Made in hand–social e-commerce platform

Women and those who live in military conflict area in the East of Ukraine, those who left without work while COVID-19 suffer from lack of livelihoods because of job shortages and a gender inequality; Very similar situation exists in countries of ex-USSR, so called “Soviet heritage”, where men held a dominant position, and women a secondary.

A social enterprise,  an online platform for trading handmade abroad “Made in Hand” is a real way out. Women and other vulnerable people (pensioners, disabled, women living in towns and villages) can stay home, housekeeping, bring up children and at the same time do handcraft and earn money, stop the spread of the pandemic. If our solution was scaled globally it could reduce the level of poverty, decrease the level of labor migration and emigration from developing countries, increase the level of living, improve the economic growth, increase the number of women entrepreneurs.

In Ukraine the average level of salary per month is $400, $13/day. Poverty in Ukraine among the population of 44 million is 4% - those who live for $5,5/day are 1,7million. The difference between poverty and what is cold “not poverty” is small – it is conditional upon low economic development of the country. Ex-USSR countries (15 republics, population - 250mln.) are in very similar situation after the collapse of Union and live in average for $605 per month ($20,2/day). In Germany monthly salary - $4560 ($152/day), USA - $25/hour, it is obvious that ex-USSR countries need economic growth generated by the growth of entrepreneurial activity. Our solution – online platform on trading hand-made products abroad “Made in hand” allows Ukrainians earn money selling hand-made products from their homes without working abroad or emigration. Such international platforms as etsy.com, eBay and Amazon are expensive for small manufacturers, many Ukrainians and ex-USSR users do not speak English. We translate sellers' information into English. Many crafters lack knowledge and confidence to trade abroad – we provide trainings. PayPal in Ukraine has many restrictions - we provide other international payment systems that work in Ukraine without restrictions.

E-commerce platform for trading handmade goods from 15 ex-USSR countries to English-speaking countries (USA, Canada, the UK), starting from Ukraine. 

International marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon trade different kinds of goods including handmade and have quite expensive conditions for trading for small entrepreneurs. Etsy.com is the biggest in handmade trading but 15 ex-USSR countries are still uncovered. The main problems in trading via existing marketplaces are the English language, which people from ex-USSR countries do not speak, the way of payment – PayPal has some restrictions for these countries and knowledge in e-commerce. Our solution “Made in hand” is the way out: we translate sellers' goods descriptions and account information into English, editing that by native speakers. As payment systems we use Payoneer, Skrill and UnionPay which operate internationally. Moreover, we provide on-line trainings on e-commerce, entrepreneurship and different kinds of crafts, generating more sellers on our marketplace, promoting it and attracting more interest. According to analytical data from Etsy.com, Ukraine has a good potential in developing handmade trading as it ranks the 4-th place in Europe after the UK, Germany and France on online sales of handmade goods. Prospectively, we provide export/import trading for 15 ex-USSR countries.

In Ukraine people sell handmade because in most cases they earn their living. We attended handmade exhibition and interviewed about 200 exhibitors. All of them want to trade abroad, but English is a barrier, they love their hobby and earn on it but trading abroad is more profitable.

Our target population is women as they are the most vulnerable. Our goal is women entrepreneurs in towns and villages. There are 3 categories of crafters we target: existing entrepreneurs (fashion designers, painters, sewers, etc.), hobby crafters and crafters-newcomers (women who live in small towns and villages, disabled people, pensioners, suffered from the military conflict in the East of Ukraine, left without work while COVID-19).

We plan to conduct online-marketing campaign to attract new sellers to our marketplace, create branded video-classes with crafts, provide online trainings on e-commerce and entrepreneurship, involve local authorities, local mass media, NGOs that work with marginalized groups, invite crafters to our marketplace from exhibitions and other marketplaces. Earning on trading handmade abroad from their homes many people, especially women in Ukraine and further 15 ex-USSR countries improve their living conditions without the need to work abroad, become independent, safe and stop COVID-19 or other pandemic.

