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Slide 1: ▪ ▪ ▪ Lack of local business planning and  management capacities Lack of local ownership and control, and  therefore lack of community support Little access to mainstream finance Alleviating Poverty With Joint Venture Commercial Estates WILMA has embarked upon a program to  improve   living   standards   in   some   of   Africa’s  poorest   communities   through   the   formation   of  businesses structured as joint ventures.   These  businesses   will   be   partly   owned   by   African  nonprofit   organizations,   which   will   provide   the  land, the initial planning, the labor, and services  to   the   local   community   such   as   health   and  education.  Commercial firms from industrialized  countries will also be part owners, and they will  provide the business expertise, technology, and  capital to make the joint venture a success.  To  increase   efficiency   and   sustainability,   our  business   model   clusters   small   business   start­ ups   to   take   advantage   of   technical   linkages,  supply­demand relationships, and common land­ use   needs.     The   result   is   the   Joint   Venture  Commercial Estate (JVCE), a community center  for business and social services that relies on its  own profits for sustainability. This   business   model   addresses   the  problems that curb the growth of small business  in Africa: ▪ ▪ Vast distances, poor transport  infrastructure, and high fuel costs Poor health, education, and social services  near production sites Our   confidence   in   the   JVCE   program   is  based on our experience with two independent  businesses   that   WILMA   helped   plan   and  finance.     The   first   was   Dar   CDA   Mushroom,  commonly   known   as   DarMush   in   its   home  location of Mbweni, just north of Dar es Salaam,  Tanzania.  WILMA hired mushroom experts from  China to train local workers to raise mushrooms  in   the   hot   and   humid   coastal   environment.  These   experts   have   returned   to   their   homes,  and   the   company   continues   to   produce  mushrooms   and   expand   its   operations   in   the  care   of   the   Dar   es   Salaam   Community  Development Association. This   mushroom   business   still   depends   on  aid:   the building of new mushroom barns and  other   costs   sometimes   exceeds   monthly  Members of the Dar es Salaam Community Development  Association meet in a local classroom. revenues, and DarMush cannot afford to borrow.  WILMA  suggested   that   a   cluster  of  companies  including  construction  and  materials production  could   make   DarMush   self­sustaining.     The  availability of a school for workers’ children and  a   clinic   would   also   help   in   the   hiring   and  retention   of   a   labor   force.     Working   with   our  commercial partner, Tucson Transatlantic Trade,  which   specializes   in   low­cost   construction   and  has   its   own   program   for   developing   joint  ventures in foreign countries, we have planned a  Innocent L. Bash, WILMA’s program manager for Tanzania,  inspects a new mushroom variety being introduced to east  Africa by DarMush, coprinus comatus. Ahakishaka villagers construct the storage tank and pumping  station for their water­distribution system.
Slide 2: JVCE   in   Mbweni   including   both   commercial  enterprises and social services. The second business around which we are  planning   a   JVCE   is   Ahakishaka   Waterworks.  Ahakishaka   is   a   village   composed   of   five  hamlets   in   northwestern   Tanzania   near   the  Rwanda border.  In the middle of the hamlets is  a spring where traditionally children have spent  much   of   each   day   fetching   water   for   their  families.  WILMA provided some initial capital for  the  residents  of  Ahakishaka  to   build  a  storage  expand   and   raise   the   living   standard   of   the  village,   the   company   plans   to   begin   selling  bottled   spring   water   outside   of   the   village.  There’s   plenty  of   demand   for   this  product,   but  although   WILMA   has   paid   for   a   specialist   to  certify   the   quality   of   the   water   and   has  completed negotiations with the government for  rights to bottle and sell it, the capacity to build  the bottling plant remains out of reach.   WILMA  proposes   a   JVCE   including   a   construction  company and other complementary businesses.  In both Mbweni and Ahakishaka the demand for  improved housing is high.   The former is dotted  with tin­roof shacks; the latter is a region of mud  huts.   In either location a company specializing  in   sturdy   low­cost   construction   should   find  continuing   demand   for   both   residential   and  commercial buildings. WILMA’s   network   of   partners   and  colleagues includes an ever­expanding roster of  professionals   who   stand   ready   to   provide  valuable   services   to   support   the   formation   of  JVCEs.  Some of them are in mid­career, others  retired;   while   they   will   donate   their   time,   their  travel and other expenses must be covered, and  it’s often necessary to hire local professionals at  standard   rates   for   short­term   specialized  assignments.  GETTING AFRICA OUT OF THE  POVERTY BUSINESS WILMA staff and local leaders inspect one of the new faucets  installed in a hamlet center. and   pumping   system   to   distribute   water   to  hamlet centers.  Freed from the task of fetching  water, the village children are now able to attend  the   local   elementary   school,   which   is   being  expanded   by   the   local   government   to  accommodate the influx of new students. As   with   the   mushroom   company,   profits  from the water company are meager.   Villagers  are   willing   to   pay  for  the   water,   but   what   they  can   afford   will   barely   cover   the   cost   of  maintaining the current equipment.   In order to  The World Institute for Leadership and Management in Africa (WILMA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating poverty in Africa through the support of indigenous leaders and managers, has experimented with alternatives to traditional development methods since 1999. Success with two community-based small businesses has led us to design a new way of promoting and expanding such businesses. If our objectives can be fully realized, we may be able to reduce or eliminate the need for donations in the communities where we are pursuing this effort, and we hope to expand to many more communities. WILMA’s strategy for Getting Africa Out of the Poverty Business now focuses on launching a course for training and mentoring the future leaders of social enterprises called Joint Venture Commercial Estates, a special way of creating community-based business.
Slide 3: The Way Forward: WILMA’s SEED WILMA   with   its   commercial   partner,   TTT,  are combining their experience on the ground in  Africa with their network of senior professionals  in   Africa   and   around   the   world   to   launch   a  course of training and mentoring for the  future  leaders of JVCEs.  We call this course WILMA’s  SEED.  SEED  stands for  Social  Enterprise  and  Entrepreneurship for Development.   In SEED, WILMA Senior Mentors lend their  time   and   talents   to   groups   of   students   at   the  world’s   leading   liberal   arts   colleges   and  universities.   After extensive preparatory study,  the   course   starts   formally   with   a   two­week  seminar   at   the   students’  school,   conducted   by  the   Senior   Mentor   during   or   after   their   junior  year.  The seminar starts the process of creating  a business plan. The course formally ends with  the successful launching of a JVCE that serves  a particular  community and that is planned with  its   leaders   and   local   investors.     The  capitalization of the JVCE repays student loans  contracted to pay for the course.  The loans are  guaranteed by the students’ sponsors, by their  Senior   Mentors,   and   by   other   interested  investors and donors.   Another faucet located on vacant land makes the  construction of a new girl’s school and other long­needed  facilities feasible.