SoCoPreneur is a social enterprise set up to tackle lack of motorised transportation in rural and peri-urban areas; and mechanised farming equipment in developing countries. Lack of motorised transportation and mechanised farming equipment are one of the key challenges people in rural areas across the developing countries face. Our plan is to use existing vehicles - Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTV) - to address these two problems concurrenly i.e., using the same vehicle as a mode of public transportation and a farming equipment.
We have identified one of the key systemic problems of rural poverty - lack of motorised transportation and inexpensive farming equipment in rural and peri-urban parts of developing countries. Our plan is to tweak existing products that can address both of these challenges.
We have travelled to rural parts of Ethiopia as part of our preliminary feasibility study to test our ideas on the field as well as through discussions and workshops with key stakeholders - farmers, rural policy makers, entrepreneurs, and NGOs.
We have been talking to potential partners and forming alliances with stakeholders from across various sectors: rural transport entrepreneur, microfinance providers, impact investors, social entrepreneurs, ATV/UTVs manufacturers, policy makers, poverty warriors. We know we are onto something bigger than us!
We plan to set-up our first operation in Ethiopia with a plan to expand across Africa and the rest of the world in due course. Our plan is to kick-off in late 2020.
We don't underestimate the challenges we face, after all alleviating rural poverty in developing countries is the illusive challenge that has been pursued by many. We know we have the tool to take on this challenge - our believe in enterprise, our dedication to the cause, but above all the network of support we are building around us will not only help us stay on track but will be there to lean on when the going gets tough.
A world where no child has to walk for hours to get to school, no woman has to carry the load on her back, no man has to use his hands to work on the land and where no animal should shoulder the heavy load.
