our projections show that a successful franchisee will start making profits in less than two years, thus gaining ability to repay the loan.

With two prototype clinics already opened, and two others under construction, our goal is to expand the chain to 150 clinics in seven years.

The grant money we just won will help us fund a demonstration project and develop a billing system for third party payment.

We are aware that even relatively cheap medical services can be beyond the reach of those who live on $1 a day. That’s why from the beginning, our strategy was to have in place a third-party-payment arrangement with the national health insurance plan. A partnership we have formed with that plan will not only allow the poorest of the poor to gain access to essential health services, but also may change the way health care is delivered in Ghana. We hope it will create more opportunities for entrepreneurial private-sector providers. Private-public partnerships for healthcare in developing countries are an imperative in my view.

Diaspora Entrepreneurs: From Brain Drain to Brain Gain

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[guest name="Jonathan Ortmans" biography="Guest blogger Jonathan Ortmans is president of the Public Forum Institute, a non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering dialogue on important policy issues. He leads the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, focused on public policies to promote entrepreneurship in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he serves as a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation. His post originally appeared on Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship Blog on entrepreneurship.org by the Kauffman Foundation. "]

Jonathan Ortmans

Jonathan Ortmans


We have long argued that the American model for development assistance could improve dramatically if entrepreneurship becomes a stronger element of economic development efforts. Unfortunately, the importance of new firm creation is a concept that has yet to gain relevance in traditional development models, such as the Washington Consensus. However, there are a few actors who understand the power of entrepreneurship and have been using it to improve lives. For example, diaspora entrepreneurs are using their experience and understanding about entrepreneurship to invest in new ventures in their country of origin. These transnational entrepreneurs view a globe of porous borders.
 
Diaspora entrepreneurs for example leverage networks of fellow “diasporans” to gain knowledge about market opportunities and infrastructural gaps that they can fill (e.g. provision of telecommunication services). They have firsthand experience in working in two business environments, and are eager to tackle the hurdles of doing business in their home country using such experience. This was the case of Patrick Awuah , a former engineer at Microsoft who recently started one of the top universities in Ghana.

This phenomenon of diaspora entrepreneurship has been receiving attention from development communities. The contributions of diaspora entrepreneurs are beyond the financial impact of remittances used for investment in the most capital-constrained countries in the world. Development experts have identified various types of diaspora capital—human, social, and financial—as a useful development resource for migrant-sending countries.

Business incubators have also been paying attention to this phenomenon. Many incubators now specialize in diasporans’ new ventures, helping turn migrant’s investment interest into actual start-ups. For example, IntEnt  has been offering services to entrepreneurial and enterprising migrants residing in the Netherlands who wish to set up a business in their country of origin (so far, Ghana, Surinam, Morocco, Turkey, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Curacao). Social projects have also spawned around the idea of diaspora entrepreneurship. Investors without Borders  (IWB), for example, provides a lending platform where individual lenders—beginning with the Ghanaian diaspora, then branching out to include the broader community of socially responsible investors—could loan money to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.

Many readers of this blog are familiar with the research showing that the entrepreneur is the chief agent for innovation, job creation and economic growth. Diaspora entrepreneurs are extending that role across borders, expanding human welfare one new entrepreneurial venture at the time.

Better Palm Oil to Improve Diet in Sierra Leone

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[guest name="Joe-Lahai Sormana" biography="Joe-Lahai Sormana worked for two multinational chemical companies as a senior engineer and scientist. He has a doctoral degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. He lives in Pennsylvania."]

The African Diaspora Marketplace contest recently awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to 14 immigrants to the United States from African countries to help them start or expand businesses in Africa. Some of them share how they plan to use the money on the New Enterprise blog.

Joe-Lahai Sormana

Joe-Lahai Sormana

In Sierra Leone, crude palm oil is an essential ingredient in traditional dishes. Between 30,000 and 40,000 metric tons of palm oil per year is consumed in the country. Over 95 percent is derived from palm fruit through traditional methods that are labor intensive and inefficient.

That wasn’t always the case. But during the civil war, all palm-oil processing mills were either destroyed or became inoperable and, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have been re-established or re-started.

I have established a company called Palm Fruit Processing Company Limited with the primary goal of producing palm oil in a modern mill. My local partner, Aloysius A. Beah, is negotiating contracts with palm plantations to provide us with a steady supply of palm fruit. In the future, we plan to develop our own plantation.

Palm Fruit Processing company’s logo

Palm Fruit Processing company’s logo

Our oil will carry health benefits as it is cleaner and has a lower level of saturated fat. But the company will be selling it at a discount relative to local prices. We will be able to afford it because of greater efficiency of our processing mill, which will allow us to produce significantly more palm oil from the same quantity of palm fruit than traditional producers will ever do. Our company’s pricing strategy and product quality will give us a competitive advantage from the start.

