Business Proposal

Information:
Executive Summary
Farmers in The Gambia, Africa face issues such as famines, droughts,
and floods throughout the year from an unreliable climate, causing it to be very
difficult to grow any crops. According to the Rural Poverty Portal, Over 60 per
cent of all Gambians and an even higher proportion among poor and extremely
poor people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Our organization,
LiveGreen Africa, has made it a goal to help farmers in The Gambia find
prosperity and success through their crops and to show compassion and
selflessness, while providing them with the resources they need. We believe that
everyone should have the opportunity to achieve prosperity. That is why we have
provided Gambians with an affordable way out. `Our solution is to provide
Gambian families with greenhouses, information, and resources that will help
them grow their crops to the best of their abilities. Greenhouses will provide a
completely controlled climate for Gambians to grow their crops by circulating
moisture and sunlight to keep the plants alive. The goal of this is to help them
grow enough crops to feed their families and earn enough money every year.
Our solution is very unique because it is a system, rather than a hand-out.
We are the only organization that provides information, resources, and a
greenhouse over time to help solve the problems of hunger and poverty at the
source.We designed our solution so that it will grow over time, which grows the
community of The Gambia as well as growing individuals. Starting out, we will
work with two or three families and by the end of 5 years, we should be working
with 20-30 families in The Gambia. We believe that our organization has the
potential to expand to other countries in Africa by the end of 10 years, meaning
that we will be working with 100-150 families.
Market Analysis
LiveGreen Africas main purpose is to help farmers in The Gambia create
a sustainable, reliable food source to improve their livelihood. We are still taking
the first steps to become sustainable, but our plans to further develop our
organization include expanding the area of our solution and increasing the
amount of farmers in Africa that are in use of our service. We plan to do this
through workshops about farming that will draw people into our services. We
hope that this will bring in most of our customers. To find our target market, we
did some research. On The Rural Poverty Portal, we found that, Underlying the
high poverty rates is the country's relatively lack of economic diversity, which
makes The Gambia highly vulnerable to increasingly erratic rainfall, food price
volatility and financial crises. Based on this information we chose to target our
services towards poor farming families in The Gambia. We have chosen this
group because they struggle the most with the constantly changing climate and
are very manageable for our brand new organization.

The critical need of our target market is a way to adapt to constant climate
change. In an article talking about a project created in The Gambia by The
Global Environment Facility it states, The main problem facing the Gambia
currently is a high vulnerability to climate change, exacerbated by a low capacity
to address and adapt. These needs are not being met due to lack of resources
needed to adapt to their climate. As found on the The World Bank website, in The
Gambia over half of the population is under the poverty line. We believe that our
solution will benefit the population. Providing greenhouses to Gambian farmers
will keep them from being victims of crop loss due to climate change.
The annual purchases that are made for our solution include the price of
the glass and metal used for the greenhouse and any repairs needed. On
average, recycled glass costs from $70-90 per ton. We will also be using
recycled metal which costs about $280-300 per ton. If a greenhouse is in need of
repairs we will provide resources as needed until they can get back on their feet.
What we hope will happen with the families we help is that they will gain a
sustainable food source and be able to be above the poverty line by selling their
crops. We expect to start off helping two or three families and grow to at least 2030 by the end of 5 years. Starting small allows us to take smaller risks and to test
how cooperating well with each family will work. After refining the process we will
be able to expand from there.
We supply our customers with the resources and information they need to
grow crops for sale and also for consumption. From this, we receive 15% of the
money they make from selling their crops. 10% will go towards the company to
be able to expand and have a sustainable flow of cash and the 5% will go to the
expenses of the services. The family keeps the other 85% as a regular flow of
income for themselves. The services of LiveGreen Africa will include allowing the
family to purchase the seeds with $120 we will give to them, a greenhouse, and
other resources necessary. When the family has enough money saved up, they
can build a greenhouse.
Currently, we are the only organization using the system we have created.
Because we provide information and materials, our system is very unique. So far,
there have been no secondary competitors and we do not expect to encounter
any. Some barriers we might encounter are if a family does not want not want to
invest the 5% and instead have extra money or if a family does not wish to sell
their crops, but our system can be tailored to the needs of the families.
As a company, we have to enforce restrictions on some areas of our
solution to ensure that it is carried out properly. One of those restrictions is that
our customers have to use the money we provide for agriculture. However, there
are no government regulations that apply to our solution. Our goal is to better the
lives of our customers and in order to do that we must be willing to work with
them and they must be willing to work with us.
Service or Product Line:
At LiveGreen Africa, our main goal is to supply Gambian citizens with
education, resources, and greenhouses that will allow them to control climate for
their crops in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. With many different

