Encouraging Entrepreneurial Excellence
My Business, My Community responds to the specific needs of each community using the fundamental principles of micro-loans and professional support services to create a solid platform for future development and growth.
The best business start-up opportunities originate with community members who see an unfulfilled need. In one area, MAWO is funding the establishment of a furniture factory that will meet an unmet market demand for living room furniture. Orders were gathered before the factory even went into operation. Local partners immediately began to identify spin-off business opportunities. This entrepreneurial energy is contagious.
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SKILLS
My Business My Community provides opportunities for participants to learn:
Basic business management
Leadership skills
Networking and communications
Quality assurance and customer service
Marketing
Bartering for goods and services
Creating accountability
Transitioning from micro-enterprise to community
enterprise or enterprise
Business reporting requirements
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OPPORTUNITIES
Micro-enterprise for urban and community gardening:
Community kitchens
Bakery
Creches and after-school centers
Low cost private schools
Senior activity centers
Recycling and composting
Home building
Furniture making
Plumbing
Electrical services and repair
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COLLABORATIONS
Our collaborations and partnerships for My Business My Community are:
Manzimvula Ventures, Inc.®
The Sustainability Institute
Champions of the Environment Foundation
Vital Edge Consulting
Gardens in a Bottle
Furniture making
Techomes
Our impact
250 people participated in the Iziko Labahlai program
6 entrepreneurial businesses started directly out of the program
We have made an impact on 11 communities and over 3,500 people
Our success stories
Elias Patosi
"My Arms Wide Open motivated me on how I can work towards starting my own business and how to market it well. I learned you have to get up and start doing things for yourself if you want to better your life."
Lundi Rasmeni
Thank you Warren, I now have good karma and people find it easier to relate to me far better than before because of a genuine smile and greeting. Thank you for the workshop you facilitated in Cradock three years ago, it helped me get out of my cocoon. I now run a small business and employ in excess of 20 people. Thank you Warren and My Arms Wide Open.