TORONTO MET ENTREPRENEUR INSTITUTE ​

PROJECT DAGO

EMPOWERED 209 KENYAN MEN & WOMEN

BOUGHT 24 BEEHIVES & ISSUED 40 MICROLOANS

CREATED 40 NEW BUSINESSES & 9 NEW JOBS

The Beekeeping Initiative

Project Dago

Dago Kenya is a place with limited jobs and limited resources, where people die young and children are starving. People donate money or goods, but once these resources run out, the community is left where they started. 75% of Dago’s economy is dependent on crops. But due to lack of agricultural education, the villagers were burning natural beehives, not knowing that the bees pollinate the very crops they rely on. Without bees, there was a significant reduction in their crops.

To address this need, we created the Dago Beekeepers Association, combining aspects from the Ontario and the Kenya Beekeepers Associations, empowering 9 men with the means to tackle this agricultural challenge. We helped them build a practical training ground with four beehives to teach them the hands-on skills needed to become beekeepers. We also taught them business education to build a foundation and set long-term goals. After the honey was ready to be extracted, we taught them advanced beekeeping skills such as honey extraction and additional business education to help them identify new distribution channels.

We also noticed the beekeepers did not have a collaborative mindset, so we helped them create their own constitution to share best practices and sell their honey together. 10% of the profits go back to the association and are reinvested into equipment and branding.

Finally, we introduced beeswax candles to the beekeepers as another source of income!

 

Team Member Benefits

  • An international experience
  • One-on-one mentorship
  • Business knowledge
  • Real-life business consulting experience
  • How to measure and track metrics
  • The satisfaction that comes with genuinely helping our fellow human beings

Participant Benefits

  • Long-term thinking
  • How to start and run a bee farm
  • How to save money
  • How to invest in your business
  • Product differentiation
  • How to create distribution channels
  • How to brand your business
  • Collaborative entrepreneurial mindset

The Microloan Initiative

Project Dago

Dago is a place with limited jobs and limited resources, where people die young and children are starving. People donate money or goods, but once these resources run out, the community is left where they started. Often the only place women in Dago can make money is in the local market by exchanging goods and services. With no credit, land, education, or possessions, Kenyan women are entrepreneurs out of necessity, struggling to pay for school and feed their children, let alone save or build capital. 

To address this need, we worked hand-in-hand with the villagers over several years to help them achieve business education and financial literacy. We then created a Microfinance Program modelled after the Grameen Bank and microloans. These women have now started over 40 businesses in the community since the project’s inception. They meet weekly to keep each other accountable, share best practices and complete our weekly education packages. Every year, the payments from the microloans are paid back in full and recycled to new entrepreneurs, making this initiative internally sustainable.

 

Team Member Benefits

  • Entrepreneurial thinking
  • How to start and run a co-op bank
  • How to structure a financial literacy program
  • How to raise funds
  • How to make a difference 
  • How to manage a social change making project
  • And much more!

Participant Benefits

  • Long-term thinking
  • How to budget
  • How to save money
  • How to invest in your business
  • Product Differentiation
  • Market Segmentation
  • How to brand your business
  • And much more!