Congratulations to Videre’s Class II graduates in Yendi, Ghana! Out of the 30 participants who entered our business as mission training program in September, these 17 completed the program and received loans last week!
Throughout the process, participants had to prove themselves to be business-savvy, to have outstanding character, and to show a desire and strategy for sharing Christ with others. Phase III was the last evaluation phase for this class of potential entrepreneurs.
The Phase III team began by visiting several entrepreneurs’ businesses to gain a better understanding of the business context we were dealing with. We visited Timothy at his provisions store (below). Timothy has a provisions store deep in the rural communities, and he is the sole provider of general provisions for not only his village but several surrounding villages:
During the training days, we opened every day with worship and prayer:
On the first day of training, we discussed relationships from a biblical perspective and how they could be affected by our businesses. We discussed the difference between business and personal expenses and how important it is to keep them separate. We did some role play so that the participants, who come from an oral storytelling culture, could tangibly grasp the concepts of how to deal with difficult situations and resolve relational conflicts. Below Rita has the task of dealing with her “parents” who heard that she received a loan and demands that she give them the money. The rest of the class gave feedback after every scenario played:
On the second day of training, we talked about marketing and started the preliminary rounds of the famous Sales Pitch Competition. Here Lydia has several minutes to pitch her product (rice) to her customer.
The Sales Pitch Competition bracket looked like this at the end of Day 2:
The third day of training began with a session on evangelism. A few of the local pastors, Azindow, Emmanuel and Yakubu, spoke to the group about how to share the Gospel through their businesses. “Everyone here believes in some kind of god,” Pastor Azindow says to the class, “So you must make sure you share about Jesus Christ and be clear that He is the only way to God. Simply saying ‘God bless you’ is not the Gospel. Your business gives you opportunities to build relationships with people from many different villages. It only takes one person in each village to believe in order for the Gospel to reach others in the villages. Just like the Samaritan woman.” Henry Liao also got up to share from his heart:
We finished Day 3 by working on money management (basic financials), record keeping, reinvestment strategies, and loan terms. Here Leona works with her group on plowing back profit for each person’s specific business.
One of the participants, Sana who sells shea butter, is thrilled to have learned how to keep track of her money by keeping them in different colored clothes, even though she is illiterate! Here we see that in one week, she makes 140 GHC in revenue and 122.80 in total expenses, thus 22.20 profit (about $13 per week). Out of that profit, she uses 8.20 GHC for tithing, saving and family, and 14 to reinvest back into her business or save for a future business purchase.
The final day, Day 4, began with the semifinals and finals of the Sales Pitch Competition. Here’s a glimpse of how the winner, Miriam (who sells fabric and sandals) did it. The class gave feedback that she was the best because she closed the sale by offering a discount for future purchases in exchange for referrals from her first-time customers. She also shared the Gospel as she sold to the customer. Miriam won the first place prize of a gallon of cooking oil. The second place winner received a bag of rice, and third place received a long bar of local soap.
The graduates then each received their Certificate of Completion for the program:
Finally, each one received his or her loan. Because most are illiterate, the signature of choice on the loan contract was a blue thumbprint!
Please pray for these 17 entrepreneurs, so that they can effectively use their loans to grow their businesses and share the Gospel with those who have not heard.
Ruth Chan is currently interning with Videre as an Operations Intern during her winter break as she pursues her Masters in Public Administration at The Maxwell School, Syracuse University. She graduated from Cornell University in 2011 with a degree in Policy Analysis and Management. Here is what she has to say about her experience with Videre so far:
