BarEl For Financial Inclusion

Around 70% of people in Malawi live below the international poverty line. The population has grown from five million in 1975 to over 20 million today; and is predominantly (83%) rural. https://rippleafrica.org/proje...

Majority of entrepreneurs in Malawi are financially illiterate. They do not have entrepreneurial and business skills; as such, their  financial health is poor and also that their businesses fail.  https://innovation-entrepreneu...

1.8 billion people are left out or poorly served by the global financial system. https://www.accion.org/three-t...

Financial exclusion, poverty, inequalities and challenges to access credit are common in Malawi and beyond.

Failing to access credit is an enormous problem to people in Malawi and globally.

According to Consumer Association of Malawi, 3 percent of people in Malawi are accessing credit facilities because of financial illiteracy.https://mitc.mw/trade/index.ph...Low financial literacy affects uptake of financial services and products. Access to credit for micro, small or medium sized businesses, remains one of key challenges that individuals and small companies face in Malawi. Accessing credit from informal lending institutions or loan sharks has led to credit traps. Some people fell into credit traps because they were not aware of conditions of loan which were written in fine print. Others opt to borrow from loan sharks or informal lending institutions, which do not protect interests of borrowers resulting in their property being confiscated.

The marginalised, women, youths and people with disability or low income want to start small businesses, but the stumbling block is lack of capital: Many such people  are denied access to loans. Most of them do not have entrepreneurial skills and skills to write business plans. 

Poor rural households in developing countries lack adequate access to credit; thereby, affecting their agricultural productivity, food security, health, and overall household welfare.

Drivers of financial exclusion include: lack of access to  internet and financial service agents, unclear explanations of product offerings, geographical barriers, lack of formal ID, and discrimination particularly against women, ethnic minorities,  persons with disabilities, displaced communities and low income populations.

The following are issues that make it hard for many to access credit:

1. Failure to prepare convincing business plans.

2.Barriers based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic and other status.

3. Lack of access to financial service agents.

4. High interest rates.

5. Lack of collateral.

6.Debt servicing or repayment restricted to using funds generated through the purpose of the loan.

7. High frequency of repaying the loan.

8.Grace period before starting to repay the loan is too short.

Challenges to financial inclusion  beget social problems in our society like: crime, violence, murders, theft, juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, abortion, teenage pregnancies, early marriages, alcoholism, poverty, high population,  child labour, domestic violence, malnutrition, 
stress, violence, education problems, health problems,  unemployment, indecent jobs, corruption,  marriage breakdowns, poaching etc.

The scale of challenges to financial inclusion  or financial exclusion is huge both locally and globally. 

Millions and millions of people are affected by the problem.

My team and I believe in positive social change through sustainable solutions. 

Our solution uses BarEl software, which we developed. It uses database management and Excel.

Our solution makes transactions easier, protects against predatory debt, and increases the ability of individuals and MSMEs to take risks and build wealth through new ways to accurately assess credit-worthiness of MSMEs and individuals, including methods that reduce bias against borrowers who have traditionally lacked equitable access to credit.

It empowers vulnerable people  to create a more resilient future. It provides financially excluded individuals and small enterprises with tools they need to withstand financial shocks, build wealth and support financial health. It helps small businesses with entrepreneurial skills.

It enables potential borrowers to easily prepare business plans, using a checklist for credit application, which contains all requirements of lenders when assessing creditworthiness of a potential borrower.

It easily computes with automation the master budget, variance analysis, cash flow, cash break even analysis, cost profit volume analysis, profit and loss account, balance sheet, investment appraisal techniques, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, operations management, marketing management, statistics, data science, human resource management etc. These are very critical for a lender when deciding to give credit.

It provides financial services like advisory, accounting and auditing, foreign exchange, financial planning and financial analysis.

It automates the entire loan process.

It breaks barriers to accessing loans. 

