So, these past few days have been whirlwind as we’ve been going from office to office trying to complete all the documentation needed for a start-up, from the Tanzania Revenue Authority to the Commissioner’s Office to the Municipal Office to the Immigration Office. Now, all that remains is our business license, and we will now be free to reach out to as many customers as possible.
And so next week, our journey will begin. With our new pick-up, that I purchased as somewhat of joint personal and company investment, we will head to the markets to show off our machine, get customer feedback, and prepare for the sale of our products. It will be tough due to the drought that has swept Tanzania (and therefore, no maize), but we will overcome this challenge. We will just have to think creatively to thoroughly test our product and reach out to farmers who suffered a loss this year, so get ready for some adventurous stories to come.
Showing posts with label operations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label operations. Show all posts
Hunt for cycles
With today as a holiday, we took this opportunity to go to the villages. It was a fascinating experience, as for the first time, we didn’t bring the bicycle with us, only the machine. This expedition proved more challenging than I would have expected, as the first village we went to, they didn’t have a bicycle available. So, they called a few friends, and they brought a bike without a stand. We unfortunately hadn’t brought a stand with us, so our machine would essentially be nonfunctional.
Despite this challenge, we decided we’d at least try to install it, and much to my disappointment, we found even more difficulties, such as stripped threads on the rear hub, which made it difficult to secure our machine on the bicycle. We installed it anyways, and using ourselves as the stand, we got it to work. I would have loved to leave the machine with them, as I, for the first time, actually witnessed the beating of corn with a stick. We would have left it with them, but we were unfortunately a day late as the tractor with the maize sheller had come just a day earlier. As villagers close to town, technology such as the tractor machine industrial sheller, was locally available.
However, in a village less than a kilometer away, they were all still beating corn with a stick. This time, we had to go on yet another hunt for a bike. And we faced the same issues. One bike was too big, and then the other bike was missing a stand. Again, we ourselves functioned as a stand, and the chairman loved it! He has already offered to arrange a meeting to show all the villagers our machine. The only downside was the bike that we found that worked belonged to the milkman. So, just after installing it, we had to remove it yet again to return the bike. The good news though is that the chairman was prepared to go find another bicycle so he could arrange a meeting to show the village. Unfortunately, he lacked the appropriate tools, so we left a few tools with him to ensure his future assembly of the machine.
So, I guess in the end, we learned that we must provide a stand, and if we want to really make an impression, we need to bring the bicycle, as temporary assembly is no easy task. For future village visits, we will plan accordingly.
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Jodie, Tanzania
Despite this challenge, we decided we’d at least try to install it, and much to my disappointment, we found even more difficulties, such as stripped threads on the rear hub, which made it difficult to secure our machine on the bicycle. We installed it anyways, and using ourselves as the stand, we got it to work. I would have loved to leave the machine with them, as I, for the first time, actually witnessed the beating of corn with a stick. We would have left it with them, but we were unfortunately a day late as the tractor with the maize sheller had come just a day earlier. As villagers close to town, technology such as the tractor machine industrial sheller, was locally available.
However, in a village less than a kilometer away, they were all still beating corn with a stick. This time, we had to go on yet another hunt for a bike. And we faced the same issues. One bike was too big, and then the other bike was missing a stand. Again, we ourselves functioned as a stand, and the chairman loved it! He has already offered to arrange a meeting to show all the villagers our machine. The only downside was the bike that we found that worked belonged to the milkman. So, just after installing it, we had to remove it yet again to return the bike. The good news though is that the chairman was prepared to go find another bicycle so he could arrange a meeting to show the village. Unfortunately, he lacked the appropriate tools, so we left a few tools with him to ensure his future assembly of the machine.
So, I guess in the end, we learned that we must provide a stand, and if we want to really make an impression, we need to bring the bicycle, as temporary assembly is no easy task. For future village visits, we will plan accordingly.
--
Jodie, Tanzania
Big Week
This week was filled with big events. Beginning with Monday, we finally got our first 5 shellers. We immediately took this opportunity to take two of them to dealers and then the rest out to testing. The machines worked beautifully, with a few kinks in the design here and there.
On Wednesday, we opened our office! We had no power, which was a downside, but it was productive nonetheless, as we finished furnishing our office, with brochures, curtains, our door sign, etc.
On Thursday, our shipment of shellers not only left China, but we made our first sale! Actually, it’s our second sale, but it’s the first one since I’ve been here. I was a bit upset at first, as it was still in its testing phase and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect, but our customer loved it as it was. I think the greatest part of this sale though was that our product sold for nearly full price, AND our customer didn’t already have Phoenix Bike. So, she actually bought a bicycle just so she could use our machine, which I believe is saying a lot.
