Bilo Ventures

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; ZIMBABWE

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Bilo Ventures is a social enterprise whose mission is to eliminate extreme energy poverty in rural Zimbabwe.

According to (ZimStats, 2012), there are 1,536,090 rural households without access to electricity in Zimbabwe alone. The Zimbabwe National Renewable Energy Policy states that rural electrification stands at 13%, with the primary lighting source being paraffin or kerosene candles.

By marketing world-class products and building a rural distribution network, Bilo Ventures will improve lives while creating economic opportunities and a cleaner environment in remote areas. The venture uses a franchise model for distribution. Each franchisee will be an entrepreneur, residing in the local village and will be carefully selected and trained. Each will receive a starter kit with documented best practices for selling solar lamps in a rural context. They will also receive comprehensive training to enable them to quickly ramp up their productivity.

These franchisees will be assigned target and be expected to participate in daily and weekly sessions where performance will be reviewed, successes and best practices are shared and targets are set for the ensuing period. On a monthly and quarterly basis, the franchisees will meet to review performance, celebrate the top performers, share best practices and receive further training.

Bilo Ventures is led by the founding team of Tendai Sixpence, Tawanda Munyika and Constance Muleya. The team is passionate about rural development and the power of free enterprise.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Sell 500 solar lamps that will directly benefit 2,500 people by the end of three months

• Sell 2,500 solar lamps that will directly benefit 15,000 people by the end of Year 1

• Reach 60,000 people by the end of Year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Tendai Sixpence - Co-founder & Managing Director

Constance Muleya - Co-founder

Tawanda Munyika - Co-founder & Finance Director

Mzima Health Access

VMMC CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC).

Learn more about the VMMC Challenge and why scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision can substantially reduce the rate of HIV acquisition for men, and also reduce the risk of transmission of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) to the men’s partners.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Mzima Health Access serves to improve quality of life of community individuals through access to voluntary medical male circumcision to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition.

Mzima Health Access uses a Village Health Team (VHT) model to create demand for VMMC services at the communities of Mubende District in Uganda. The project leverages a community structure obligated to create demand for health services at community level through end mile delivery and distribution of health products and services.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Increase access to VMMC services to 200 Men during the three month pilot

• Mobilize 15 Village Health Teams and 9 safe male circumcision champions (‘satisfied users’) to lead identification and promotion of VMMC

• Fundraise an additional $11,000 USD from new donors or investors during the three month pilot

• Reach 10,000 men by the end of year 1

FOUNDING TEAM

Catherine Amulen - Team Leader

Joan Nakirya - Project Coordinator

Juma Omala - Resource Mobilization Lead

Saving Mothers Saving Lives - Zambia

PMTCT CHALLENGE; ZAMBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Retention in care and adherence to anti-retroviral treatment for people living with HIV. 

Learn more about the PMTCT Challenge and how increasing completion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV can decrease HIV rates and improve lives.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Saving Mothers, Saving Lives increases adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and retention in HIV care for at least HIV positive pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Launching in Katete District the Mothers for Life-eMTCT project interventions will build on comprehensive integrated HIV and ANC services at the health facility level, adding evidence-based strategies in the community and at individual level to support adherence to and retention in ART. These include: (1) mobile health (mHealth) short message service (SMS) with two-way communication to convey health messages and help retain HIV positive pregnant women in existing ART services, and (2) Community-Based Volunteers who conduct home visits to support eMTCT services.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 300 HIV+ expectant mothers during the pilot phase

• Raise an additional $7,000 during the pilot phase

• Reach 750 HIV+ expectant mothers by the end of year 1

FOUNDING TEAM

Davies Bwalya - Director

Constance Himakuma - Clinical Lead Mentor

Innocent Tembo - Strategic/Planning (M&E)

Koi Koi Stories Uganda Limited

MATERNAL HEALTH CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Misoprostol.

Learn more about the Maternal Health Challenge and how the distribution of Misoprostol, a $3 drug that can prevent maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage, could save thousands of lives.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Through empowering traditional birth attendants, Koi Koi Stories increases community access to the lifesaving misoprostol drug to reduce post partum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality among the rural underserved women of Moroto District, Uganda.

Moroto District has a very high maternal mortality rate at 420 deaths per 100,000 live births. Due to long distances to health facilities, most women die from postpartum hemorrhage in the communities as they try to deliver under the care of unskilled traditional birth attendants. Our model seeks to train traditional birth attendants on the appropriate use of misoprostol (an approved low cost uterotonic drug), and create linkages for them with the health facilities to allow them access the drug supplies and appropriately and timely administer these drugs at community level to save the lives of mothers and their newborns.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 1,680 women during the pilot phase

• Raise $10,000 of funding during the pilot phase

• Train 5,000 Traditional Birth Attendants by the end of year 2

• Reach 50,000 women by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Bryan Innocent Tumusiime - Team Lead

Mary Ajwang - Project Coordinator

Precious Mutoru Kerunga - M&E Officer

Dinnah Odonya - Field Trainer

Abigail Antwi - Founding Member

Resonance Lab

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; INDIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps.

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Resonance Lab provides clean, affordable and reliable energy access to people in rural India. The distribution plan levergares the reach of local NGO in Jharkhand, the most power-deprived state in India. Resonance Lab will offer off-the-shelf products during the pilot phase to assess product-market fit.

Nitin Malik and Mohit Saini aim to solve social problems in India. They have 13 years of experience across eight countries in consulting and work with low-income communities.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 50 solar products distributed over the first three months

• 550 customers reached by end of Y1

• 3,000 customers reached by end of Y2

FOUNDING TEAM

Nitin Malik - Co-founder

Mohit Saini - Co-founder

Free2Plan

SAYANA PRESS CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Sayana Press injectable contraceptive.  

Learn more about the Sayana®  Press Challenge and why training health providers to administer Sayana® Press can be particularly valuable for women who prefer injectable contraceptives but don’t have regular access.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Free2Plan is a feminist, youth-led nonprofit working to meet the unmet need for family planning by distributing Sayana Press, an injectable contraceptive.

Free2Plan will empower owner-operated drug retail outlets known as Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) to deliver Sayana Press to women and girls in hard to reach areas. They will train these PPMVs on communications to drive demand and create behavior change around self-injectable contraceptives.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Provide 1,000 women with access to Sayana Press during the pilot

• Train 100 PPMVs on Sayana Press communications and distribution during the pilot

• Reach 5,000 beneficiaries by the end of year 1

• Reach 12,000 beneficiaries by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Offor Hope Jeremiah - Co-Founder

Melanie Tejiri Idehen - Co-Founder

Brenda Effiom - SBCC Specialist

Ibukun Babarinde - Supply Chain Manager

Nwabuma Omola Daniel - MEL Manager

Solar Brother

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; DRC

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps.

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Solar Brother distributes quality solar products to the most vulnerable rural and semi-urban populations of the Tanganyika Province in DR Congo using a PAYGO model. Distribution will be done by talented and trained agents. Many potential customers have lost trust in solar because of poor products in the market. To address this, Solar Brother will target early sales to influential community members.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 500 lamps distributed over the first three months by 5 high-performing agents

• Fundraise an additional $10,000 within the first three months

• 3,000 customers reached by end of Y1

• 30,000 customers reached by end of Y2

FOUNDING TEAM

Atuu Waonaje Sincere - Co-Director of Investment Development, HR and Finance

Issa Wakilongo Matthieu - Co-Director of Market and Business Development

#TRANSPARENTIVAL

TRANSPARENCY CHALLENGE; COLOMBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Existing government petition system to fight corruption.

Learn more about the Transparency Challenge and how citizen reporting platforms can be used to hold government officials accountable and reduce corruption.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

#Transparentival will be a cooperative campaign to educate, motivate and support people to fight corruption in Colombia.

In this project we will use the right to petition as a tool to fight corruption. The right to petition allows people to access public information, challenge abuses of power and report negligence from authorities.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Send 1,000 corruption reports using right to petition during pilot

• Reach 10,000 people with information on government petitions during pilot

• Raise an additional $15,000 during pilot

• Reach 50,000 people with information on government petitions by end of Y1

• Reach 100,000 people with information on government petitions by end of Y2

FOUNDING TEAM

Margarita Méndez Sandoval - Director

Luke Hammett - Project Leader

SAUK

FERTILIZER CHALLENGE; DRC

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Fertilizer and microdosing technique. 

Learn more about the Fertilizer Challenge and why increasing the effective use of fertilizer has the potential to unlock significant crop yield for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

SAUK will facilitate access to commercial fertilizer and farmer training in the province of South-Kivu, mainly in the Ruzizi-Tanganyika Plain Corridor.

The SAUK model consists of establishing a vertically-integrated fertilizer distribution chain in eastern DRC, with SAUK controlling the supply, transport, storage and sale segments, delivering directly to farmers. SAUK will train farmers on the use of fertilizer and provide them access to quality fertilizer in the appropriate quantity.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 160 farmers reached with commercial fertilizer and training by end of pilot

• 2 agroshops and 3 training centers opened by end of pilot

• 250 farmers reached by end of Y1

• 500 farmers reached by end of Y2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Richard Bikulo - CEO

Leon Kazamwali - Director of Marketing

Frank Batumike - Technical Services

SoBz Energy Limited

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps.

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

SoBz Energy will utilize a network of boda (motorcycle) riders to distribute solar lights to hard to reach communities. The Venture will identify the boda riders, train them in solar marketing, functioning, and simple troubleshooting and roll them out to sell solar lamps to the rural customers. The venture will also carry out customer screening, especially of those buying on credit, to determine credit readiness, and then determine repayment method. The venture also will conduct field visits to customers to assess their experience with the lamps, gather impact stories, and issue repayment reminders. The venture will initially operate in Mubende district in Western Uganda, with plan to scale to the neighboring communities.

SoBz Energy’s co-founders all have experience in Uganda’s renewable energy sector. Noah Ssempijja, the Managing Director, worked with Fenix International as a Customer Field Support Manager. Florence Nabukenya, the Customer Support Manager, previously supported Fenix International’s customer call center in Uganda. And Denis Mulangwa, the Operations Director, previously worked as Head of Customer Care and Credit at Solantis Solar Uganda.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 500 lamps distributed over the first three months, reaching 3,000 people

• 39,000 people reached by the end of Y1

• 99,000 people reached by end of Y2

FOUNDING TEAM

Noah Ssempijja - Co-founder, Managing Director

Denis Mulangwa - Co-founder, Operations Director

Florence Nabukenya - Co-founder, Customer Support Manager

FarmerTribe Company Limited

FERTILIZER CHALLENGE; GHANA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Fertilizer and microdosing technique. 

Learn more about the Fertilizer Challenge and why increasing the effective use of fertilizer has the potential to unlock significant crop yield for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

FarmerTribe's model is to distribute agricultural inputs to smallholder farmers in rural communities while supporting them with extension services and training them to be effective and efficient in their production.
FarmerTribe is a one-stop shop for farmers to access all inputs and receive technical support without traveling to the region capital. FarmerTribe currently operates in the Mamprugu Moaduri and Yunyoo/Nasuan district in North East Region and Garu district in Upper East Region.

FarmerTribe was foundered by Sepenica Darko with years of experience as a development workers and a Tony Elumelu enterprenuer.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 1,500 farmers within first three months

• Raise additional $10,000 within first three months

• Reach 10,000 farmers by end of Y1

• Reach 15,000 farmers by end of Y2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Sepenica Anfumwaa Darko - Founder and CEO

Better Minds Education

FLIPPED CLASSROOM; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Flipped classroom. 

Learn more about the Flipped Classroom Challenge and why new education models, like flipping the classroom or deskilling a class curriculum, offer a solution to the vast teacher shortages in the developing world.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Better Minds Education is dedicated to improving student learning outcomes throughout rural Africa through a scalable digital tutoring model.

Better Minds distributes proven digital tutoring content to high-need students in rural Africa. The pilot digital learning center in Kakamega, Kenya leverages low-cost tablets and self-paced learning software to teach students at their right level of learning through school-based partnerships and holiday learning camps.

Better Minds was founded in 2019 by Siler Bryan, with Grace Waweru as the first Digital Learning Center Manager.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Provide tutoring to 500 students within 3 months

• Launch partnerships with 6 schools and hold 1 holiday camp to reach 500 students in 3 months

• Raise $50,000 from new donors within 3 months

• Scale to serve 2,000 students by end of year 1 and 10,000 by year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Siler Bryan - Director