Solar Food Drying
Revolutionizing the war on global hunger, using markets, profits, and entrepreneurial instinct. 1
Underlying Problems:4 Halves of the Have-Nots
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Solution – implementation of: • Grass-roots based food preservation solutions • Utilization of appropriate technology • Linkages to rural communities• Orientating towards women
Mission
Why• Increase food security, decrease hunger and
malnutrition, and create opportunity for poor families…
How• through a distribution network of franchise stores that…
What• provide training on food processing and preservation,
sell related supplies, and facilitate finance…
Who• to entrepreneurial women and families involved in
agriculture.
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Concept Summary Solar-based food-drying is the oldest ‘processing’ technology
Benefits of drying include:
Ease of practice
Straightforward food safety solutions
Culturally familiar
Provides long-term storage with minimal packaging
Franchising and NGO partnership to allow rapid scaling of project
Solution has substantial competitive advantages:
Creates new products like tomato flour
Solves related problems like malnutrition and lack of income
Brings opportunity to rural poor (especially women)
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ApproachMission: Preserve Food, Improve Nutrition, and Create Entrepreneurial Income by:
1. Capacity building and technology transfer including training, standards development/enforcement, and manuals
2. Distribution of implementing equipment and any required supplies (through profit-driven models)
3. Arrangement for commercial microfinance for end-user clientele when needed
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Business Model1. Franchise model distributing through existing local shops
(preferably woman owned)
2. Three tiered distribution through franchisees
3. All tiers of distribution profit from model, sustaining the technology transfer
4. End user women sell to neighbors, central processor, and is able to consume themselves
5. Reservoir facilitates markets and ensures a buyer
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Food Drying Strategies1. Locally manufacture high quality food dryers
2. Food dryers will be sold at price under $300 and process most products in 1-2 days
3. Scale to many thousands of dryers in field and expand to dozens of food products
4. Partner with NGOs for accelerated distribution
5. Partner with food drying experts (e.g. SUA) for improved processes
6. Partner with processor for purchase of foods
7. Distribute needed packaging to end-users
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Survey of Dryer DesignsHi Quality Western Designs
Low Price ‘Village’ Designs
Reservoir Dryer
Price $2,000-$8000 $500-$800 Under $300
Efficiency Dry a tomato in 1-2 days
Dry a tomato slice in 5-7 days
Dry a tomato slice in 1-2 days
Results High quality Tomatoes often rot High quality
Return on Investment
High price means long time to ROI
Dryer throughput is low so difficult to achieve ROI
Fast ROI (half year)
Price accessible to villagers
Rarely Usually not Usually
Manufacturing Specialty sources (solar generators)
Locally Locally
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Solar Drying Training
Product New design allows mass market among rural poor
Low sales price (under $300 USD)
High efficiency (10+ kilos tomatoes in 1-2 days)
Contract manufactured locally from locally available materials creating additional community economic development
Significant temperature differential from inside dryer to the outside environment allows for operation in a wide variety of conditions
Simple operation
Local maintenance is possible within the village – no complex parts
Culturally acceptable process, limited sensitization
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Foods Able to be Dried
Potatoes
Cassava
Bananas
Sweet Potatoes
Other Staples
Tomatoes
Mangos
Pineapples
Apples
Pears
Other Fruits
Pumpkins
Carrots
Onions
Garlic
Peppers
Other Vegetables
Spinach
Rosemary
Other Herbs and
Leaves
Hibiscus
Lemon Grass
Other Tea Leaves
Ground Nuts
Cocoa
Vanilla
And much more!
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Distribution Value Chain
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• (Contract manufacturer) and distributor of goods
• Technical training on food technologies
• Link to finance
Reservoir
• Dealer of goods
• Coordinator and eventual trainer on technologies
Franchise Stores
• Sells to contract buyer OR
• Sells preserved foods locally OR
• Consumes personally
Food Drying Micro Businesses
• Purchases dried goodsConsumer
PartnershipsContract
Manufacturer• Local manufacturer that produces high
quality to specification
NGOs
• Leverage existing formed groups, possible group finance and support of field costs (interested partners include MUVI, fintrac, Africare, Care, Concern, etc.)
Finance• Provides finance of dryer purchase by
individuals or groups
SUA• Provides technical advice on training manual
, food safety, etc.
Cheetah• Provides mentoring, financial management,
and finance support to Reservoir
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Key Partnership Details
MUVI: Organized and registered 5600 tomato farmers with improved seeds and basic agronomy training
Fintrac: On the ground agronomists to continue and improve agronomy training, provide finance and support for Reservoir, and incorporate additional groups to do drying in Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Morogoro
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA): Operating a major program in food drying, provide assistance with government certifications, nutrition analysis, food safety, and referrals to possible employees and partners
IOP: Ilula Orphans Project with organized tomato and onion farmers
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Staffing
CEO (Cheetah in Yr. 1)
Marketing (Volunteers Managed by Cheetah Yr. 1)
Training and TestingField Training Assistant (To
be hired)
Product Management (+ Logistics, Sales) (To be
hired)
Food Scientist (Future, fulfilled by SUA, a
local university, in first year)
Accounting (Outsourced to Cheetah indefinitely)
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*Cheetah holds down initial costs by outsourcing services in early stage when starting companies
Planned Milestones for Year 1
1. Complete launch including an operators manual, finalized design, and contract for locally sourced manufacturing
2. Organize buyer finance
3. Pilot placement of dryers in up to 10 locations with up to 200 end-users and provide intensive start-up support in the first 3-6 months
4. Improve design, training, manuals, etc. based on experience and begin to scale sales with partners
5. By end of first year place 2000 in field
6. Develop assistance for marketing of dehydrated foods
7. By end of year 1, recruit CEO preferably with investment
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Years 2-3 Plan Milestones
1. Expand Reservoir franchisee locations and increase distribution
2. Partner with NGOs to offer elsewhere
3. Find product processing facility to contract purchase from raw processors and provide; high quality post processing, food safety, marketing and distribution
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Financial Summary (USD)
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Revenue, 2,275,992
Gross Margin, 933,
157
Net Profit, 158,2
77
-500,000
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
…but hunger persists.
Food as far as the eye can see…
It’s time to get practical. It’s time to address the root causes.
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