It gives authority to a local chief or someone recognised by a lender to guarantee loans. As such, once a loan applicant is guaranteed by a local leader or someone recognised by a lender, then the lender has no option but to guarantee him or her a loan. 

It secures loans using digital collateral.

It secures loans using the asset the loan has purchased. 

It enhances consumer empowerment and effective financial education by promoting financial literacy initiative; and increasing access to affordable credit facilities through promoting school based financial literacy.

It equips banks and financial institutions with BarEl software tools that assess credit worthiness of a loan applicant.

Our solution works by ensuring that lenders do the following:

1. Reach out to hard to reach areas or remote areas with their credit facilities.

2. Provide loans to applicants irrespective of age, race, tribe, origin, location, gender, religion economic status, disability status, other status etc.

3. Give clearly explained loan products.

4.Give long-term loans.

5. Allow loan applicants to apply for loans of any amount or size.

6. Allow borrowers to get  loans for any lawful purpose rather than restricting the purpose of the loan.

7.  Provide both secured and unsecured loans so that those without collateral should access loans too.

8. Allow borrowers to service the debt in any lawful manner rather than limiting them to service the debt using a particular source of income.

9. Give borrowers different options on the frequency of repaying the loans.

10. Give borrowers  reasonable grace periods before starting to repay the loans. 

Below is the link to the video of the product demo:

https://youtu.be/T1tBrxkXte8

The solution serves the following: everyone, including ethnic minorities, small scale farmers, people with disability, girls, women, youths, low-income people, rural communities, MSMEs, micro-businesses, and other marginalized groups. 

They  are currently underserved in that they can not access credit; and also that they can not access financial service agents; hence, they can not get quality financial services.

They are currently underserved in that they are financially illiterate and their financial health is very poor.

The solution will address their needs in the following ways:

1.It will tremendously improve their financial health and financial literacy through the following features or functionalities of BarEl software:

business plan, marketing, sales management and selling, sales  performance metrics, operations management, queueing  calculations, point of sale or point of purchase documents,  accounting,  costing, payroll, project Management, quality Management,  procurement management, revenue: monitoring and Evaluation,  general management and decision making, planning, loan or  advance management, human resource Management, effective  risk management, entrepreneurship, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, statistics  and transport Management.

2. It will enable them to acquire loans from banks or lenders without demanding collateral from them.

3. It will remove barriers to access loans or promote financial  inclusion  irrespective of age,sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic and other status.

4. It will reduce poverty.

5. It will bring about economic growth and development.

6. It will eliminate the following:

a. lengthy grace periods.

b. high frequency on repayment of the loan.

c. restrictive loan size or amount.

d. restrictive purpose of the loan.

e. restrictive means of servicing debt .

7. The solution will provide financial services like foreign exchange, advisory, accounting and auditing.

8. It will enable potential borrowers to easily prepare business plans, which contain all requirements of lenders when assessing creditworthiness of a potential borrower.

9. It easily computes with automation master budget, variance analysis, cash flow, cash break even analysis, cost profit volume analysis, profit and loss account, balance sheet, net present value, profitability index, future values, average rate of return, internal rate of return, payback period, and grant element. These are very critical for a lender when deciding to give credit.

10. It will make their  businesses to grow.

11. It will improve management of their businesses or enterprises.

12. Lastly, the solution will help to end poverty, which will result in  socio-economic development and prosperity, better transport system, infrastructure development, better health, better education; and reduction in crimes, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancies, population growth rate, poor housing, and other social problems.

Problems our people face, are the problems we have faced ourselves, and are still facing. 

We have an empathy for the trap they are caught in. 

We have a meaningful relationship with groups whose identity or experience are systemically stereotyped, feared, dismissed, or marginalized. 

We have the experience, relationships, data, and knowledge that are essential for developing  measurable, sustainable, high-impact strategies and solutions. 

We are a part of our community; and we are meaningfully guided by our community’s input, ideas, needs, perspectives, agendas, and assets.