Besides professional crafters we invite, educate and train on e-commerce, entrepreneurship, crafts the most vulnerable (women, especially in small towns and villages, pensioners, disabled and those who suffer from lack of finance, internally displaced from the East of Ukraine, left without work while COVID-19). Our social enterprise – e-commerce platform on trading handmade goods abroad gathers existing crafters-entrepreneurs and future crafter-entrepreneurs. We provide services on English editors and translators of users’ accounts and goods description. We train new entrepreneurs and create good jobs for people who assist crafters to trade and serve platform for its effective operation.

Our direct international competitors are Amazon Handmade, Etsy.com and ebay, Folksy.com is the UK’s biggest online craft fair. The innovation of our social e-commerce enterprise concludes in changes in perception and adaptation of new knowledge among women and vulnerable people living in towns and villages. Changes in perception: especially while pandemic, people understand that the world will never be the same – many people left without work and many jobs disappear but online trading, studying becomes more popular. Young people and urban citizens adapt more quickly to online life, but marginalized groups, especially women in towns and villages need a helping hand in a view of adapting new knowledge and approaches to earning money and to work in general. There is no need to go to work every day and sell goods in the market, we provide detailed trainings on e-commerce, entrepreneurship and different kinds of crafts which help them become independent, confident, spend more time with their families, keep house, conduct export/import trading and earn money for better life without any need of working abroad and leaving their homes for several years. For people from towns and villages e-commerce is a new knowledge and trading abroad frightens but we educate, train and assist newcomers and solve the main barrier – we assist with translations into English and edit descriptions of handmade goods.

Our social e-commerce enterprise is a new application of an existing technology, similar to etsy.com but our online marketplace is with elements of network marketing (to minimize expenditures for promotion) and social media where people unites in communities, share experience, new skills, approaches in handmade production, share videos of crafts, products, participate in competitions. Women and vulnerable people from Ukraine, potentially from 15 ex-USSR countries and other developing countries produce handmade goods and sell them to English speaking countries (USA, Canada, UK, etc.) at the same time compete within their communities for quality, volume of sales, for minimizing expenditures for production – it is a real business environment. There exists an incentive system for attracted and trading sellers, for training crafts to other people, for shooting useful and educating videos and promoting them in other social media. People look for self-realization and recognition. We created the environment where they can reach these things, be independent, reach better life, trade internationally.

Best practices of handmade trading in the world are here below:

Etsy.com

Amazon Handmade - https://www.amazon.com/Handmad...

Ebay handcrafted - https://www.ebay.com/b/Handcra...

Folksy.com

ULTIMATE OUTCOME

• Increased economic activity of women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region of Ukraine.

INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES Enhanced engagement of women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people into entrepreneurship in Kyiv and Kyiv Region

• Decreased barriers to access and benefit from economic empowerment program delivery for women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region

IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES Strengthened knowledge and ability in entrepreneurship, e-commerce and handmade skills of women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region

• Increased ability on improving degraded environmental conditions among women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region
•  Improved mechanisms for communication and association among marginalized, vulnerable people and women and girls in Kyiv and Kyiv Region
• Improved awareness on gender-equality, economic empowerment and human rights of marginalized, vulnerable people and women and girls among citizens and authorities of Kyiv and Kyiv Region

OUTPUTS Trainings on entrepreneurship, e-commerce vocational education, trainings on handmade developed and delivered to women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region

• Training on improving degraded environmental conditions developed and delivered to women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people in Kyiv and Kyiv Region
• Studio for support, communication and association of marginalized, vulnerable people and women and girls at newly organized Training center organized and equipped in Kyiv city
•  Gender sensitive, economic empowerment and human rights awareness campaign among citizens and authorities conducted in Kyiv city
• Kyiv training center on vocational education for women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people organized, equipped and launched in Kyiv.
• Technical assistance provided to women and girls, marginalized and vulnerable people for the sourcing of equipment and materials in Kyiv and Kyiv Region
• Trainings on online and offline instruments of communications developed and conducted in Studio in Kyiv city
• Gender sensitive, economic empowerment and human rights awareness campaign developed
•  e-commerce platform for trading hand-made products developed and launched in Ukraine (the platform is targeted at manufacturers of hand-made products in Ukraine and buyers in USA, Canada, UK)
• Online trainings on entrepreneurship, e-commerce vocational education, trainings on handmade

At the moment we are in the process of prototype development.

