They Come To BUY In Bulk - On Foot, By Taxi, Car Boot & Wheelbarrow Load

Happy consumers are those who own the majority shareholding in their own community store.

Soweto Business Guide Feature

Ivan (Andersen) and I (Trevor Nel) - co-developers of Community 100 Empowered - were pleasantly surprised to see this neat report in the Soweto Business Guide on the opening of our Community 100 Empowered prototype in Orlando East, Soweto. For more information email - Ivan Andersen - Trevor Nel:

FIRST Orders Leave The System

Community 100 Empowered householders buy in wheelbarrow loads.

Making The UNBELIEVABLE Happen..!

Community 100 Empowered:

SOWETO Orlando East Launch - May 2009

Making The UNBELIEVABLE Happen – The Process - There Ain’t Nothing Easy!

This is a photo journal of a community leveraging something BIG from nothing!

Prepared by Trevor Nel – innercircle@tiscali.co.za - 27 11 705-2790

1. – Spend every weekend for 4-6 months preparing participant stakeholders

Trevor Nel (Community 100) and Nancy Nxumalo (President: Soweto Chamber of Commerce & Industries)
planting seeds with founding stakeholders – Photos: Ivan Andersen (Community 100)

2. – Get to meet with and know every stakeholder personally – photo/profile all 100

3. – Slowly build credibility with small groups – introduce samples and value

4. – Build the enthusiasm and begin the extreme makeover of the tuckshop premises

5. – Set the task and leave it to the community to make magic happen in 48 hours

6. – Prepare to witness the UNBELIEVABLE unfold before your very eyes

7. – Ezekial (center): ‘God sends Taylor with pure heart, free of sin, to bless us’

8. – The BIG Launch Day Arrives – how to impress your banking partners – deliver

9. – The dignitaries have their say

10. – Always thank your banking partners – NEDBANK Makes Things Happen

11. Allow all stakeholders to celebrate in the success of their enterprise

12. Allow time for cultural activities and celebrations by local youth

13. Nice shop… but where’s the space for the trolleys..?

14. We don’t use trolleys… we use forklifts – over 10 000 sq.m. of warehousing

15. We can access 16 000 sq.m. fertile land (borehole) nearby for vegetable farming

16. It all begins with a dream… and taking consistent action to implement it

17. Bringing it all together

centre: Community 100 Orlando East tuckshop front

top left: Community 100 Empowered stakeholders preparing to work on shopbottom

left: Hard at work preparing the makeovermiddle left: Trevor Nel - concept co-developer - pointing to 'HISTORY in the making' at launch function

top centre: Co-op Chairman - Vusi Gama - and Nedbank's Leon Daniels about to cut the ribbon

top right: Community 100 Empowered stakeholders at launch function

centre right: The distribution warehouse 'break-pack' cage

bottom right: The 10 000 sq.m. distribution warehouse bulk-pack back-end

bottom centre: Ivan Andersen - concept co-developer - at another supply chain distribution warehouse

SOWETO: Orlando East Residents Launch History-Making Business Cooperative

While world economies are struggling to stay afloat, Orlando East residents in Soweto are busy making history happen in their local business community.

For the first time ever, 100 Orlando East households have mobilised into a self-empowered business co-operative to secure the lion's share of a local community store joint venture.

Section of Orlando East Cooperative in training with Nancy Nxumalo (centre) President Soweto Chamber of Commerce & Industries

Their joint venture partners include the Soweto Chamber Of Commerce, local NGO's, and the developers of Community 100 Empowered - an innovative socio-economic business and funding model.

The Community 100 Empowered model allows for up to 100% of project donor funding to find its way into the hands of intended target beneficiaries to spend on needed products and services of their choice within their own formalised economic hub.

SCCI President Nancy Nxumalo says: ‘Our Soweto Chamber of Commerce & Industries looks looks to stimulate the development of sustainable economic hubs within Soweto. This innovative community-ownership model allows Soweto householders to purchase goods that they want from their own local co-operative retail mini-stores.’

The aim of each economic hub is to directly service the organised mass-spending power of the newly empowered beneficiaries at rates better than or equal to that which they currently achieve in their local informal economy.

Adds Nancy: ‘Our aim is to encourage the collaboration of recognisable national brands to participate in developing multiple local co-operatives in Soweto, each serving and owned by as few as 100 households. We see it as a stimulant for the micro/small business sector and a recognition of the true value of the collective spending-power inherent in every household in Soweto.’

'The project offers donors and corporates a significant return on social investment (ROSI) with 100% transparency, governance and transparency by ensuring that up to 100% of funding reaches its target.’

Contact:Nancy Nxumalo - 082-922-8389 - nancynxumalo@gmail.com - President: Soweto Chamber of Commerce & Industries

Community100Empowered – 083-627-8191 - Ivan Andersen - ivan@tsf.co.za- Business Support Software Development

More members of the Orlando East Cooperative in training