steps to our overall solution, we radiate compassion and selflessness to provide

opportunities for people who have no access to the things they need. Our service
benefits many figures in the Gambian society. With over 60% of people in
Gambia relying on agriculture for their livelihood, our tailored solution addresses
the problem of unreliable farming that negatively affects the income of the
average Gambian. We will help many people with education and climate control.
Our service line LiveGreen Africa, has no competitors that come close to
distributing the same ideas as us. Greenhouses are a worldwide used product,
including in Africa, but no other organization, particularly in The Gambia, has
provided a greenhouse along with resources and education.
Our solution at LiveGreen Africa is a two step plan. Our first step is
educating. We start by visiting Gambian villages. Once we have found a
community in need that has figures interested in our solution, we will host a
workshop or two. These workshops are free and open to the public. At these
workshops we address the problem with Gambian farming; unreliable climate
(drought and rain) through a well rehearsed, educated presentation. We take in
feedback from attendees about local farming habits and distribute advice. We
then describe what our program does and how they can take part in it. If they
sign up for our program, which is free, we then schedule another meeting for the
next step. At this meeting, we will begin educating on how to effectively farm.
This process can range anywhere from speaking of breeding plants to watering
correctly, and is tailored to the problems of the area. This can help these people
by stabilizing their source of income.
The second part of our solution is to provide the families with resources to
improve their crop yield. We ask for 15% of profit from the crops sold by these
farmers and set it aside. 10% goes to our program to create our sustainable
funding stream, and 5% goes to their own agriculture savings fund. Once enough
money is raised up by the families, we help them to create their own personal
greenhouses. These greenhouses can help them to grow crops to sell locally, or
just to put on their own tables. We continue to take 15% from these families
every year, whether they are using a greenhouse for a source of income, or they
are just farming as usual and our education has had an affect on them. The
money set aside after they already have their greenhouse is used for buying
seeds or fertilizer, depending on how the family would like to spend their money.
As of now, we are creating a scaled down model because we are at the
very start of creating our organization. This model of a greenhouse is about the
size of a tissue box with a roof. We are using plastic from soda bottles as our
glass and popsicle sticks as the metal. This model will give an idea of what
the real greenhouses will look like.
We do not have any patents right now and are not planning on getting any
patents in the future for our services. We, as an organization believe that this
service should be spread and we will not try to keep other individuals or groups
from using it in places where they see a need. However, we do hope that it will
be used in the best interest of other people.
Research and development is an area that is very important to our
organization. Our research plan in the future includes a study 5 years into the