We ensure our communities participate in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation through surveys, suggestion boxes, focus groups, interviews, prototype and product review.

We motivate people in  our communities to be change-makers in their lives, families and communities.

We enhance collaborative processes with our communities through communication, coordination and  mutual support. We take advantage of local groups and free events that provide networking opportunities.

We are a team as well as friends who have supported each other in many ways. We come from the very community we are trying to help, enabling us to recognize both the challenges and assets our communities face.

We have the ability to recognize and leverage assets and expertise within our communities we seek to support, that are often overlooked or misunderstood when viewed through a dominant culture lens.

We will create social media groups to learn and capture trends, and for communities to see and understand their own journey. We will use  data to enable other stakeholders, including government and philanthropists to better understand how our communities move out of poverty.

We practise Bricolage. We make with what we have and we make something unique and valued.

We nurture human potential.

We are asset-based in our view of those we wish to help. We view them as people filled with knowledge, skills, ideas, and solutions that if respected and supported, can advance sustainability, impact, and self-determination.

We have the following attributes:

Human Dignity:  we  recognise that all people have unique gifts and assets.

Connection :  intimate knowledge of our communities enable us to find  ways  that might not be as apparent to others who do not have their lived experience.

Community : we  recognize that we are part of a larger group walking together on the same path.  

Agency : we ensure that everyone feels  that they can shape their future, relationships, and environment. 

A Sense of Possibility: We believe that  nothing is impossible.

We  lead, not follow experts in creating solutions to our community’s challenges.

We are not only  supported in creating solutions,  but we are also provided with resources to scale up solutions that are working. 

We are not objects of charity, but drivers of change.

We support people and planet alongside profit. We are far from self-serving. 

We are brave  to create positive social change.  We are passionate and persistent. 

. 

So far, our solution serves just a few people; including, EMD Consulting Engineers. 

We have  used our solution to assess the credit worthiness of about ten potential customers of NBM Development Bank Ltd. 

We have so far trained 15 entrepreneurs on entrepreneurial and business skills using BarEl software.  And six of them have already started using our software for their operations.

All of the trained entrepreneurs remarked that the training will improve their financial health and management of their businesses. 

Funds permitting, we are planning to train this year and next year, more and more youths, girls, women,  people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, micro-businesses, MSMEs, low income people, small scale farmers, rural communities, MSMEs, and other marginalized on entrepreneurial and business skills using BarEl software.

We are applying to Solve because of the following reasons:

• We need financial help for operations. We need funding in the form of grants and investments, including through prizes and Solve Innovation Future.

• We want to join a class of impressive peers that act as a trusted support group, offering inspiration and guidance.

• We want to join a powerful network of impact-minded leaders across industries and sectors, with dedicated spaces to meet year-round and during Solve’s flagship events such as Solve at MIT.  

• We want to access leadership coaching and strategic advice from experts in the Solve and MIT networks. 

• We want to receive monitoring and evaluation support to build an impact measurement practice. 

• We want to gain exposure in the media and at conferences.

• We want to access relevant in-kind resources such as software licenses and legal services from Solve supporters. 

With BarEl software , which we developed, our solution is innovative as follows:

