Enterprise Profiles

Following are a number of enterprise profiles that show the range of activities supported by AREED:

Anasset- LPG

Mr. Seth Nanemeh is an experienced businessman with 10 years experience in the marketing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), including five years managing his company Anasset. Although his business was operating well in the capital of Ghana, Accra, he saw the opportunity to expand into many rural and semi rural areas where LPG was unavailable or too expensive.

To expand, he needed additional infrastructure to store and deliver LPG. The amount of capital, however, could not be raised from conventional banks, so he turned to AREED.

Working with the AREED team, Mr. Nanemeh started an initial phase to upgrade the existing LPG operations in Accra and then expand. Since the AREED investment in December 2002, Anasset has made steady progress and significantly increased the number of households buying LPG for cooking while increasing the company's gross profit margin by more than 40%.

AREED was interested in Anasset because there is a growing demand for LPG by institutions, businesses and households, the company's growth will create new job opportunities, and he company has good potential to attract a private sector co-investment after this first phase.

Anasset video clip (1.3 mb)

USISS – Solar Dried Food

Mr Bamba Coulibally knew this country, Mali, was short on refrigeration, which means substantial amounts of food spoil before it can be eaten. He also knew that solar drying technology developed in a former aid project could be used to preserve meat, fruit and vegetables.

Since 1990, the company, USISS (Usine Semi-Industrielle Sechoire Solaire), has been successfully selling dried meat, mango and onions in the capital Bamako using existing solar technology.

Mr Coulibally was confident he could greatly expand the business while improving the quality of dried foods by using better equipment. Mr Coulibally went to AREED for enterprise development services, including the development of an acceptable business plan. The enterprise was interesting to AREED because USISS is an example of a company using clean energy to generate income. The structure of the business is also interesting because it is simple and a good case study for replication.

The AREED investment allowed USISS to purchase higher quality equipment for both drying and packaging dried food products. The new driers, completed in January 2003, have increased the amount of dried products available for sale and thus increased company revenue. USISS now distributes its products through grocery stores, station services, and street vendors.

USISS believes it can triple production and revenues within three years. The company hopes to increase capacity to eventually run ten or more solar dryers.

USISS video clip (2 mb)

Gladymanuel Trading (GETL)

Mr Emmanuel Abbey is an experienced business owner and managing director of Gladymanuel Trading Enterprise Limited (GETL). The company sells mobile PV power back-up systems and energy efficient lighting products that can substantially reduce electricity consumption in a country where nearly 80% of electricity comes from burning fossil fuels.

The market for the company's PV power systems began to expand when the country experienced an extended drought. PV systems not only reduce energy costs, they are also mobile and versatile, which makes them attractive to a wider market.

In February 2002, Mr Abbey approached AREED to fund his company's growth. AREED saw the potential for GETL to expand and eventually attract private sector finance. After working with GET to improve procurement and cash flow planning, accounting system and debtors system, AREED extended a three year, $70,000 loan at 7.5% interest.

VEV

VEV is a small company offering repair and maintenance services to existing wind powered water pumps, most of which were installed in a former aid project. Four former employees formed the company after the aid project finished in 1992.

After servicing windpumps for the last 8 years and proving to be a profitable small, business, VEV saw opportunities to both improve their current activities and to expand their business. After being refused support by the local bank, VEV sought assistance from AREED for working capital and equipment purchases.

AREED's loan provides VEV with appropriate working capital to maintain an inventory of spare parts, shorten payment times for maintenance services and offer short-term credit to appropriate clients. The loan also allowed VEV to obtain an additional vehicle to increase their productivity by making more than one repair or trip per day.

AREED will also consider a second loan that will allow VEV to increase its client base by bringing more pumps into operation. VEV could also become a contractor or sub-contractor for new installations and thereby increase its market for maintenance and service.

VEV will receive continuing enterprise development services to ensure that their financial projections are realistic and that they can expand their business as predicted and realize the estimated revenues. AREED will also assist in developing a strategy for including preventative maintenance services in their business.

VEV vedio clip (2.6 mb)

BETL

Making cement is an energy intensive business where energy is often supplied by fossil fuels. In Tanzania, however, the Tanga Cement Company Limited (TCCL) wanted to source some of their energy from biomass and turned to Peter Gathercole, a mechanical engineer with 24 years experience.

Gathercole believed he could profit from a Tanzania law that demands production industries remove biomass waste, which is not only expensive but also a potential environmental hazard. He came to AREED with a simple business model to coordinate the sourcing, transportation and supply of suitable raw biomass materials from the rural communities in Tanga to supply TCCL. Although TCCL needs biomass for its operations, it is the convenience associated with having the appropriate biomass sourced, transported and delivered to the client that gives BETL an innovative and competitive dimension.

The AREED partnership provided BETL with business planning support and assisted the entrepreneur to fill in certain gaps in the operational structure of the business.

The environmental benefits of this enterprise, including decreased greenhouse gas emissions, are a big win for AREED. At the same time, replacing fossil fuels with unused renewable biomass fuel reduces costs.

Similar opportunities exist in Tanzania, and the business model and knowledge can be replicated in other AREED countries such as Ghana where large-scale deposits of biomass (from sawmills) are currently unused.

BETL has signed a new two-year contract, increasing volumes from 500 tonnes per month (Original contract) to 1200 tonnes per month. BETL has also begun a small pilot project in Kigamboni with a group of women to begin carbonizing coconut husks. BETL will buy the carbon from them as a source of raw material for briquettes. BETL will expand on this and ensure the source of raw materials is only taken from village waste on not indigenous trees.