project. This study will include looking at all of the families that have taken part in
our solution and those who have not. We will look at monthly income of farming
from non greenhouse families, and greenhouse families. From this, we will be
able to measure how much of an impact we are creating; if one at all. From the
information we gain, we will try to refine our solution to make it better.
Marketing Strategy:
We will be selling information, resources, and a greenhouse to the people
of The Gambia. The purpose of our product is to provide Gambian farmers with a
reliable and controlled setting in which to grow their crops. In order to achieve our
goal of being able to provide our greenhouses, we need our project to be known
and recognised.
In order to successfully introduce our project to the public and into the
business market, we will use an extensive social media campaign. Social media
will be a key component in making our project known to both the public and to
possible investors. We will advertise our organization on facebook and
instagram, explaining what our solution is. We will also have a commercial that
promotes our plan. With these, we will be using the slogan, LiveGreen, grow
green. This is how we plan to find people who are willing to help us with start-up
costs.
The problem we will be addressing is unreliable climate. Gambia has
extreme weather, including often droughts and floods, both of which can destroy
a farmers crops. Farmers in The Gambia do not have a controlled and safe
place to grow their crops, which is what we will provide them with. To start out,
farmers in The Gambia will be provided with training to breed and grow their
crops most efficiently. We will ask for 15% of the money they make from their
crops. 5% will go into their savings, and we will receive the other 10% as profit.
The 5% will be put towards resources and a greenhouse.
By receiving 10% of the profits from the Gambian farmers, we will have a
continuous and constant profit. With the profits we make, we will hire and train
more people to work with the farmers. We will start with a very small number of
employees, each specially trained to educate the Gambian people. When we
start to grow our company, we will hire and train Gambians in order to produce a
larger clientele, provide jobs, and to reach more people.
As we expand to other areas, we will continue to provide the same
services and products. The glass and other materials needed will be bought from
recycling plants in and around The Gambia. We will build the greenhouses with
our clients in The Gambia. By purchasing the greenhouse, they will also receive
training on how to maintain them. Our employees at the LiveGreen Africa HQ in
The Gambia will be able to reach our customers on a daily basis, creating good
relationships with them, as well as providing advertisements through free
workshops and lessons. These workshops will provide information on farming
techniques and greenhouse benefits and will double as promotion for LiveGreen
Africa.
Management Plan:

Organizational Structure:
Owners/Roles
Hope
Frihauf -25%

Dana
Stahl-25%

Skylar
Schultheis-25%

Annie
Wyrick-25%

President, CEO

President, CEO

President, CEO

President, CEO

Customer Support

Financial Sales

Business Architect

Service Manager

Ownership Information:
LiveGreen Africa consists of four owners and founders; Hope Frihauf,
Dana Stahl, Skylar Schultheis, and Annie Wyrick. Ownership is split up equally
between all. 25% of the company belongs to each owner. Each one of our
owners has a different role within this business, these stated in the above chart.
Our organization has a partnership ownership. There are many factors that play
into this kind of ownership. We have more than two owners and our business
doesnt have a separate legal entity from the owners, but can represent itself in
its own name.
Where our business is right now, we do not have any warrants, or
convertible debt.
Currently, our business doesnt have any common stockholders, because
we do not have a board of directors. Once our organization advances with
employees, and we have enough people to make up a board, we will have
common stock. This will most likely be 5-7 years in the future.
Ownership Profiles:
Hope Frihauf

Position: As the customer support representative, it is my job to make sure that

customers are pleased with our services and to see if there is anything else that
can improve their experience. I make sure that the customers are using our

service as efficiently and easily as they possibly can in order to help our system
run smoothly and ensure that the customers needs are being met.
Primary Responsibilities and Authority:

Talk with customers

Provide advice and information for customers

Improve the service provided

Training some employees and Gambian families

Education: High School Education

Prior Employment: The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Special Skills: My special skills include building experience, working with other
people, problem solving, and public speaking.
Past Track Record: N/A
Industry Recognition: N/A
Community Involvement: I have 270 hours of community service hours. 240 of
those hours were from volunteering at a church camp over the summer. 30 of
those hours were from mission trips in Florida and Oklahoma.
Number of Years with the Company: I am new to the company because it is a
new organization.
Compensation Basis: Volunteer until 2 years into the program. In 2 years it will be
$7 and will continue going up as the profit for the company goes up.
Dana Stahl
Position: As the financial sales consultant, my job is to manage financial needs of
our organization, my fellow employees, and our clients. I am working on getting a
license, so that I can go to financial markets and promote our entrepreneurship. I
organize the size of each transaction that is made and create a custom plan for
each family that we partner with in Gambia. I am not employed by a banking

facility, as I am one of the four owners at LiveGreen Africa. I am in charge of all of

our financial decisions.

Primary Responsibilities and Authority:

Oversee transactions between our organization and others

Oversee transactions between our organization and families
Ensure a sustainable profit stream for our organization
Ensure financially safe partnerships

Education: High School Education

Prior Employment: Purgatory Ski Resort Ski and Ride School
Special Skills: My special skill set includes critical thinking, problem solving,
innovation, initiative, communication, and teamwork.
Past Track Record: N/A
Industry Recognition: N/A
Community Involvement: I have worked in community service at the local
homeless shelter in Durango, Colorado and volunteered at P.A.C.K., a childrens
camp for kids at Purgatory Resort.
Number of Years Involved: This will be my first year since this company is just
starting off.
Compensation Basis: 2 years of volunteer work until LiveGreen Africa has a
stable base, and then 7$ an hour with a rising hourly wage as time goes on.

Skylar Schultheis
Position: As President, CEO and Business Architect, my main role is to maintain
capabilities of the company and relative to the organization. As one of the

Presidents, CEO I will have equal authority with the other three.

Primary responsibilities:

Maintain capabilities of company

Organization

Education: High School Education

Prior Employment: Still owner of 1% of Hotel
Special Skills: Critical Thinking, Logical Thinking, and Collaboration.
Past Track Record: N/A
Industry Recognition: N/A
Community Involvement: No Community Involvement
Number of Years Involved: Just started work with company
Compensation Basis: Starting off as a volunteer for the first 2 years and after that
earning $7 an hour. This will grow as the company grows.

Annie Wyrick

Position - As the Service Manager, my job is to get the business out the door,and
work with the consumers to build, test, and come up with the requirements for the

product.
Primary Responsibilities and Authority:

To work with the consumers

To build and test products
Create requirements for the final product

Education- Animas High School

Unique Experience and Skills- Organization
Prior Employment-Restaurant
Special Skills-Leadership,Critical Thinking,Collaboration
Past Track Record-N/A
Community Involvement- Volunteered to help wrap christmas gifts for families in
need
Number of years with company- just started
Volunteer until 2 years into the program. In 2 years it will be $7 and will continue
going up as the profit for the company goes up.
Financials:

There are a few costs that we will have as a company while carrying out
our solution. For example, we will have to pay for recycled glass and metal for
the greenhouses. This will cost from $70-90 per ton for glass and from $280-300
per ton for metal. Along with the initial cost for greenhouse materials, we will also
pay for any repairs that the family might need. After we have gotten materials for
the greenhouse, we also will have to provide the family with $120 for whatever
seeds that they would like to grow. Another cost that goes into all of this is how
much we pay our employees. We will start out with only the CEOs/Presidents of
the company. We will be volunteers for the first 2 years and then be paid $7 an
hour, not including weekends. This number will increase as our profits increase
and we will gain more employees. The employees that we hire will be from The
Gambia and will be payed as much as we are.
Start-up costs will be the price of transporting recycled materials and the
$120 we give to the families for seeds. Start up money will come from investors.
The cost of transporting the greenhouse materials ranges from $20-70 per ton,
depending on the materials. The overall price of this for ten years will be about
$14,000-28,500. This start-up cost will allow us, as an organization, bring the
best materials and resources to the families we are helping, which will also
increase our profits.
Most families in The Gambia make from $456.25-1,095 U.S. dollars
annually, so our system might take a while. The family would have from $22.8154.75 put in their agriculture savings for the first two years. This amount should
double with our services within 2 years. Within 5 years it should expand to 15
times the amount, and by the end of 10 years the amount the family makes
should expand to 50 times the amount that they were making to begin with. It will
take a while for the family to have enough money in their account to get a
greenhouse, seeds, or fertilizer, but once the system is built up, they will start
making more money.
Based off of the money the family makes, our profit as a company should
increase over time. Within the first 2 years of starting the company, we will only
be making $45.63-109.50 annually. At the end of 5 years, assuming that we are
helping 20-30 families, our organization should be making $13,687.50-49,275. By
the end of 10 years, assuming that we are helping 100-150 families, then we
should be making $228,125- 821,250. We should break even by the end of ten
years, then we will start making money. Our profit should increase as our
company grows. Eventually, with our companys help, Gambians could flourish.

Works Cited

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-helped me write the marketing strategy and helped with format