A new form of development aid, based on the idea that many items that cost next nothing in the North are not available in Africa. To solve that problem traditional aid initiatives concentrate on refurbishing used European goods. That looks good, but misses the point, as it means Africans are forced to use dumped stuff the West no longer needs as they have moved up in development so waste a small fortune in satisfying the requirements of donor organisations.
An extra problem is the excessive transportation costs that have to paid by the folks in Africa, to bulk deliver the second rate goods. So the aim of the African Expres is to reduce these costs with 75 % by altering the shoppinglist,a nd reling more on inter African exchange or improving connectivity to exisiting local “lifelines”. If the shoppinglist can be rearranged to a budget under Euro 100.00, the TimeDesk microfiance programm will fund the shipment and purchase of goods to complement items that are available as free donations.
The added value is that local Africans no longer have to apply for grants, satisfy needs of donor organisations and can make a slow start of achieving their goals starting very low key. Part of the application process is the construction of a bplan based on new venture, but the beauty is that the service starts after the business idea is received, and faciltates all along the way, instead of demanding large scale businessplanning prior to beeing accepted to receive (fiancial) support
The Expres Service provides the folks in Africa with the basic hardware to keep on working on developing their community, but the shoppinglist is scrutinized to only contain goods that can’t be bought locally at a lower rate. The shipments will be a mix of refurbished items, stuff bought at huge discout only available in Holland and to complement existing support plans, like the BunaBoda, the African PC and other business ideas.
The concept is based on the idea that locals in Africa send in a shoppinglist of goods and items they need to deveop their community, including acurate local prices, and Timedesk professionals rearrange the budget, create a shortlist of stuff that cost snext to nothing int the north, and rewrite the budget proposal, and find funding based on the new proposal.
As participants will receive a monthly shipment of essentials they no longer have to wait for the mass transport deals donor organizations organize. This lean and mean approach will probably solve much logistical problems, saves costs and help speed up the development initiatives.
You need to be a real “wheeler dealer” as your challenge is to use as little cash as possible to achieve the highest result. This is a job for an African, familiar with the African and Dutch way of life, so only the best and most realistic projects are initiated.
Implications;
- Jobcreation in Holland amongst African immigrants and enhancing the existing support initiatives these people have started in helping developping their homeland.
- Increased local African business development, not related to donor organisations.
- New microfinance model
- Extra PR for Timedesk and more advertising options.
- Fascinating content for Timedesk Website.
One person startup, based on “verloning”, covering first year’s cost of living.
African Express is a self contained business idea offering a good poential income scenario for one person. with a startup buget of 5000.00 from Biznerbank, the alterpreneur can apply for grants at several institutions. He/she will learn how to deal with development organizations, attend conferences, present his/her business proposal and organize all logistics needed to run a smooth operation. A proof of concept will be available, based on Starting up within 1 year. During that startup year, everything possible to reach break even will be undertaken, so the “verloning” can be stopped within 12 months.
- Timedesk will provide basic support, coaching, ICT infrastructure networking options, inside contact with NGO’s, Dutch government, and more.
