Quetzal Computers

Quetzal is a non-profit organization aiming to help low-income people access modular and affordable desktop computers to get better opportunities that, in the long run, will improve their economic situation.

Mexico is an awesome country. With its cultural wealth, variety of languages, delicious food, unique music, jaw-dropping architecture, and amazing archeological sites, you can't get enough of our customs and traditions. 

There's no doubt that all of these things make Mexico pretty great, but is that all there is to it? The answer is no. Unfortunately, behind the cultural and traditional Mexico, there is also a poor and struggling Mexico. Most of its citizens have to deal with social problems such as crime, lack of quality education, and poverty. For now, we want to focus on the last two: education and poverty.

• According to the Secretaría de Educación Publica (SEP), during the 2020-2021 school year, the dropout rate in Mexico rose to 11.6% in high school.
• Also, around 55.7 million Mexicans (or 44% of the population) live in poverty --where poverty is defined as a person with at least one social deprivation and insufficient income to acquire goods and services required to meet their needs.--

We believe both situations are bonded to a single solution. Our approach to solving these problems is using technology. A study by the Inter-American Development Bank found that lack of access to technology is a key factor in keeping people in poverty. Specifically, the study has concluded that households counting with a computer and internet access are up to two times more likely to get out of poverty.

It has to be noted that, not all kinds of technology can aid to learn and help overcome poverty with the same effectiveness. Smartphones, for example, have proven to be a very effective way to communicate and consume, while computers, on the other hand, are the proper tool to create. This last one is often overlooked because many people think that you can create content and do research as well as on a tablet or smartphone. But computers are, in fact, the device that can help the most when attempting to solve this situation.

Quetzal Computers is based on the mission of helping more people access a computer to overcome poverty. Here at Quetzal, we want to do things differently, especially with our Value Proposition, shown here:

• Quetzal Computers are designed to be modular: The consumers will be able to change parts and do upgrades as easily as possible, to shortcut service fees. Product support will also be available for free to answer questions about everything related to the computers.

• Being a non-profit organization, it is easier to deliver a better price/quality ratio, assembling extremely affordable computers for everyone to use. We aim to partner with different charities like the Carlos Slim Foundation and manufacturers like Intel to reduce costs and be able to deliver them for free by filling out fee waivers on our website or by WhatsApp.

• As we said, production will be done locally, and when demand exceeds our capabilities, we will set up a bigger space to accommodate the consumers' necessities. Why manufacture them by ourselves? Because in that way we can control the exact specifications our audience needs and reduce added costs from third parties. Our production costs could be cut down by 30% of the average cost to make a similar computer due to these profit cuts.

Imagine a teenager. Let's call this teenager Sara.

Sara lives in the small community of San Juan de Ocotán, located in the bustling city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Like many of her neighbors, Sara and her family struggle to make ends meet, often relying on small jobs and handouts from extended family to get by.

One day, Sara heard about Quetzal, a non-profit organization offering free, modular computers to low-income families like hers. She knew this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up, so with the help of her parents, she applied for a fee waiver via SMS and after a few days, the Quetzal I computer finally arrived at her doorstep. Sara and her family were overjoyed. 

Sara used her Quetzal I to do her homework and finished it faster than ever. But the benefits of the Quetzal didn't stop there. Her father learned how to calculate the family's expenses with spreadsheets. Her mother was hired for a more stable job she found on LinkedIn with its easy-apply function, using that same PC. Sara's brother, a very intellectually curious boy who had always dreamt of attending college, could apply for scholarships using the Quetzal as well. And to their delight, he was accepted into a university abroad. It was the first time anyone in their family had ever had the opportunity to attend college. Quetzal provided him with the tools he needed to realize his true potential, and that opportunity eventually changed his life as well as his family's.

Even though Sara and her family are fictional characters, there are many real families that could benefit from a computer just like Sara's. Instead of just giving money away that will eventually vanish, computers give anyone the chance to build their own future. That's the philosophy behind Quetzal.

Hello! We are Mariana Machuca, Arath Loza, and Pedro Sánchez-Gil, studying 11th grade at Colegio Cervantes Costa Rica. We first met when we were looking for students who also wanted to apply to colleges outside Mexico. Still, our relationship has evolved into a partnership that has resulted in working together on a couple of projects, in and outside school. We came up with Quetzal a couple of months ago, when we were talking about how dissatisfied we were with the problem of economic inequality in our country. 

