Onwards and upwards after one year together…
As we welcome a new group of entrepreneurs, the time has nearly come to bid adieu to the clever business owners we onboarded a year ago (*holds back tears*).
In the last 12 months they've whipped up impressive business plans, and met diligently month to month with their assigned business mentor to tackle the exhilarating ups ⬆️ and pesky (but, dare we say it - inevitable) downs ⬇️ of startup life.
As our formal support wraps up next month, our hope is to send them off well equipped - thier plan in hand, and expert advice in their brain - to scale up and attract potential investors for further growth.
Enough from us. Here are their reflections on their biggest highlights, current focus, and future aspirations for their social enterprises...
Q: Looking back over the last year, what’s your biggest highlight related to your social enterprise?
Michelle, Ripple: "Reaching 200 kids [with a gear box], processing over 2 tonnes of textiles and preventing over 1000kg of greenhouse gases from entering the environment was a major milestone for me. It made me realise how individuals and just chipping away can make a difference."
Julian, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation: "Seeing how the coffee shop has consistently broadened its customer base and how it has become a meeting space where community members from all walks of life come to treat themselves, see friends, or unwind. Another highlight, more business-focussed, has been adopting our new point of sales system. This has allowed us to start tracking stock and managing our business in a more informed manner."
Sam, HEZA Egg Hub: "Our biggest achievement has been moving our business from the idea and testing phase to a stage of growth. This was made possible through the business plan All Good Ventures supported us to create, and acquiring land on which to eventually build [with the grant from All Good Ventures]."
Caption: Founder of Ripple, Michelle Jennings (left), has generated 200 gear boxesfor vulnerable Kiwi kids, partly thanks to clothing gear drives with businesses such as New Zealand Post.
Q: Focusing on the present, what’s one thing you’re working on right now to advance your social enterprise?
Michelle, Ripple: "Utilising our textile waste in a way that creates a new revenue stream to help fund our social and environmental work and become fully circular. New product coming soon…"
Julian, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation: "Refining our stock management to identify and address any inefficiencies or wastage [in the coffee shop]. Doing this will help us get more accurate financial statements and determine the precise margins per product."
Sam, HEZA Egg Hub: "Administrative tasks behind introducing a new buying and selling model. Also, I recently attended a three-day training session organized by FAO Rwanda. They taught us about professional poultry farming as a business. We even visited a model poultry farm, similar to the one we aim to create."
Caption: Sam from HEZA Egg Hub was recently able to visit a model poultry farm similar to the one they hope to create after furthering the egg distribution component of their business.
Q: Looking ahead, in your wildest dreams, what do you hope the impact of your social enterprise will be a year from now?
Michelle, Ripple: "I would love for our system to become the norm in New Zealand. Where passing on children's unwanted or outgrown clothing and shoes helps kids who need it most and diverts items from having to go to landfill, reducing their significant environmental and carbon impact."
Julian, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation: "I hope our coffee shop has been accredited as a training facility and can train baristas and customer service employees to unlock employment opportunities for our community. And, importantly, that the coffee shop will be generating profit to overflow into our broader livelihoods centre and programmes."
Sam, HEZA Egg Hub: "We want to be restoring hope for hundreds of teenage mothers by helping them reintegrate into society [through business]."
Caption: Jabulani Rural Health Foundation employs Lungi, pictured, as the manager of their Siyabulela Coffee Shop. In time, they hope to accredit the shop as a training facility so more people can be employed.
Q: As you prepare to leave All Good Ventures next month, we’d love to hear the number one benefit you gained from working with us?
Michelle, Ripple: "The feeling of support has been amazing. Having a mentor and the All Good team to help me through the highs and lows of the journey has been especially important given that I am often working on my own."
Julian, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation: "Getting expert input [from a business mentor] that helps us refine our vision, purpose and operations. Simply being asked the right questions about our business – ones we didn’t know we should be asking – was invaluable."
Sam, HEZA Egg Hub: "All components of the programme, Money, Mentorship and Muscle, have helped us lay a strong foundation for HEZA, and the impact will last for generations to come. In particular, the mentorship programme was invaluable in helping us grow – it allowed us to see ways of developing the business that we wouldn’t have on our own."
In bidding adieu to our 2023 entrepreneurs, we're inspired by their resilience, excited for their future endeavours, and grateful to have been a part of their journey. Here's to the impact they will continue to make for years to come 🥂