The company will create jobs, thereby contributing to the economic development of the country and to improvements in the standard of living in the local community.

A win in the competition validates our business model and value-proposition. Grant funding will be used to purchase equipment and develop the necessary infrastructure to house it. We already have selected sites, bought land and obtained the design of the mill.

Generous Spirit Drives African Diaspora to Invest in Home Countries

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Guest-blogger and economics writer for America.gov Andrzej Zwaniecki talks about U.S entrepreneurs targeting business in Africa.

If you need proof that countries in Africa can experience economic renewal don’t look further than these blogs by finalists of the African Diaspora Marketplace business plan competition and their recent Web chat (http://www.savorchat.com/chat/african-marketplace). These entrepreneurs are competing for seed money to start businesses in their home countries. The joint ventures between U.S. entrepreneurs of African origin and their partners in Africa range from a virtual marketplace for small farmers to business development services for small businesses to clean, on-site power generation for larger companies. Winners will be announced January 13.

The entrepreneurs target markets in Africa because they know them best and because that’s where great opportunities are. They face serious challenges in sub-Saharan countries such as poor transportation and electrical infrastructure. Yet they are willing to take a higher-than-average risk driven by a desire to contribute to the development of their home countries. Many are accomplished individuals – some run their own firms, others have successful professional careers. They could have rested on their laurels. But an entrepreneurial individual can hardly resist a temptation to seize an opportunity when he or she sees it.

As small businesspeople without big money, they sometimes must persuade officials and potential customers in target markets they can leverage their skills and experience to a great effect.

Many African nations have come to appreciate the asset their diasporas represent and are soliciting their opinions on a range of issues from business regulation to investment policies. Although the diasporas by themselves won’t do economic miracles in Africa they definitely can help prepare the ground for accelerated development by spreading the culture of private initiative and innovation.

Can Ghanaian Pineapples Generate Jobs and Services?

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[guest name="Phoenix Maat and Michael Ducker" biography="Phoenix Maat oversees U.S. operations of Sardis Enterprises International Inc., a Ghanaian-American company, from her office in Denver. Michael Ducker is a market development specialist employed by J.E. Austin Associates, a business consultancy firm that focuses on helping developing economies."]

America.gov asked finalists from among the more than 700 African immigrants who submitted business plans to the “African Diaspora Marketplace” to blog about their ideas. Sponsored by USAID and Western Union Company, the African Diaspora Marketplace is a contest that will award seed money to approximately 15 winners to help them bring their ideas to life in their home countries.

PHOENIX MATT, entrepreneur:

Pineapple processing.

Pineapple processing.

Sardis Enterprises International Inc. exports Ashanti Gold and White Pineapples from Ghana to America. Our vision entails expanding our pineapple exports from Ghana as well as our social services to the people of Ghana. We aim to create employment and educational opportunities, with special attention to health and nutrition. We want to build business partnerships with the Ghanaian people, treating them not just as workers, but also as export partners.
Sardis Enterprises was founded and is run by Americans and Africans. It is unique in its work of salvaging crops for export. (We try to make sure no pineapples go to waste, unlike some operations.)

Sardis Enterprises’ humanitarian efforts also distinguish it from other companies that export from Africa but do little for its workers or environment. We maintain a culture of participation and inclusion as we work to raise prosperity, education and agricultural productivity in Ghana.

Sardis Enterprises welcomes guidance and partnerships with donors and regional African organizations. An American agriculture exporting company would be a great consulting resource for us as well. We are interested in learning efficient international export channels and in adopting better IT systems.

MICHAEL DUCKER, business expert:

Sardis seems to have an advantage over several other fruit exporters.

Ms. Maat’s blog entry makes me believe that Sardis is an integrated enterprise that manages everything from the pineapple farm to selling directly to U.S. wholesalers and super markets. This allows it to change quickly to market needs.

Sardis also has a US presence, meaning that it should have direct access to the market. This provides more opportunities to promote the Sardis enterprise and an advantage in gathering information about the U.S. market.

By incorporating good employment and environmental practices, Sardis also has created a branding opportunity, which could lead to higher prices. I would suggest that Sardis focus its selling and marketing on socially conscious consumers and the higher value retail chains that serve these consumers. I would work with the retailers to get prominent shelf space for the pineapples accompanied by point-of-sale displays with a socially conscious slogan, such as “the best pineapples for you and the earth from Ghana.” The displays could carry pictures of happy employees and logos of environmental standards that Sardis might adhere to.

I don’t know Sardis’ cost structure but my feeling is that Sardis would be better served to stay away from commodity-type distribution chains, which are managed by the larger super markets. The commodity-type distribution chains will not bring Sardis the price it deserves.