Our philosophy states that the team is as important as the product. That's why we acknowledge the importance of good leadership and we are confident that our team's skills to lead this organization.

First off, we believe that our communication skills are one of our biggest strengths in common to execute the project because in that way we are able to effectively convey our ideas to others and work well in a team environment with strong problem-solving skills, essential in identifying and addressing the challenges that we will inevitably encounter as we work on the project. Now, let's move to our individual stories:

Mariana's abilities complement the team with her expertise in computers and software development, essential skills to apply to the project. She is passionate about video game design and had been participating in multiple international competitions like the “Engineering and Environment Competition” and the “World Youth Innovation and Invention Award”.

On the other hand, Arath is a teenager passionate about researching and understanding physical and mathematical models that describe the world and the universe. In addition to feeling a great passion for mechanical physics, astrophysics, and mathematics, he shows an interest in programming and philosophy.

From an early age, he was diagnosed with ADHD, which directly affected his learning and school performance. With regular visits to the psychiatrist, he struggled his way through elementary school. It was not until high school that he found his real passion for mathematics and sciences. There, he started to use his free time to read, research, and learn more about the laws, axioms, and theorems that rule math and science.

Arath's story is just one of the many stories about self-improvement. He acknowledges that if not because of the attention he received and the tools he had in hand, he would not have made his way through school. He, like the rest of the team, is aware that those tools and opportunities are not available for all, and his experience gave him a unique way to understand the problem behind education and poverty in our country.

Finally, Pedro loves coding AI and other kinds of software. His programming, data analysis, and design skills give us a powerful toolset for creating innovative and simple solutions to complex problems. He wants to study Industrial Engineering, so he is very experienced with industrial processes and logistics. He has also experience in leading and managing teams essential for ensuring that our project is executed smoothly and efficiently.

Together, we bring a unique and well-rounded combination of technical expertise, project management skills, and passion for making a positive impact. We are confident that our skills and experience will enable us to develop a successful project just as we have done it many times before.

Since the project is still in its early stages, doing research and studying our audience's needs has been the most we have done so far.

First, we spent several hours doing research to find ways in which technology could help to get the most people out of poverty as possible. That's when we got the idea of "putting a computer in each Mexican home" and started to see it as a possible solution to our problem.

When December started, we (Pedro, Arath, and Mariana) visited the community of San Juan de Ocotlán to validate our solution. San Juan is one of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city and a potential impact zone for Quetzal. There, we surveyed randomly selected homes to ask the next question: "Do you or someone from your family nucleus currently own a computer?" Those who answered "no" (32%) were asked: Do you think that having a computer could help you find better opportunities for yourself and your family? From them (a sample of 29 families), 76% answered "definitely", 14% answered "probably", and the remaining 10% answered, "probably not." This research helped us to confirm the necessity of developing computers serving this kind of community.

We then talked to an industry expert and graduate from IPADE Business School to bounce ideas back and polish some details like logistics, infrastructure, and specs of the computer. Thanks to that conversation, we decided to pivot from our initial business model so the beneficiaries can get them for free.

1. Quetzal approaches solving poverty in a non-conventional fashion. Most people tend to believe that solving poverty has to do with "giving fish away", instead of "giving fishing rods away". This means that we are not only providing access to the technology but also including a training program that focuses on basic computer skills and digital literacy. This approach ensures that the families are not only receiving the technology, but also the knowledge and skills to fully utilize it.
2. Also, our assembly line is planned to be one of the most resource-efficient ones in the industry, including a Machine Learning model developed by Pedro to improve the process to make it as efficient as possible.
3. We are using a data-driven approach to identify the specific needs and challenges of the families we are working with, and tailoring our program to meet those needs. This approach ensures that we are providing the most effective and efficient solution possible.
4. We are using a sustainable model that allows us to continuously evaluate and improve the program over time, ensuring that it is meeting the needs of the families and making a real impact in their lives.
5. Finally, one of the things that makes this solution truly innovative than the rest is that we believe we do not need a perfect system to reduce poverty. We need a simple, accessible, and wildfire-spreading solution. Even if that means that the solution doesn’t have a 100% success rate, the simplicity of the project's strategy will help its scalability and ultimately, a wider reach. We have the means to do this and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel to achieve it.

