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The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity

Synopsis

Sustainable Development Through Enterprise

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A Co-operative

A Co-operative (“Co-op”) is a business organisation owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. This includes meeting their common economic, social and cultural aspirations.

The first Co-op was established in 1761 by the Fenwick Weavers Society in the United Kingdom to sell discounted oatmeal to local workers.

We are not a business operation.

We are a new concept. A Charity with a Co-operative ethos.

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The Afri-CAN Cafés CAN make a difference

The Afri-CAN Café co-operative marks a paradigm shift in aid development. It translates charitable intent into a sustainable business enterprise—one that can work anywhere in Africa.

Here’s how. The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative converts 40’ x 8’ overseas shipping containers into modern cafés with on site bakeries. Each Café employs four to six individuals. These employees learn the bakery/café business and the skills to become an entrepreneur while earning a salary and being able to make additional money from Café profits. Each Café is ultimately a self-supporting enterprise, which will provide full time employment for its work force. We would like hundreds of these Cafés across sub-Saharan Africa.

All Cafés are owned by The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity, which has been created to serve everyone of its Staff ‘Members’. 100% of all funds donated and generated are spent on expanding the number of Cafés, financing Cafés, and exclusively helping the people that work there. A Co-operative approach. No shareholders, no lenders, just donors and Staff Members. Charity and commerce coming together under one roof.

Our Mission

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Background

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity (‘ACC’) is registered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was established in January 2010 after 18 months in country research and pilot programmes carried out in Malawi. In the simplest of terms, The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative acquires used 40 foot shipping containers and converts them into highly distinctive, uniquely branded Cafés, with on-site bakeries. The ACC owns the Cafés and all of the profits generated by the Cafés belong to the ACC, it has no shareholders and no lenders (just tax breaks for donors). It serves the people and the communities in which it operates. It does so in many different ways.

The Brand

The Afri-CAN Cafés are highly distinctive, as every Café will continue to be identical in all regards, there are very few, if any, indigenous Pan-African brand names and we aspire to be able to call The Afri-CAN Cafés one of them. Constructed by local teams The Afri-CAN Cafés all have the same outward exterior, the same chairs and tables and the same counters. The immediately recognisable “chain” is a key part of The Afri-CAN Cafés appeal.

The Afri-CAN Cafés are providing affordable, quality food in familiar surroundings. The only difference between each Café is the great people that work there and, occasionally, some new product lines on the menu thought up by our enthusiastic staff members. These have recently included freshly baked carrot cake, homemade brownies and The Afri-CAN Café pizza selection.

Some of our great people More of our great people

New product line; Fresh Afri-CAN Café Pizzas The Afri-CAN Cafés have become well known for their delicious freshly baked rolls

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1.Wealth Creation

We are not shy about this. Every Afri-CAN Café will employ full time Staff Members on a salary and each has the prospect of a profit share as well. In addition all The Afri-CAN Cafés are part of a social welfare network; the ACC has a responsibility to take care of its staff as they generate the income to complete the sustainable development model. This may take the form of education support for children (we currently pay for the tuition of 70 children to go to school each day). The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative also employs those people who are part of its supply chain; whether they look after our current 150 chickens, supplying the Cafés with eggs or the cows we have for dairy.

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity has three distinct objectives:

Important members of our team – 146 others are out of the picture shot

More team members doing their bit!

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Wealth Creation (Cont)

Some of our surplus income will be spent on staff incentives and also in healthcare and educational support for their families. However whilst we have the disciplines of business firmly rooted in our ethos we are first and foremost a charity with a Co-operative model. As The Afri-CAN Cafés grow in number we expect 50% to do well, 25% to break even and 25% to require our focus and our resources – in the world of U.S. giant GE the last 25% would get little of our attention – at the ACC we will focus our effort on this 25% and work to fix the problems tirelessly, admittedly without the necessarily ruthless commercial edge of more demanding owners. The practicalities of fixing any profitability issues are also helped by knowing that we can lock up and move our Cafés without much fuss at all.

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity has three distinct objectives:

One of The Afri-CAN Cafés on the move

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2. Training and Entrepreneur Development

The Operational Manuals for The Afri-CAN Cafés are rigorous in their demands, as you would expect of any service industry business. We train our staff to bake, serve, and to book keep. We also give extensive training in hygiene, ordering goods and supplies and in maintaining an interesting product line that will sell. The training we provide is of a high standard and it is one on one – we also train our managers to responsibly manage their staff.

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity has three distinct objectives:

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3. Community Development

The Afri-CAN Cafés are a great meeting point for locals and agencies alike. The Afri-CAN Cafés will serve the community in the same way coffee shops and tea houses have done so for hundreds of years around the world, to serve as an always welcoming social point for every day interaction, or an escape from life’s everyday interaction! – (although we may have the added advantage of Wi-Fi too). The Community Development also extends to projects that will help the ACC meet its objectives, but for now, its focus will be on the welfare of its staff members and the success of its operating model.

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity has three distinct objectives:

Everyday interaction Escaping everyday interaction

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The Structure

The organisational structure is simple, The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative is a United States registered charity, in which sit the strategists. These are reported to by regional managers, under which Café Managers sit.

SM – Staff member

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The Proposition

It is our responsibility to run The Afri-CAN Cafés and to integrate them into our Pan African Co-operative commercial culture. We aim to have as many as we can operational throughout sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years – the impact for the dollar spend is considerable in so many ways. We use the disciplines that will ensure a sustainable business model and we hope to reach out to thousands of people throughout the Continent not just to serve them at The Afri-CAN Cafés but to help them nurture their own Co-operatives too. In short we hope to bake great food and to set a great example.

A VIP visit from New York, members of the Segal Foundation meet the Malawi Afri-CAN Café Bwaila Team

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Menu

Bakery:

Banana Muffin: K50Cup cake: K50Milk Scone: K50Carrot Cake: K50

Chocolate Brownie K50Bread rolls: K20Bread rolls with extra: K50Mini Pizza - Cheese: K150Mini Pizza – Meat: K200

Snacks:Crisps: K50Corn Snacks: K30 Drinks:Soda: K70Bottled water: K70Tea – Black: K100Tea – with milk: K150Coffee – Black: K100Coffee – with milk: K150 Note: $1.00 = K150

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Baking Schedule

The Afri-CAN Cafés are open daily from 7:00am until 5:30pm.

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Contact:

Ashley LopezThe Afri-CAN Café Co-operative CharityPhone: + 44 (0) 20 7598 5353 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7598 4067ashley@theafricancafe.org

Jessica DonnellyThe Afri-CAN Café Co-operative CharityPhone: + 44 (0) 20 7598 5353 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7598 4067jdonnelly@theafricancafe.org

The Afri-CAN Café Co-operative Charity is a registered charity in the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, USA.Registration no: 6716-627-2.