On Friday, we met with the Manager of Sales and Marketing of the Tanganyika Farmers Association (TFA). This was really eye-opening, as the discussion went from introducing our product to discussing how TFA sells its products and if we would be open to their approach if they decided to distribute our product and if we had the capacity to scale if they sold our product in all 11 branches across Tanzania. We will be continuing our conversation once we have registered as a company (which should be next week as the papers are already off to Dar for approval!).
And on Saturday, we finally had a heart-to-heart with Karam Engineering. From our conversation, I learned a lot about Karam Engineering’s relationship with Kickstart. Eight years ago, Karam started making Kickstart’s pumps, and it took two years for them to finally develop the perfect machine that could last. Since working with Kickstart, they have had no complaints in all their years. This aspect reflects highly on Karam Engineering, but it also says a lot about Kickstart…
As for next week, some places are now harvesting corn in Arusha, so we will be demonstrating our device wherever we go. Moreover, our 25 shellers will be ready, so I’m really looking forward to building our bicycle dealer network. And our company should be registered, so we can now get things moving towards actually generating the revenues.
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Jodie, Tanzania
Update on Operations in Tanzania
Hey Everyone,
It's been a while since I've written. I apologize for the silence. IDDS has been very time-consuming, but it is amazing! The people are amazing and I feel very lucky to be here. Talking to my fellow participants, they have much to say on GCS and we will give them a chance to do so...read on!
The shirts have been ordered (dark green with white print, upper right corner has company name and logo, back has website), will be done in a week, will cost around $100 and be delivered to Alphonce.
I spoke to Jodie and Joseph on testing the machines again. There is no guarantee it will be tested by Nane Nane. I have been told that the corn from the farms is not ready to pick yet, but maaaaybe some people have some corn left in their homes and Joseph will send his brother,
working for us in the workshop, to ask around in the village and convince them to let us use a few. If we don't test by Nane Nane, I agree it is not best to sell, but we cannot legally anyway. We must register in Tanzania...We can however take orders!
I have begun working on a customer feedback email/form, jotting down questions I consider very important to know and I can send for review tomorrow.
I have been in contact with Alphonce and working out renting the tarp and night guard.
Semyon, Jodie and I will compile extremely useful information for so that you are more prepared in Arusha.
Michael and I have joined forces again and may try to build a Rahisisha here (with a grinder bought in town) if time allows. I have been told there is corn in the villages we visit weekly, and I myself have seen a huge diesel-powered miller, milling maize. I can push to have this done for some testing!!! More strict engineering testing can be done through my Measurements and Instrumentation class (project requirement- lots of resources). Also, Jodie will be presenting the awesomeness of GCS and pedal power systems in general and holding brainstorm session to gain feedback from all these experts and local people surrounding us. We're encouraging ideas for useful or needed attachments, for example, and pointing people in the right direction if they are interested in obtaining one. Other than that, there is the potential for many different of pedal powered technologies in our conference design challenges- keeping my eyes on
the look-out!
--
Lisa, Ghana
It's been a while since I've written. I apologize for the silence. IDDS has been very time-consuming, but it is amazing! The people are amazing and I feel very lucky to be here. Talking to my fellow participants, they have much to say on GCS and we will give them a chance to do so...read on!
The shirts have been ordered (dark green with white print, upper right corner has company name and logo, back has website), will be done in a week, will cost around $100 and be delivered to Alphonce.
I spoke to Jodie and Joseph on testing the machines again. There is no guarantee it will be tested by Nane Nane. I have been told that the corn from the farms is not ready to pick yet, but maaaaybe some people have some corn left in their homes and Joseph will send his brother,
working for us in the workshop, to ask around in the village and convince them to let us use a few. If we don't test by Nane Nane, I agree it is not best to sell, but we cannot legally anyway. We must register in Tanzania...We can however take orders!
I have begun working on a customer feedback email/form, jotting down questions I consider very important to know and I can send for review tomorrow.
I have been in contact with Alphonce and working out renting the tarp and night guard.
Semyon, Jodie and I will compile extremely useful information for so that you are more prepared in Arusha.
Michael and I have joined forces again and may try to build a Rahisisha here (with a grinder bought in town) if time allows. I have been told there is corn in the villages we visit weekly, and I myself have seen a huge diesel-powered miller, milling maize. I can push to have this done for some testing!!! More strict engineering testing can be done through my Measurements and Instrumentation class (project requirement- lots of resources). Also, Jodie will be presenting the awesomeness of GCS and pedal power systems in general and holding brainstorm session to gain feedback from all these experts and local people surrounding us. We're encouraging ideas for useful or needed attachments, for example, and pointing people in the right direction if they are interested in obtaining one. Other than that, there is the potential for many different of pedal powered technologies in our conference design challenges- keeping my eyes on
the look-out!
--
Lisa, Ghana
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