Since the solution's goal is essentially to provide better opportunities for all, our impact goal is to make sure our beneficiaries are benefiting from having a computer in their home. This could take the form of learning new skills, looking for academic scholarship opportunities, doing some tasks faster, and even handling the home's finances with a spreadsheet.

This goal will be measured by taking surveys every 6 months to the beneficiaries in order to track their individual progress and improvements thanks to the PC. We will ask questions like the following: For what do you use your Quetzal the most? Has the Quetzal caused an impact on your daily life? Do you feel more optimistic about your future thanks to your Quetzal?

These kinds of questions will help us:

1. Understand better the way Quetzal impacts its users' lives.
2. Make changes thanks to the feedback we get from them.
3. Validate whether our impact goals are being met or if we need to reformulate our strategy.

The premise is quite simple: the technology behind is as simple as a desktop computer the size of a 15x15x20 cm tower, with an Intel Core processor inside, 8GB of memory, and 512 GB HDD of storage (subject to change). The Quetzal I (first model) will also include a keyboard and a mouse, though the beneficiaries will have to plug a monitor into the computer because many of them already count with a screen they could use as a monitor (it will even have the necessary ports to connect it to an old-school TV).

We are aware that the technology behind our solution might seem somewhat dull, but we chose it over every other one because we believe it's the best option to spread the solution effectively. Solutions don't have to be powered necessarily by complex and intriguing technologies to be functional and successful.

Our solution hasn't been launched yet. However, we plan to officially deliver the first units by May and expect to reach around 1400 people (350 families, 1 unit per family) by the end of January 2024. These numbers are based on our estimations but directly rely on the donations we receive in order to provide them for free.

It's going to represent a challenge to convince charities to donate to the cause. But we are confident that our team will work on finding the right sources to fund the donations. 

Also, we will need to hire a small assembly team to produce the computers and package them, incorporating and formalizing the organization. 

Finally, if the homes we are attempting to reach don't count with an internet connection or stable power supply, the capabilities of the computer will be severely compromised, though, in the first stage, we aim to provide computers to households counting on these services regularly.

We are currently in talks to partner up with the Carlos Slim Foundation so that this charity either buys the computers to donate them or covers production costs so we can deliver them for free to people requesting a fee waiver via our website or SMS.

We are also planning to talk with Intel to use the Intel Core™️ chips for our computers at a privileged price. Intel could even sell or donate us powerful chips that didn't pass the performance tests but qualify to operate as mid-end chips. Why? Because if Intel can't sell their high-end chips as mid-end chips even though they work normally, we could use those chips as our computers' processors. (That last part is just an idea and is non-definitive).

Our business model relies on D2C (Direct to the Consumer) relationships. Due to the direct channel between us and our beneficiaries, we are able to understand their needs better and adjust our product according to them, instead of relying on third parties such as outsourced computer producers. We provide the beneficiaries with computers so they to find their own path to escape poverty, from applying to academic opportunities to improving their skills to get a better job.

Although our business model might look like a B2C (Business to Consumer), it is in fact a free-to-service non-profit B2B (Business to Business) model, because our main clients will be the charities that will buy our product for donations or assume the production costs. Nevertheless, the beneficiaries are still the Mexican families that will be using the Quetzal computers on a daily basis.

During the initial weeks of production, a small team of assemblers will be hired to manufacture the first units. As we said before, when the demand exceeds our production capacity, a larger team will have to be hired or otherwise talk with an assembly plant to produce the upcoming units. In the early stages, we will not need anyone else aside from this production team and the co-founders.

We will need an initial investment of 10,000 USD from a charitable organization to buy the components wholesale and produce the first computer batch (approximately 50-60 units). The charity will get in return the produced units to deliver them to the beneficiaries or otherwise let us fully manage the distribution of the units they bought. Each unit is calculated to cost around 140 USD (after piece donations and manufacturer discounts) and we will re-invest the exceeding money we raise into the second batch.

As we explained before, Quetzal is a free-to-service business model, so the money needed to buy the computers' parts and produce them will be provided by a charitable organization. Still, the volatility of donations can make it difficult to produce computers at a constant rate. With that in mind, we included a "stability fee" of 10% on the final production cost to use it as a backup fund to keep the organization alive amidst donation volatility.