We are overwhelmed by the demand for our solution
In the last few newsletters, I have written a lot about our first two ventures: MakaPads, the sanitary pads made from papyrus in Uganda, and Impacc Stoves, the gasifyer ovens from Ethiopia poor women can earn money with while cooking. Both companies are financed for the next year. Now they need patience and time to develop in such a way that they can eventually operate on their own.
As you know, we are not a company of furnace builders or specialists in the manufacture of sanitary pads – our approach is to help many start-ups grow. Not all of them will be successful, that’s part of the game. Hence it is all the more important that we now build a portfolio of startups so that the success of one can help see the other through some rough stretches. As a non-profit company, we are not interested in profit, but our portfolio does have to be sustainable financially. That’s why we put so much energy into selecting new ventures.
Our “Call for Entrepreneurs” has attracted hundreds of applications from all over Africa – a clear sign of the need for funding for those social enterprises that improve lives but that conventional investors aren’t interested in because they don’t promise sufficient returns. Of over 300 candidates, 80 made it to the second round – we are currently selecting the five to ten that we want to include in our portfolio.