WaterReliefAfricaBusinessProposal

ExecutiveSummary

Ourcompany,WaterReliefAfricawishestousekindnessandgenerositytoeducateand
givethepeopleofHarar,Ethiopiaaccesstopotablewater.Wewishtomakeoursystemsthat
providethemwithwatercheapandaccessible,withaninfrastructurethatcanbedevelopedalong
withtherestofthecountryandAfricaasawhole.Oneambitionofoursistofocusonthe
problemofthelackofsanitarywater,andtocreateasystemthatcanbringthecleanwaterthatis
neededtofamiliesindemand.

TheoverallgoalofWaterReliefAfricaistobringdiseasefree,potablewatertothose
whoareinneed,aswellaseducationandjobopportunitiesonhowtobuildandsustaintheirown
systemsthatgatherwater.Thiswillbedonebyusingrainwatercatchmentsystems,andstoring
theharvestedwateraftercollected,todrink,clean,cook,andbathewith.Wearelookingto
providejobsandgiveinformationaboutrainwaterharvesting,andthoughthesejob
opportunities,wecanaffirmourserviceswilllastalifetime.Byprovidingthesejobs,wecan
alsoguaranteethatoursystemswillbepayedforandthatwewillmakerevenueandbecomea
sustainablebusiness.Inaddition,onaverage,Hararcollects75mmofrainfallduringthespring
andsummerseasons,andcanreceive14daysofrainoutofthemonth
(
http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Hararweatheraverages/ET.aspx
).Theseaveragesshow
thatourservicescanworkandlast.OurcompanyischoosingtofocusontheareaofHarar
becauseofthestylethattheroofsinHarararebuilt,groupedtogether,andmadeslanting
downwards.Thiswillmakeitpossibleforourrainwatercatchmentsystemstothrive,without
havingtocompletelyrebuildthehouse.

Currently,thereareonlythreeemployees,whoarealsofoundersofthecompanyonApril
of2015,therenamesareClaireLarson,KeiranEagen,andLeviPalmer.Thebusinesswoulduse
thejobsthatwehavecreatedtoacquireemployeestokeepthecorporationalive.Ourbusinessis
lookingtoexpandtoamuchlargerareausingthemoneywegetfrominvestorsandourproducts.
Eventually,ourcompanywouldliketousetheincomethathasbeengainedovertime,tobranch
outtootherareasthatareinneedofourservices.Thiswillmakeitsowecanexpandandhelp
othersoutsideofourfocusarea,Harar,Ethiopia,and,inthelongrun,gainmorefundingtokeep
ourbusinessrunning.


Water
.2006.Canaidafrica.wordpress.com,Canada.ByUNHumanDevelopmentReport.

ProductDescription

AtWaterReliefAfrica,ourmainobjectiveistobringresourcestoEthiopiathatcanbe
builttocatchrainfall,andbestoredaspotablewaterforthosewholackduetopoverty.Wewant
ourservicestobeaffordableaswellasbuiltinordertolastforalifespan.Eachcatchment
systemwillbebuiltwiththesamealuminumfoundation,andcreatedtofiteachperson'shouse.
Thealuminumwillnotbecustombuilt,butorderedbyus,aswewillthenassemblewhatwe
haveorderedtothehouseasaroof.OurgoalistoeventuallyhaveeachhouseinHarar,Ethiopia
tohaveapersonalrainwatercatchmentsystemandstoragesystemtobringasmuchwaterinas
possible.

Therainwaterharvestingsystemsarebuiltwithanaluminumroofbase,asaluminumlets
waterfalloffintotheguttereasily.Thealuminumcatchmentroofswillbebuiltatalarge
decliningangleinordertoletmorerainfallatafasterpace.Largedeclineroofanglesalsoleadto
lesscontaminantsbeingcaughtintherainwater.Afterthewateriscaughtontheroof,thewater
willfallintoanaluminumbasedgutter,thenflowintoadownspoutthatcarriesthewaterinto
storageareas.Iftherearecontaminantscaught,thestoragesystemswillhavepurificationtablets
thatcancleanthewaterinordertomakeitdrinkable.Thebusinesswouldliketohaveall
resourcesmadeofthesamematerial,andbesturdyaswellaslonglasting,andrustfree.In
addition,aluminumisalsofairlycheap,affordableandeasymaintain.

Theareaoftheroofisoneofthemostimportantaspectsincollectingrainwater.
Obviously,thelargertheareaofroofing,thelargeramountofwaterthatisgoingtobecollected.
Ourgoalistogivetheresourcesandinformationonhowtoframearoofthatcanbeaslargeas
possible,butfittotheindividualshouse,withoutbeingoversizedorcausingspacingissues.