• It is probably the first of its kind in the whole world to compute with automation it the master budget and its linked variance analysis.
• It is a positive improvement.  It is feature rich.It is beneficial to users and consumers. It is a more efficient way. It is a better product or  process. It brings improvement. It stands out from the rest and truly makes customers’ lives easier.
• It is something different and unique. It is original and authentic. It is a new method or technique that was not previously available. It is something out of the box. It is a  us real insight of a problem. It is a different way of approaching something. It is a different and better way to solve problems: It is a genuinely new way of looking at things that will have an actual, positive impact on people. 
• It is multipurpose. It is a successful change.  
•  It is customizable. 
• It is sustainable: It is self-sustaining. It does not solely rely on donor aid and funding.
• It is socially inclusive.
• It  strives for inclusion in the workplace. 
• It is diversifiable: Different products are offered.  
• Our solution demands a high level of professionalism.
• It can easily be replaced.
• It can be beneficial to a larger group of people. It can be highly scalable so that it can be cascaded to the entire market ecosystem. It is scalable owing to a huge potential market worldwide.
• With it, we can can satisfy needs of people globally.
• It is reactive. It responds actively to social needs and provides answers to problems within a community.
•  It is not theoretical. It is feasible.
• It saves time; thereby, improving productivity. 
• It solves a problem in a cheaper or better manner. It brings about cost reduction. Money is saved because less paper and less labour are used; thereby, enhancing profit margin or surplus.
•  It provides effective solutions to existing problems; thereby, eliminating a certain amount of stress and saving mental sanity. 
• It is a very easy application to use and learn.
• It provides clear cut jobs with authorization. 
• It enhances security and  internal control environment through segregation of duties as a result of multi-logins. 
• It helps to compare and analyse data across  an organization within a specific period and between two or more periods.  
•  It increases quality and accuracy of information.
•  It facilitates integration and collaboration across departments. 
• It achieves centralization of data as well as harmonisation and simplification of disparate information.
• It can be used both online and offline.
• It has a long list of indicators for financial inclusion than any other software. 

• There exists a market for our solution, locally and globally.
• The solution will be highly usable by consumers.
• The solution does not generate new problems that need to be solved before or after the solution is consumed.

The following are the impact goals  for the next year and the next five years, and how we will  achieve them:

1. Increase entrepreneurship by 20 %, within a year from the commencement of the project .

2. Improve financial literacy  by 20 %, within a year from the commencement of the project .

3. Improve financial health  by 20 %, within a year from the commencement of the project .

4. Reduce poverty by 20%, within a year from the commencement of the project .

5. Increase access to credit by 20%,  within a year from the commencement of the project by the marginalised, the poor, youth and women.

6. Improve or increase by 20%, within a year from the commencement of the project, agricultural productivity, food security, health, and overall household welfare.

7.Get better jobs by 100%, within five years from the commencement of the project, leading to a stronger, more productive economy and a better quality of life.

8.Lower levels of inequality by 20%, within a year from the commencement of the project for the households that access credit.

9.Increase  by 20%, within a year from the commencement of the project,  social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age,sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic and other status.

With the help of BarEl software, the impact goals will be achieved by:

1. Conducting financial literacy training; particularly, on 

master budget, variance analysis, cash flow, cash break even analysis, cost profit volume analysis, trading, profit and loss account, balance sheet, investment appraisal techniques, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, operations management, marketing management, statistics, data science, human resource management,  business plans, checklist for credit application, financial services, business  and entrepreneurial skills. 

2. Reaching out to hard to reach areas with credit facilities.

3. Providing loans to applicants irrespective of age, race, tribe, ethnic minority, origin, location or gender, religion or economic status etc

4.Giving long term loans.

5. Allowing loan applicants to apply for loans of any amount or size.

6. Allowing  borrowers to get  loans for any lawful purpose rather than restricting the purpose of the loan.

7.  Providing both secured and unsecured loans so that those without collateral should access loans too.

8. Giving authority to a local chief or someone recognised by a lender to guarantee the loan. 

9. Securing loans using digital collateral.

10.Securing loans using the asset the loan has purchased. 

11. Allowing borrowers to service the debt in any lawful form rather than limiting them  to service or repay the debt using funds generated through the purpose of the loan only.

12. Giving borrowers different options on the frequency of repaying the loans.

13 Giving borrowers  reasonable grace periods before starting to repay the loans.

14.Enhancing consumer empowerment and effective financial education by promoting financial literacy initiative; and increasing access to affordable credit facilities through promoting school based financial literacy.

15.Equipping banks and financial institutions with tools that assess credit worthiness of a loan applicant

We will measure our progress toward our impact goals by:

1. measuring management effectiveness survey questions to get employee feedback and reviews at regular intervals of enterprises that have been trained on entrepreneurship and business management using BarEl software.

