03/10/2014
We continued with the church class this week. The students are getting more and more involved each class, which is very good to see. People are getting more confident in the business idea and feel like they have success when they apply what we're teaching. This last week we taught about advertising and administration.
Cesar Asmat wants to put an internet café in his house, so we looked at the location. We walked around and saw where the other internet cafés are, how many computers they have, what competitive advantages they have, and the type of customers they have. We also looked at indirect competition in the area like people getting internet from other sources and people just usinsg a phone or tablet. After looking we could see that they did have a lot of competition but depending who they target, they could have a successful business.
Thursday night Mike Glauser and Scott Davis arrived here in Trujillo to discuss important changes that will be developing in the SEED program with us, with representatives of Danper: Sembrando Futuro, and with the LDS church. They took us out to dinner that night to Chelsea, a fancy restaurant not far from the main square. Over dinner, they told us of the future plans to expand the program, and of the hopeful acquiring of new in-country partners. New partners would expand our teaching pool, cut costs, and increase the number of interns needed for execution. The current success of the program in helping people with no other means of training and access to capital has sparked interest of new investors and potential partners.
Friday morning Mike and Scott attended our class at the LDS church. The students were able to ask them questions, and tap into their vast knowledge and experience in the field of entrepreneurship. This experience gave the students a small taste of what their true potential can be; they understand that starting a business is difficult, but through doing so they can provide themselves with employment for life. Upon talking with students after class, we gained an insight of how much more inspired they are to conduct their own business; it felt good to hear their feedback, and to know that we are truly helping them realize their dreams.  |
| Santo's Restaurant Inauguration |
We had a meeting with Juan Leyva that same day, and spoke of the potential of the program with the LDS church. He works in center for self-reliance, and with the church's Perpetual Education Fund. He is willing to do anything necessary to help out with the program, and to help some of these members get back on their feet. Wasatch Social Ventures is looking to fund a few projects from this pilot program with the church, and hopes to see continued growth with the church as an in-country partner. So many things have happened for this program to work up to this point, and only time will tell what will happen with this potential partner. Saturday morning was full of visits to current projects with Mike and Scott. We visited Aurora's Carpentry, the Academy, Bertha's Internet service, and the inauguration of Santo's new restaurant. Her minimarket was a project funded a few years ago, and has subsequently been paid off. She was able to apply for a bank loan to open up her restaurant, which is adjacent to her market. Through this program she has been able to see much success, and has improved the lives of her family.
No comments:
Post a Comment