Tofindhowmuchrainwatercanbeharvested,ourcompanywilluse,aswellasteachthe
followingequationtothosewhowillbeharvesting:

http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/catchmentarea/

Thestoragecontainerswillbealuminumbasedaswell,andwillbemadetoholdupto
100gallonsforonehouse.Ourgoalistocreatethecatchmentandstoragesysteminorderforthe
watertolastaslongasneeded,anduntilthenextrainfall.Fromthestoragesystem,thewater
willbeavailableduringallhoursofthedayforpersonaluse.Thestoragesystemswillbelocated
atthesideofthefamily'shouseforthewatertoeasilyrunto.Wewouldlikethestoragesystems
andevidentlytherainwatercatchmentsystemasawholetobepersonallyoperatedbythefamily
andvolunteers/employeesthatworkforWaterReliefAfrica.

MarketAnalysis

WaterReliefAfrica(WRA)willfirstbelocatedinHarar,Ethiopiaandwilleventually
expandtomoretownsandcitiesinEthiopia.In2007,therewere33rainharvestingsystemsin
Ethiopia.Asmallpercentageoftheseareasystemthatcouldbelikeours.Ataglance,the
currentrainharvestingpotentialinEthiopia,inmeterscubedperroofperyear,(m^3/roof/year)
isanaverageof78,aminimumof20,andamaximumof120inchesofrainfallcollected.
(
http://www.bibalex.org/Search4Dev/files/419439/442767.pdf
)Ourpotentialcustomershavea
needforcleanandcheappotablewater.Currently,mostpoorfamiliesstruggletoobtainclean
waterbecausetheysimplycannotaffordit.Ourgoalistobringthemcleanwaterthatdoesnot
requirethecustomertowalkformilestogetwater.Weareplanningtotargetfamiliesthatmake
anaverageof$500ayearorunder.

Generally,ourcompanywillbefocusingonthosewhoareinthemostneedofwaterdue
topoverty.In2004and2005,39%ofEthiopianslivedinextremepoverty.Fiveyearslater,that
numberdroppedabout9%andresultedin30%ofEthiopianslivingonthepovertylineof$0.6or
lessaday(http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview.)Wearefocusingonthese
peoplebecauseofhowlittletheymake,resultinginnoaccesstobasicnecessitiesincluding
water.Ourwishesaretofindthesepeoplebycollectinganincomestatusfromthosewhowishto
useourservices.Fromthere,weplanonworkingaroundtheiryearlyincome,topriceour

productsaccordinglyinordertokeepourbusinesssustainable.Inaddition,wewillbefocusing
onfamiliesof3orlarger.Thiswaywewillhavecreatedasolutionthatwillaffectagreater
population,andbepassedonbythewordofmouth,ontogenerationstocome.Wewillalsotake
atripbeforehandtoseeandassessthosewhoneedthehelpthemostandpinpointareasof
greaterneed.

Asasmallbusiness,WaterReliefAfricarecognizesthatwewillneedawaytocreatean
incometokeepoursystemsavailable.WRAwillpushtocreateanaffordableproductsothatall
familieswhoareinneedofourservicesmayhaveaccess.Tocreateacost,wewilllookintothe
yearlyincomeofeachfamily,andworkaroundthatamount.Onaverage,theyearlyincomeof
anEthiopianadultis$470,percapita(GrossNationalIncome,AtlasMethod.)Withthisamount,
wecanstarttofocusonthosewhomake$500orunder,andstartbychargingfamiliesand
groupsofpeoplewithasmallamount,monthly,forourproductandeducation.Wecanassure
thatwewillchargeareasonableamountbyreceivingareportthatstateswhointhefamilyhasa
job,andhowmuchtheyaregettingpaid.Tostartandkeepourbusinessgoing,wearehopingto
chargeaminimumof$1amonthforourassistanceandresources.

Weestimateeachraincatchmentsystemcouldbeanywherefrom$1,000to$2,000
dependingonthesizeofthestoragetank.Thispricedoesnotincludetheshipmentand
processingandhandlingfees.Ourestimationfortheshipmentfeescouldbeanywherefrom$500
to$800,dependingontheweightofthematerials.Thispaymentcanbepaidoffovertime,and
canbepaidinthesmallestincrementsdependingonthefamilysincome.Theemployeescanbe
paidinwater,aswellasmoneytobuyandshareourservices.Weestimatewewillpayatleast
enoughtoaffordthewaterfromourrainwatercatchmentservices,tobeabletopaytheamount
off.

OurcompetitionincludesbusinessesliketheEthiopianRainwaterHarvestingAssociation
(ERHA.)ERHAworkswithEthiopiasclimatetofixtheproblemsthatthedroughtshavecaused
inEthiopiasabundantagriculture.Ourcompanyhopestoworktogetherwithcompanieslike
this,insteadoflookingatthemascompetition.Wewouldliketolearnfromtheirideas,and
evenimproveuponconceptsintacklingalargeissuelikedroughtsandwaterdeprivation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7113576.stm

Thegraphaboveshowshowtheaveragerainfallaffectstheincomeofthepeopleof
Ethiopia.WaterReliefwillworkwiththerainfallinEthiopiatoraisethestandardofliving,raise
theirpersonalhealth,andkeeptheGDPgrowthhigh.

MarketingStrategies

WaterReliefAfricastrivestomarketourrainwatercatchmentsystemsbyidentifyingthat
ourproductsareaffordable,strong,anddurable.Wewouldliketoshowthatoursystemsare
easytobuildandmaintainaswell.Ourplanistoadvertisethroughourwebsite,andbywordof
mouth.Ourwebsitewillincludeinformationaboutthebusiness,whatwedo,thefounders,and
howtocontactus.Inaddition,ourwebsitewillincludeanareawhereyoucandonatemoney,as
wellassignuptovolunteertohelpbuildand/oreducatethoseaboutourbusinessinEthiopia.
Furthermore,wearepushingforlargecorporateinvestorstosupportourbusiness,anddonate
fundingtohelpstartourbusiness.

Anotherkeyaspecttoourmarketingstrategyisplacingourlogoonthewaterstorage
area,inordertobeseenbyothers.Afterthisisdone,ourbusinesscanbespreadthroughthe
wordandtheimageofourlogoonoursystems.

Inaddition,wewillbeusingasocialmediawebsite,Twitter,andothersocialmedia
accounts.OurTwitteraccountwillbeuseddaily,withuptofivepostsaday.Ourwebsitewillbe
updatedacoupletimesaweek,andifwestarttouseFacebookitwillbeuseduptofivetimesa
week.WRAwouldliketoreachagoalofatleasttwohundredfollowersonTwitter.We
understandthatahugeportionofourcustomershavealackofaccesstointernetmakingit

harderforustoreachthem.Thus,wewillbefocusingonspreadingthewordaboutour
organizationanditsgoalsinandaroundthroughourlogoandvolunteersoremployees.

Thefirsttwoyearsofourbusiness,wewillbeworkingstrictlyondonationsand
kickstarterfundsfrominvestors.Wewilldothistoshowfamilieswhoweareandwhatwedo,
andconvincethemtoworkwithus.Afterthistwoyearperiod,wecanstartchargingfamiliesa
smallamount,tokeepourbusinessrunningandsustainable.Throughoutourwork,wewill
constantlybeacceptingdonationsaswell.

OrganizationandManagementPlan

Ourbusinessisprivatelyownedandoperatedonline.Wealsoservefromemployeesand
volunteersinHarar,Ethiopia,andfromlocalemployeesinDurango,Colorado.Thethree
employeesthatareinvolvedandhavecreatedWaterReliefAfricaequallyown33.3percentof
thecompany.

Wewillstartbyhavingaround6to8employeesincludingourselves.Theseemployees
willbehelpingtoeducateanddemonstratethemodelforraincatchingandhelpthepeopleof
Harartounderstandtheuseandmanagementofthemodels.Twoofuswillbehelpingwith
managementandfinanceswhiletheotherwillbeworkingontheprojectbyseeinghowitworks
andwhereitcouldpossibleimprove.Thegroupswillbereportingtheirfindingsthrough
businessreportstomakerevisionsandlookuponproblemsthatmayarise.Wewillbeingdoing
thisfortwoyearsuntilourorganizationstartsup,andwecanbeingtorunitfrommanagement.
Afterthis,wewillhireotherstoreplaceusandhelpwiththeexpansionoftheorganization.

Theemployeesthatwewillbelookingfortohirewillhaveatleastsomeexperiencein
teaching,andhavethewanttohelpothersinadifferentcountry.Wewouldalsoneedsomeone
whoknowstheareaandcultureofHarrarandotherareasofEthiopia.Wewilllookfor
employeeswhohaveagoodtrackrecordandcommittoworkingwithus.

Theemployeesthatwehavetostartincludethethreefounders,whoarestartingthe
companytobegin.Bywordofmouththroughourlogoandsocialmediawebsites,wearehoping
tohire3to5moreemployeesthatarewillingtotakeonthetasksofsolvingtheproblemofa
lackofwaterinHarar,Ethiopia,byusingoursystems.Ourbusinesswillalsobeusingvolunteers
todonatetheirtimetoeducatethoseonhowtousetherainwatercatchmentsystems.The
volunteersmusthaveatleastsomeknowledgeonthesystems,andbewillingtospendalotof
timeonteachingothers.Theymustbewillingtoworkonadvertisingandspreadingourbusiness
bywordofmouth.Thevolunteersmustalsohelpwithfinancialsandrunningthewebsite.For

volunteerstobecomeemployees,theymustbeworkingwithusforatleasttwoyears,andhavea
historyofworkingwithsmallbusinesses.

WewillbeworkingprimarilyfromDurangobutbegininourfocusareaofHarar.Our
firststartuptripwillbetogettoknowtheareaandthepeoplewhowewillbeeventuallyhelping.
Then,ourbusinesswillbemakingtripstoHararasneeded.ThetripstoHararwillbemadeto
shipmaterialsthere,andtofirsteducatethoseonwhoweareandwhatwearedoingtohelp
them.Throughthesetrips,ourcompanyisalsohopingtofindvolunteersandpeoplewhoare
willingtohelpstoptheproblem,andbecomepermanentemployees.

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