2. monitoring and evaluating the theory of change. 

3. comparing results of baseline survey with those of end-line survey.

4. documenting our progress. all our goals, tasks, milestones and deadlines will be recorded. then with a calendar, we will track our progress by checking off completed tasks and achieved milestones.

5. tracking the units completed. 

 6. tracking incremental milestones. 

 7. capturing the starting and the finishing point of a task.

8. calculating cost ratio 

 9. using experience/opinion.

10. taking the following steps: 

a. review the scope of the project. 

b. evaluate the project specifications. 

c. analyze the project budget

d: review client satisfaction.

e: review internal growth and team satisfaction.

11. conducting regular surveys and meetings.

12. calculating the following:

a. cost performance

b. schedule performance

c. cost performance index

d. schedule performance index.

e. critical path analysis

13. using gantt chart.

14. monitoring and evaluating indicators.

15. Below are some of the indicators we will be using to measure our progress:

a. financial sound indicators like: capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk. 

b. number of marginalised groups getting loans or accessing credit.

c. number of financial institutions that underwent training on how to use BarEl software in loan or credit management.

d. proportion of people living below fifty percent of median income by age, sex and persons with disabilities.

e. growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 percent of the population and the total population.

f. percentage of adults aged 15 years and above with an account at a bank or financial institution or mobile money service providers.

g. number of people below the poverty line.

h. GDP per capita per head.

i. Gini coefficient 

j. employment rate

k. agricultural productivity.

l. percentage of new entrepreneurs .

m. management indicators like: promotion rate, team management effectiveness survey questions to get employee feedback and reviews at regular intervals, employee development ratio,  employee behavior, absenteeism,  productivity, timely completion of projects, milestone achievements, revenue against direct expenses, efficiency.

n. education indicators like pass rate and enrollment rate.

o. health indicators like mortality rate, disease prevalence and incidence, and number of people accessing safe drinking water.

p. agricultural indicators like domestic food gap and farm income.

q. other socio-economic indicators.

r. number of people that were trained on business plans and entrepreneurial or business skills using Barel software.

16. We will use in-house and/or external resources like money and stationery.  We will hire enumerators who will collect data for monitoring and evaluation through  questionnaires, surveys, checklists,  Interviews, documentation review, review of applications, finances, memos, minutes observation, focus groups and  case studies. 

Problem

Financial exclusion, poverty, inequalities and challenges to access credit are common in Malawi and beyond.

Context

Banks, micro-finance institutions and lenders are engaged in the project activities because they are agents of change.

Beneficiaries of our solution are :

• people with disability
• ethnic minorities
• women
• girls
•  youths
• low-income people
• rural communities
• MSMEs
• micro-businesses
• small scale farmers
• marginalized groups.

They are engaged in the project because they will  benefit from it. The expected impacts and benefits of the solution are: 

1.Reduced poverty.

2. Reduced inequalities.

3. Improved financial health

4. Easy access to credit.

5. Increased financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and business skills.

6. Improved health outcomes like reduction in malnutrition. 

7. More children will get educated because they will not be chased from school for failing to pay school fees; hence, they will get decent jobs; resulting in  economic empowerment. 

All in all, Malawi will experience economic development and growth. 

GOAL :   To provide financially excluded individuals and small enterprises with tools they need to withstand financial shocks, build wealth and support financial health. To create a vibrant, efficient, stable and inclusive financial sector that will meet the financing needs of all in the country.

The assumptions and risks are:

• Funding provided.
• Legislation
• Pandemics
• Emergencies and natural disasters
• No inflation.
• No electricity outages.
• No political interference.

Enablers

• Quality of services.
• Right quality and quantity of staff.

Inputs: staff, funds, laptops, i-pads, memory sticks, projector,  printers, stationery, fuel etc

1.Medium term Expected outcomes: Increased access to credit targeting the poor, women, youths, people with disabilities, farmers and MSMEs.

Strategy

Expanding formal credit channels .

Output

5000 participants trained on  how to use BarEl software in expanding formal credit channels.

Actions and Activities

Conduct training by using BarEl software to expand formal credit channels.

Strategy

Providing MSME support for growth.

Output

• 5000 participants trained on  how to use BarEl software in providing MSME support for growth and  in enabling local leaders to guarantee loans for the marginalized groups like women; and on how to promote digital collateral or assets bought using loan as security.
• 5000 participants trained on  how to use BarEl software in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and business management.

 Actions and Activities

• Conduct training workshops for lending institutions on  how to use BarEl software to break barriers against some people in accessing credit.
• Conduct training workshops on  how to use BarEl software to provide MSME support for growth.
• Conduct training workshops on  how to use BarEl software to enable local leaders to guarantee loans for the marginalized groups.
•  Conduct training workshops  on how to use BarEl software to equip the marginalized on financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
• Outcome:
  • Enhanced consumer empowerment and effective financial education:
  • Skilled and empowered youth population.
      Strategy
  • Promoting financial literacy initiative, increasing access to affordable credit facilities for youth.
           Output
  • 5000 participants trained on  how to use BarEl software on financial literacy.
             

The core technology that powers our solution is software or app. It uses a software called BarEl, which I developed using database management and Microsoft Excel. Though BarEl software is based on Microsoft Access, it can be upgraded to Express Edition, which has a bigger capacity to store information. It can also be upgraded to SQL Microsoft Azure, which can enable it to reach many users worldwide through cloud services.

Our approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into our work is as follows:

1.  Employ people of different backgrounds. It is our policy to have the following as our employees: women, youths, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, people from different  racial or tribal backgrounds, people from different homes of origin, people of different religious and economic status. In fact, we have two women in our solution team; namely, Tiwonge Kuyokwa and Mwayi Mbewe. They are both Data Analysts.

2. Help employees to understand how individuals are impacted by unconscious bias, and what actions continue to reinforce biases. We encourage every employee to review, question, and analyze their own personal biases and assumptions.

3.  Respect and embrace other people's experiences and realities. Through cultural humility, we can manage bias and foster more inclusive environments.

4. Identify patterns or trends that may exist where certain groups of employees are underpaid within certain areas of the business; and observe equal pay for equal work.

5. Conduct diversity training that helps employees understand how cultural differences can impact people and work. It can cover anything from concepts of time and communication styles to self-identity and dealing with conflict.

6. Promote awareness of, and acknowledge a variety of upcoming religious and cultural holidays. 

7. Make it easy for our colleagues at work to participate in employee resource groups.

8. Ensure that people of different gender, cultural background or age are working together. Diversity in teams, positively impacts creativity and innovation.

9. Encourage our colleagues at work to share their feedback to get a better understanding of what is going on under the surface.

10.Assess areas of the business in which discrimination can exist. Determine whether policies promote discrimination in a workplace; and then take corrective measures to move towards a more equitable workplace. 

11. Believe in equity and justice.

12.Ensure that our leadership team is diverse by promoting women, people with disabilities, youths and ethnic minorities into leadership positions.

Key Partners  and stakeholders

Government, local leaders, NGOs, financial institutions, the marginalised.

Knowledge partners: 

Axel Angeli of Logos! Informatik GmbH (Germany) and Jasper Bhaumick of UMa Soft GmbH( Switzerland)

 Collaborative partners: University of Livingstonia (Malawi) and Youth and Society (Malawi).

Research Partner:  Research Software & Systems Engineers Africa.

Business and inclusive partners:

EMD Consulting Engineers, the water engineers (Malawi) and  BIZ-LOGIC SOLUTIONS LIMITED (Tanzania).

Member of 50 Experts Alliance 

1. https://www.50experts.com/
2. https://50experts.com/50experts/shumba

Key Activities

·         Train users of BarEl software .

