One by One Projects Explained
Our mission to empower budding entrepreneurs everywhere sounds noble, but how do we actually do it?
Each expedition includes a One-by-One project focused on an entrepreneur or group of entrepreneurs.
Projects Include:
Vocational Skills Training: giving the entrepreneur the necessary skill set to offer a valuable product or service. Think travelers building a chicken coop with a family and teaching them how to raise chickens and sell eggs.
Startup *Loan: usually given in the form of supplies, the loan gets the entrepreneur on their feet to a point where they can begin earning revenue. Think giving the supplies to build the chicken coop and buying the first 20 chickens.
*Loans are given as a no interest, small payment micro-loan. Their purpose is to create accountability with the entrepreneurs NOT to earn interest. Returned loans will perpetuate more business creation!
Base Financial Training: essential business finance principles necessary to run a profitable company. Think training the family how to track the sale of eggs and budgeting to be able to buy chicken feed and more chickens.
Monthly Mentor Meetings: Recurring meets for 1+ years after the business is created used to review the business, the financial book, and to implement new business and financial training. Think a mentor meeting with the family and reviewing their budget, discussing growth, and overcoming challenges such as 5 chickens getting sick and dying.
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Your Role
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To carry out the projects, travelers and donors aid in the entire process! From teaching the skills, running the training courses, providing the loans, and helping with long-term mentoring. These projects are only possible through the combined efforts of people willing to buy into entrepreneurship as the way out of poverty!
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Expedition Members: First off, don't worry... no business startup experience necessary! You and your team will be tasked with the responsibility of creating the business plan and teaching the necessary skills to run the business.
If this sounds stressful, don't worry, we are here to help. We will train you on how to do this. Just remember, this whole wouldn't work without you!
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Donors aka Investors: We consider our "donors" to be "investors"... investing in the success of family businesses in developing countries! Your donations will go directly into micro loans that finance the entrepreneurs. They are essential to creating these businesses!
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Project Example
To understand how projects are run, lets review the project of our first entrepreneur Akhona.
Akhona grew up in a small shack village in South Africa. He was blinded at a young age. Obo helped Akhona build a poultry business to support his family. He 3x production in the first 6 months and has enough monthly income to provide for mother and siblings.
His Obo story begins when he received an application to have his business work with Obo. Our entrepreneurs are carefully selected and vetted by Obontu leaders in their community! Our in-country leaders are tasked to find local entrepreneurs who qualify for our program. Qualification is based on character, work-ethic, entrepreneurial ideas, and commitment.
Obo’s South Africa in-country leader put out applications throughout multiple rural communities. Interviews followed. Through it, Akhona was found to be a great fit as one who was regarded highly by his community as having high character and a strong work-ethic, bright with many entrepreneurial ideas, and his commitment to make a sustainable business to support his family for the rest of his life.
Through coordination with Akhona, Obo’s leadership team, and the expedition team members it was decided that we would build a poultry farm together. Plans were created before departing to South Africa in order to maximize the time spent together with Akhona.
The team spent 4 days with Akhona while in South Africa. During that time they purchased material (using the micro loan funds for his business donated by donors) to build the coop, and supply it with 20 chickens, and enough supplies to last 3 months. Together with Akhona and members of the community, we built the coop. The team also taught Akhona the essential skills of running a poultry business. How to feed and water the birds, proper care of the coop, etc.
The first financial training sessions were held by group members while in South Africa. Essential business fundamentals were taught such as basic accounting, budgeting, saving, and proper use of business funds. Additionally, terms of the microloan agreement were set up, with the understanding that as Akhona’s business grows and succeeds, the money that he pays back will one day allow another entrepreneur to do the same thing.
After leaving South Africa, our business support team has continued meeting with Akhona once a month. In those meetings we go over his financial books, especially focusing on revenue and expenses. We also check to make sure he is paying the loan back on time, if there are any new challenges, and go over new financial principles for him to implement.
These monthly follow up meetings are VITAL for the businesses to survive. It can take time to learn the basics of business finance, and it can be difficult to manage revenue, especially with a new revenue source and family who could use the extra financial support. These meetings create a safeguard to ensure that company funds are used properly and that sound financial principles are being adequately learned by Akhona.