In 1 year we plan to have 5 000 sellers and 50 000 buyers. In 5 years there will be 500 000 sellers and 9 000 000 buyers.

Software

In 1 year – developed and launched a web platform and applications for popular mobile OS; developed an incentive system for attraction new sellers and stimulating new sales, launched a module of promotion and advertising with clear payments

In 5 years – the platform has language versions of all 15 ex-USSR countries; application is optimized for search engines on the territories of buyers, developed and launched apps with ready outfits and premises design with handmade goods of sellers.

 Social enterprise

In 1 year – signed partnership agreements with organizations that support vulnerable groups in Ukraine, shot educational video-courses on e-commerce, kinds of crafts, entrepreneurship; opened 5 training centers for crafters/traders in Ukraine

In 5 years - signed partnership agreements with organizations that support vulnerable groups in 15 ex-USSR countries; shot educational video-courses on e-commerce, kinds of crafts, entrepreneurship; opened at least 45 training centers for crafters/traders in 15 ex-USSR countries

Engagement and promotion

In 1 year – organized teams of accounts, managers of digital marketing, translators/editors in Ukraine; launched digital marketing campaign in Ukraine and in countries of buyers

In 5 years - organized teams of accounts, managers of digital marketing, translators/editors in 15 ex-USSR countries; keep implementing digital marketing campaigns in 15 ex-USSR countries and in countries of buyers

Market barriers

In 1 year – Crafters/traders have lack of stimulus to use new e-commerce platforms than they already use. Buyers have no trust to the new platform.

In 5 years – There are strong competition on e-commerce market especially in the US, UK, Canada. Big international e-commerce platforms try to destroy competitors.

Force Majeure

In 1 year and in 5 years – There is a risk that a new pandemic, similar to COVID-19, can occur and paralyze the project implementation.

 Misunderstanding

In 1 year – There is a risk that unanticipated strategic changes by donors or partners will affect the achievement of expected results.

Political risks

In 1 year and in 5 years – there is a risk that continued political insecurity and violence in the lead-up to elections will delay project results

Non-professional trainers

In 1 year and in 5 years – there is a risk that our inability to attract, train, and retrain the right people with the right skills set will have a negative impact on our programming effectiveness.

Market barriers overcome

For attracting crafters to use our platform, account managers will find potential sellers (crafters) and assist them to complete their accounts in English for free also providing them information about new platform’s advantages. For abroad buyers we offer reliable international payment systems. We plan to conduct promotional campaigns and offer users the support 24/7.

In conditions of the strong competition we use all tools of digital marketing targeting on our target audience. On the first stages of the development we compete price of our services as well.

Force Majeure overcome

For protection of pandemics risk, we organize the work using modern available digital instruments of communication (Hangouts meetings, YouTube webinars, etc.).

Misunderstanding risk responses:

• Work with donors and partners to improve policy coherence and cooperation.
• Expand communications efforts with the help of Solve to ensure that the various stakeholders are more fully engaged in the program and understand it better.

Political risks overcome – Deep planning and flexibility in some aspects of project implementation.

Non-professional trainers risk responses:

• Create a recruitment plan.
• Define an action plan for employee retention (including human resources development and employee satisfaction/motivational tools).
• Continually train staff in a variety of areas to develop multiple skills in individuals.

We didn't select "other"

Core of our team consists of 2 persons. Svitlana Borodina is a CEO of the project and Ruslan Borodin is a CTO. Team members which are part-time but are full-time staff when project starts: Authority issues coordinator, Training center coordinator, Social development coordinator

According to our personnel plan during the 1-st year we plan to employ up to 30 people additionally as full-time staff and part-time staff.

CEO – Svitlana Borodina

Serial entrepreneur, more than 10 years of experience as a Marketing Director and managing my own companies.

About 70 projects/campaigns in marketing/advertising, digital campaign were implemented.

Development and implementation of marketing strategies, marketing analysis/audit of products, including online digital.

Project Manager, Marketing and Public Relations in Ukrainian Social Investment Fund, Project manager in Corcordanza - Italian charity organization.

CTO – Ruslan Borodin

Serial entrepreneur. For over 8 years of running my own IT company, 5-35 people, depending on the size of the project. The total experience of the head is about 15 years.