·         Provide office services and routine activities for management of the              project.

·         Set up monitoring mechanisms and conducting evaluations.

·          Achieve policy dialogue, coordination and knowledge management .

·         Promote  project results.

Key Resources

• Human – employees, volunteers.
• Financial - cash.
• Physical - computers.
• Intellectual - copyright, knowledge and skills.

 Cost Structure

• Classes of business structures:
  • Cost-driven.
  • Fixed costs –  salary, rent, motor vehicle insurance.
  • Variable costs – fuel, allowances, training,  impact assessment costs.
  • Economies of scale -  facilitation allowance.    
  • Economies of scope – labour, utilities, stationery etc.

• Characteristics of cost structures:

Cost of delivery

·         Marketing.

.         logistics.

Social Innovation

.       Multipurpose.

.       Financial inclusion.

.       Easy access to credit.

.       Employ separate or a combination of these models: One-for-one, Service subsidization, Awareness & cause, Environmental, Entrepreneur support, Organizational support, Low-income client and Fee-for-service.

Format of the intervention

• Provision of BarEl software.
• Training workshop to use BarEl software.

Value Proposition

• Economic prosperity.
• Easy access to credit.
• Price of BarEl software is reasonably low

·     BarEl software is a quality , new, convenient, cost effective, efficient and customisable brand .

.  Cost savings.

. Time savings. 

. Revenue increase.

. Customer satisfaction.

. Vertical scaling.

Revenue streams

·         Donations.

.         Grants.

·         Asset sales: Revenue from sales of BarEl software .

·         Subscription fee.

.          Participation and support funding.

Surplus

        This is how we intend to use the surplus:

·         Community reinvestment: reinvest our surplus into growing our social business.

• Make donations to social mission-aligned organisations.
• Reach out to more customers, stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Customer Relationships

• Personal assistance e.g. social media, newsletters, forums .
• Dedicated personal assistance
• Self-service: user manuals.
• Personalised service.

Consumer benefits

·         Children educated.

·         Better family health.

·         Economic prosperity.

Distribution channels

Types of channels

·         Owned channels:  website, social media, newsletter, online advertising, store front.

·         Partner channels:  marketplaces, partner websites, retail, social media, corporate cause marketing partnerships, referral marketing.

Customer segments

·   Mass market: General public

• Niche market: women, youths.
• Diversify: Government, local leaders, NGOs, financial institutions, MSMEs.

Beneficiaries

• people with disability
• ethnic minorities
• women
• girls
•  youths
• low-income people
• rural communities
• MSMEs
• micro-businesses
• small scale farmers
• marginalized groups.

Impact measure will be done through the following Indicators:

financial Sound indicators like: capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk, number of the marginalised who access long-term loans, economic growth, number of people below the poverty line, GDP per Capita per head, number of new entrepreneurs in a period and Gini coefficient.

Our plans for becoming financially sustainable are  :

. selling our digital product BarEl software as a service sold per unit. Our customers can access our product through subscription. It is a licensed software. We offer freemiums to our potential customers. It is on Face Book marketplace.We aspire that it should be on other marketplaces like MIT Solve.

. charging a small fee for installation, maintenance, consultancy and training. We are also looking forward for grants or donations from MIT Solve or philanthropists or investors so that we scale our activities.

. charging different prices to different customers. Price discrimination will depend on size, location and type of customer.  Low income earners will be charged low prices. Government and corporate customers will be charged more than individual customers. Prices will also be charged on SaaS. The more features or functionalities of BarEl software a customer acquires, the higher the price. We will  charge per year  $5 to individual customers with low income and $50 to corporate customers with no or low profits, and $1000 to governments or big corporate customers that are financially able. We will charge maintenance and installation fees.

. ensuring input efficiency by conducting trainings  en-masse and at once; hence,  reducing training cost per unit, resulting in  higher profit margins. 

