Happy new year for you and the people you care about.
In 2020 Jacana will build a business centre in Zambia with the aim of creating opportunities for small scale entrepreneurs, so that they can grow economically and create better living conditions for themselves and their communities. A mouthful, but how do we see that in practice.
Why?
In the last few years Jacana trained more than 300 small entrepreneurs and in 2019 Jacana won the Jobena award for this. We see a micro-economy emerging before our eyes: one entrepreneur helps the other. Such as tailors who make bee suits for beekeepers and drillers who provide farmers with water. We also see that there are entrepreneurs, who we have trained in the past and now gained so much experience that they train other entrepreneurs. During these training sessions we keep an eye on things, but they do well. All of that happens in the, now too small house, from the director.
Your donation will be doubled now.
- € 16,635 raised now, still € 13,365 of € 30,000 needed. 55%
Plan of action
First Jacana buys a piece of land, we have an option on a 75 x 240 m plot. We want to start small with expansion possibilities for the future. The building project will be supervised by Jacana itself. Jacana will approach small scale building entrepreneurs, such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers and brick makers, these entrepreneurs will build the centre under supervision of a construction expert.
What are we going to build?
Ton Teunissen draws the construction designs. He has a lot of experience building in Africa. He has designed many buildings including SHIPO office in Tanzania, where Rik and Dinie worked for three years.
Local brick makers produce all the bricks. Afterwards, the structure of the honey processing plant will be build. In the first phase, this building will serve as a workshop and storage during the construction of the main building. After the main building is completed, the temporary workshop will be transformed into a food-processing unit where the beekeepers will press and bottle the honey.
The main building includes three offices and a training hall. The training hall will also serve as flex spaces for small entrepreneurs who are guided by Jacana. These companies can, for example, do their bookkeeping under guidance of Jacana or plan meetings with their customers. You name it.
Who will use the business centre?
Of course, Jacana will move to the new location. Currently, Eastern Manual Drilling cooperative also uses Jacana’s office and storage space and Jacana guides the managers in expanding the business. The current office has become too small. In addition to the drillers, the Eastern Beekeepers Cooperative will also be given a place. The cooperative is looking for a building where they can hygienically process and bottle the honey. From 2021 more than 100 beekeepers from Chipata and surrounding villages will use the centre, that is why Jacana wants to build a food processing area that meets the Zambian hygiene standards. The beekeeper cooperative can use the space and the equipment until they are strong enough to continue on their own. In addition to honey, there may be other products that can find their way to the market in this way. For example oyster mushrooms, moringa and fruit juice.
The building entrepreneurs who participated in the construction of the centre can continue to grow under guidance of Jacana and may use each other’s qualities to attract bigger building contracts.
In short, the entire setup makes expansion possible when need arises. There is a growing demand for support of very potential business expansion ideas. Of course, we will continue to make strict selections and put our energy into people that have proven to be honest, perseverant and who work hard. Zambia is a developing country with lots of untapped opportunities. One step at a time, Jacana Business Centre will help to open these taps.
Your contribution is very much appreciated and will be doubled now.