More than 50 innovative projects in the field of software and equipment for advertising and PR of world-known brands have been implemented.

General project management, developing project roadmaps, producing innovative projects in the field of IT.

Authority issues coordinator - Hrytsenko Iryna – about 10 years in the Department of Education of the District and Kharkiv region State Administration, an Inspector of Minors' Child and Juvenile Rights Protection - organization of family-type orphanages, reform of boarding facilities at the district level.

Training center coordinator - Gryb Klavdia – more than 30 years of experience in educational system of Ukraine as a principal of school, director of educational complex.

Social development coordinator- Tetyana Derkach

Ministry of Social Policy and Labor of Ukraine - analysis of social monitoring of the population of Ukraine. Ukrainian Social Investment Fund – a coordinator of Khmelnitsky regional representation, coordinator of social capacity development services, 32 projects were implemented.

We do not partner to any organizations. We would like to partner with Solver and FIAP and UN Women as well as with Solver team, MIT faculty, Solve Members, Global Affairs Canada, UNDP and SIDA to better reach the goals of our project and copy best practices of successfully realised project, get best experience.

On our marketplace there trade either existing entrepreneurs/sellers or new-trained entrepreneurs. The latter are trained by our managers online, taking courses on e-commerce, entrepreneurship, different kinds of crafts or study offline in our training centers. A part of revenue received from commercial sellers we redirect to vulnerable groups to train and support them (help them to access new markets) until they become completely independent entrepreneurs, making money for living. We also grant microfinances for materials to start our beneficiaries’ own business.

We apply the following business models:

Entrepreneur support – provide e-commerce trainings for existing entrepreneurs, especially women, provide services on translations into English entrepreneurs’ products descriptions within their accounts on our platform

Market intermediary – we provide existing crafters (especially women in towns and villages who trade on physical markets) new knowledge, instruments and an online platform for trading and translation services

Employment – we provide online and offline trainings on e-commerce, entrepreneurship and different kinds of crafts - educate new professions to, first of all, vulnerable, marginalised people and then support them until they trade or craft, earning for living

Low-income client – we provide microfinancing program on a competitive level for low-income clients to purchase materials for crafting, set up internet connection, to purchase a computer 

Market linkage – we provide existing and new entrepreneurs and crafters from Ukraine as well as from 15 ex-USSR countries a marketplace that enables them to sell their products to English speaking counties (USA, UK, Canada) - export/import trading

There is planned the following revenue model and expenses.

Expenses for software development, staff employment and project launch are financed from raising investment capital

Services for crafters/sellers/entrepreneurs (translation into English the products descriptions, taking photos of products) are partly financed through sustained donations and grants and partly from operating income.

Expenses for training centers are partly financed through sustained donations and grants and partly from operating income.

Expenses for personnel who serve a platform are financed from operating income.

Expenses for marketing and promotional campaigns of the platform are financed initially from raising investment capital and further from operating income.

Operating income:

• Sales commission paid by sellers for work through our platform
• Commission as a percentage of sales transactions is paid by a seller
• The commission paid by the seller for additional services - increasing the position in the search, advertising on the platform.

After reaching the payback, operating income will fully cover expenses for maintaining and promoting the e-commerce platform, as well as partially cover the content of training centers and partially services for sellers accounts.

We are a team from Ukraine, which set a goal to increase the economic activity of our country and 15 ex-USSR countries, involving in this process the citizens of the most developed countries such as the USA, Great Britain, Canada etc. When you enter the market of another country, you need to understand the cultural characteristics of the inhabitants, the conditions for doing business, to perfectly know the needs of people. It is impossible to know all the features and successfully launch an international social business project from across the ocean alone. An organisation that is a local and international expert in the field of social impact innovation can assist to solve this difficult task.

We bank on support of MIT as an adviser, a partner whose reputation has already been recognised in the US and over the world, as well as a community created to address international challenges. Financial support is also vital to starting and surviving our initiative. In partnership with like-minded Solve associates, we are far more likely to have a long-term transformational impact.

As we connect Ukrainian sellers and North American buyers we need to understand other content audience, its peculiarities, desires, best approach. Best expertise in these issues have local professional organisations. We are looking for Solver's assistance and expertise in marketing and promotion at North America as well as in product distribution, funding, legal issues, monitoring and evaluation. We are looking for best experience and practices which we would like to get at Solver team. 

We would like to parted with Solver team, MIT faculty, Solve Members, Global Affairs Canada, UN Women, UNDP and SIDA to better reach the goals of our project and copy best practices of successfully realised project, get best experience. 

We use this prize for TV and YouTube promotion of our platform.  

In the East of Ukraine there is a military conflict with Russia that has been lasting for 6 years. A lot of people had to leave their homes and move to other cities. Many of them have still not adapted socially and psychologically because of losses but some unique individuals have successfully overcome complicated periods of their life and are able to inspire others to overcome and psychologically survive against all odds.

We shoot a series of TV programs, named “Winners” about internally displaced people, refugee women, families suffered from the conflict about their long way back to a normal life. All of them overcome post-traumatic syndrome after such a stress, now people suffer from isolation and pandemic and are in stress. Inspiring stories of strong people, who overcome war and post-traumatic syndrome are useful for people in stress caused by COVID-19. Their stories of life are manuals on how to get yourself out of depression, why you can’t give up and shut yourself in.

Specialised organisations tell about ways to get out of depression with a focus on handmade, learning new professions. Psychologists confirm that such approaches help to cope with difficulties and get out of depression. All programs will be branded with our logo, links to our YouTube channel with trainings on craft, entrepreneurship and e-commerce. Programs will be demonstrated all over Ukraine on the channel that has 100% coverage to occupied territories of Ukraine. 

We use this prize for shooting a series of 50 educational and inspiring videos of successful women who found forces and desire to obtain new knowledge and skills and become prosperous entrepreneurs earning on handmade though in the past they were accountants, housewife, retired, bank employee, actress, journalist, University graduates, military, etc. These videos are promotional videos of our online platform and are planned to be demonstrated for years as an educational material.

 The main channels for promoting our e-commerce platform are social media where YouTube has a key role. We will shoot 50 videos where women of different age tell their inspiring story how they become independent, satisfied and happy though everything started from… here is a unique story of each woman – was fired, bank bankrupted, could not find a job, sat on maternity leave, hated her job, etc. Each story is unique and that is the most interesting. People like storytelling and inspiring stories from real life that occur or one’s happened with you, your mother, your neighbor or a friend they like the most. 

 Videos will be posted on our YouTube channel, as well as distributed on social networks as promotional and at the same time educational and inspiring videos that change attitude of people to the profession, jobs, entrepreneurship and women leaders in general. All videos will have a phrase "developed with the assistance of the Vodafone Americas Foundation"

We use this prize for shooting a series of 50 educational and inspiring videos for working-age adults, named “What if your hobby makes you wealthy?”. 

The main channels for promoting our e-commerce platform are social media where YouTube has a key role. We will shoot 50 videos where people of different age tell their inspiring story how they become independent entrepreneurs though everything started from the innocent hobby. Each story is unique as well as each hobby is unique. That is the most interesting because some people start hobby as a therapy, some as a children’s entertainment, some because all generations of their family did it. Videos will be posted on our YouTube channel, as well as distributed on social networks as promotional and at the same time educational and inspiring videos that change attitude of people to hobby and to jobs in general. All videos will have a phrase "developed with the assistance of GM"

The main idea of our online international platform is to produce handmade goods in one countries and to sell them abroad to English-speaking countries (USA, UK, Canada). All accounts and descriptions of sellers’ goods will be translated by our translators into English and edited by native speakers. The uniqueness of our platform is in good selling descriptions in right English as we fight for greater digital literacy. We provide training on copy-writing and on secrets of e-commerce for our future entrepreneurs. We create new jobs in e-commerce and online trading, we provide sales preferences for those sellers who complete their accounts in literacy English with great selling descriptions simulating users of our platform for self-education. 

We use the prize for translations and editing of accounts of women suffered from military conflict with Russia in the East of Ukraine and women who left without work while COVID-19 and have to bring up children alone. We grant 150 microfinancing grants to above-mentioned women to start their handmade business. Grant receivers will be detected during the competition for best handmade venture after finishing our courses.