. scaling through:

a. vertical scaling. We will create partnerships .We will improve our product for small customers before targeting larger customers. We want to build relationships with more global brands to enable larger sales orders. And we will agree on how to share profits .  BarEl software is  multipurpose.

b. horizontal scaling : we will expand our offering to customers in neighbouring countries, then the Sub-Saharan Africa; and then, the whole world.  African market is largely untapped,and BarEl software is currently one of the few players in the space.

In addition, our revenue models that we will or we employ separately or as a combination:

Hiring or Employment, One-for-one model also known as buy-one give-one, Service subsidization, Awareness & Cause, Environmental, Entrepreneur support, Organizational support, Low-income client  and Fee-for-service .

Transaction revenue: One-time sale of BarEl software or our services. 

Recurring revenue: Our customers will pay for access to a product or service in installments; usually, monthly or yearly.

Service revenue: Our customers will pay periodically, and for our expertise. 

Advertisements. We will sell ad space. 

Furthermore, our plans for becoming financially sustainable are through:

. selling consultancy services to government and other customers.

. service contracts to governments.

. raising investment capital.

. diversifying donor base and developing long-term partnerships with donors. We will continue to rely on donations and grants. 

. effectively and efficiently managing financial and physical resources.

. developing new partnerships, boost existing relations with donors, beneficiaries and stakeholders.

The Total Addressable Market annually is $4 million dollars in Malawi and $150 billion globally.

Some examples of how our plan to achieve financial sustainability has been successful so far are:

• Our organisation has a hybrid structure i.e. it has a traditional approach of generating income through sale of BarEl software and through receiving grants or donations; hence, reduction in reliance on the gen­eros­ity of donors.
• We increase rev­enue through sale of BarEl software or training provided to users of BarEl software. We  achieve this by increasing customer base through promotional activities. Scalability is done through use of internet and entering more markets; including national, regional and global markets. We joined  Face Book and YouTube and we will join  other platforms or marketplaces like MIT Solve to connect buyers to us. 
• The solution is scaled to affect lives of more people living in low and middle income countries; hence, more revenue.

• We have so far created partnerships, which are already bearing fruits. Sales revenues realised or that will be realised from such partnerships  will help to subsidise  costs of the project, and will also be used to fund social programs. We will also be advertising our software called BarEl on partner websites. 
• Below are some of our partners:   

a)    BSL , an IT company of Tanzania with strong links to India, Serosoft,  an IT company of India with branches in USA and Europe, EMD Consulting Engineers of Malawi,  University of Livingstonia in Malawi and NBM Development Bank of Malawi.

b)  https://www.50experts.com/ 

c)  https://50experts.com/50experts/shumba

• We  also had some sales revenue through provision of consultancy services using BarEl software to clients of NBM Development Bank on how to prepare business plans so that they access credit: This business activity has the potential of generating $12.5 million annually in Malawi.
• We  also intensify appealing for more grants or donations to achieve double-digit rev­enue growth.
• We have raised $2000.00 through my monthly pension.
• We incre­men­tally improve our gross and oper­at­ing profit margins through cost minimization.
• We  man­age  work­ing capital through proper cash management and work­ing cap­i­tal account, which can cushion against short-term rev­enue downturns.
•  We effi­ciently invest cap­i­tal in growth projects, while taking into consideration investment appraisal techniques like (ROI, IRR, NPV) and also break-even analy­sis.
•  We steadily build our asset base, which is key to mov­ing for­ward with impact-driven activ­i­ties even when cur­rent dona­tions are down.
• We use low-cost debt in man­age­able amounts as a financ­ing tool.
• We engage with a com­mu­nity of investors who are inter­ested in invest­ing in the mis­sion of social busi­nesses and enter­prises rather than donat­ing.  They can invest with equity or debt, with low­ered expec­ta­tions for returns.  This is a valu­able source of funds for our organisation.
• We appeal to all our stake­hold­ers why our organisation deserves their con­tin­ued finan­cial sup­port.