Kenyan Portal Could Give Small Firms Access to a Big Market

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[guest name="Kinoti Gituma, Imran Qidwai and Herman Nyamunga" biography="Entrepreneur Kinoti Gituma is the founder and chief executive of KinConsult, an Internet business consulting firm. He lives in Santa Clara, California. Expert Imran Qidwai is president of Zaviah, a high-tech consultancy firm in Boston. Expert Herman Nyamunga is an independent development consultant and a blogger."]

America.gov asked finalists from among the more than 700 African immigrants who submitted business plans to the “African Diaspora Marketplace” to blog about their ideas. Sponsored by USAID and Western Union Company, the African Diaspora Marketplace is a contest that will award seed money to approximately 15 winners to help them bring their ideas to life in their home countries.

Kinoti Gituma, entrepreneur:

Kinoti Gituma

Kinoti Gituma

Living and working in Silicon Valley has exposed me to many facets of e-commerce: from selling rugby apparel on eBay to marketing high-end servers on Google. Having been born and raised in Nairobi, I am excited about recent developments in the Kenyan technology sector, particularly the launch of broadband.

Within KinConsult, a U.S. online and e-commerce consulting firm based in Sunnyvale, California, I have envisioned Johari, a Web and mobile portal that will bridge the digital divide in Kenya by providing a platform for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to tap the potential of broader markets. It is currently under development.

By marketing their products and services on Johari such businesses will gain access to a consumer market that transcends local boundaries. And I believe that giving SMEs the platform for information gathering and collaborative technologies will help them grow and prosper. This, in turn, will boost business generally in Kenya by giving consumers a greater choice.

The biggest risk is fraud. Initial challenges include attracting, vetting and listing a large number of SMEs and persuading them to use Johari to list their products on a continuous basis. It will take time for the Kenya society at large to embrace new technologies to reach a critical mass.
Questions for experts:
1. How do you mitigate the risk of fraud in operations of a mobile and Web portal in a developing country?
2. How do you create an effective viral marketing campaign for a quick roll out in a region that has high mobile penetration but very low Internet penetration?

IMRAN QIDWAI, business expert:

As I was reading your blog post, the paramount issue of fraud was dancing in my head. It was good to see you identify that as a major challenge yourself.

Identifying the target market segments that will benefit the most from your business will be a key to your success. You need to identify the type of products that would be best served by your online market within the targeted region, both for the buyers and sellers. Thus, commodities may not be the best unless you are sure that buyers will achieve significant overall savings or benefit from the convenience. You also may need to hand-pick a few merchants for such products that pass through a strict selection filter. You may launch the business with few such merchants and closely monitor the transactions for overall customer satisfaction. Using the best practices learned during the early phases, you may have to come up with your own Better Business Bureau type seal of approval. You will then be ready to scale up the business with more merchants and a greater variety of products. You will need to be vigilant throughout and set up a fair process to vet the merchants. You also may need to encourage buyers to provide their satisfaction ratings for merchants and products upon the completion of transactions. Once you have a well-oiled marketplace that is also profitable for the merchants, I am sure that other merchants will be dying to get in.

As for viral marketing, there is a technique called Word of Mouth Marketing being promoted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. You may wish to check out their site [http://womma.org/main/] to learn and adapt this and other techniques to the local market.

A Johari promotional photo of a Kenyan Masai warrior

A Johari promotional photo of a Kenyan Masai warrior

HERMAN NYAMUNGA, business expert:

The impact of fraud on businesses across the globe is phenomenal. Although every effort is being taken to find a lasting solution to this problem, there is no silver bullet yet. However, there are industry-tested strategies that developing countries can employ to mitigate the risk of fraud in operations of mobile and web portal. They include these:
1. Developing a secure platform for information exchange,
2. Effective and efficient electronic verification system supported by well trained fraud analysts,
3. Rolling the portal in phases to permit system modification,
4. Utilizing mobile financial systems like Kenya’s M-PESA – which are transforming the way people save, use, and transport money in poor countries – for most of the transactions,
5. Educating consumers on how to protect themselves against fraudulent activities,
6. Developing and applying due diligence in verifying sellers’ identity before listing them in the portal,
7. And information sharing between credit card companies, businesses, law enforcement agencies, and consumers.

As to a viral marketing campaign, due to limited availability of the Internet, mobile phone networks have proven to be a vital piece of technology for Africa. The technology is ubiquitous and plays an important part in bridging the infrastructure divide. As a cheap alternative, it presents a great opportunity for creating an effective viral marketing campaign to assist businesses in connecting with consumers. The strategy involves recruiting a group of trusted people in every target market, earning their trust and using them as a platform to transmit your message to their network of friends. This strategy has been successfully used in Africa to support initiatives such as Mapping stock-outs, Mobile learning, Mobile search, Mobile Banking, etc.