Reducing Poverty by
Developing Business in Developing Nations
Urspack: Romania
A packaging company started by Gheorghe Ignat & Vasile Ursaciuc.
Urspack: ROMANIA
Background
Urspack is a 7-year-old enterprise, manufacturing recyclable paper-based packaging for the restaurant industry. Its 93 employees include vulnerable people, including approximately a dozen formerly incarcerated people who desire to begin a new life. The profits from the company are given to their partner charity Fight For Freedom, which provides prison outreach, workplace training, and life-skills programs, and is now renovating a 40-bed transitional facility called Freedom House. Once opened, this center will house formerly incarcerated men for a 1-year program to empower them to reintegrate successfully into society and gainful employment.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Gheorghe & Vasile to help develop their expansion strategy and to help finance a new factory buildout and new equipment, and to institute new administrative and operational systems to support the new growth. Infused Impact is also partnering with their charity, Fight for Freedom, by financially supporting the Freedom House renovation.
Impact We See
Gheorghe & Vasile have a vision to quadruple the number of formerly incarcerated people they support each year through Freedom House and new jobs in the Urspack manufacturing facility. This is in addition to supporting the other vulnerable people in the region (one of the poorest in Europe) through employment at Urspack.
Ballistic Burgers: Rwanda
A mobile fast food venture started by Richard Rusa.
Ballistic Burgers: RWANDA
Background
Richard Rusa is the entrepreneur behind a Kigali, Rwanda-based mobile fast food venture named Ballistic Burgers, offering app-based ordering and delivery of their own innovative burger creations. Having proven the concept and grown his employment to 9 workers, Richard believes he can scale the concept throughout Kigali and beyond. His vision is to become the leading fast-food chain in Africa, creating innovative comfort food experiences with an African touch priced accessibly.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Richard to help him develop his business plans for scaling the business.
Impact We See
If growth objectives are met, Ballistic Burgers has the opportunity to create over 60 staff and 40 contract new jobs in the next 2 years. These jobs include cooks, drivers, sales people, and administrative workers. They currently employ 2 refugees from Burundi, and plan to continue the practice of prioritizing refugees and other disadvantaged populations in their hiring practices.
Inspira: Romania
A new K-12 private school in Romania started by Claudia Cochina.
Inspira: ROMANIA
Background
In September 2022 Claudia Cochina, a Romanian educator and entrepreneur, launched a new K-12 private school in Craiova, Romania. The INSPIRA International School is an accredited Cambridge International school, with a mission to educate and inspire future generations to become inspiring leaders and change makers in Romania. It utilizes pedagogical techniques innovative to the traditional Romanian education system, including a hands-on, experience-driven, learning style-sensitive, and arts-inclusive education, with focus on critical thinking and analytical reasoning. Given growing disenchantment with the quality of public education in Romania and few affordable public school options available, this new venture is meeting a critical need and growing demand in the region.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Claudia to help her plan and launch the INSPIRA International School, achieving operational sustainability and creating high-value employment.
Impact We See
In addition to providing quality education to students of all economic backgrounds in Craiova, the school is projected to create 8-12 new jobs in its first year and 20+ jobs thereafter.
Petite Ferme: Haiti
A wholesale chicken farm started by Dasmin, Harold & Herode.
Petite Ferme: HAITI
Background
Three friends with combined experience in managing a chicken farm, marketing & selling, and setting up local ventures, created a plan to launch a poultry farm business in NE Haiti. They pooled funds to rent land and set-up the company while also examining how to launch their company.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact is coming alongside Dasmin, Harold, and Herode to help them develop their business strategy and operational plans for their business launch in the fall of 2021.
Impact We See
This new company has the potential to employ at least 10 people with well paying jobs, including security guards, farmers and drivers. It will also help deepen food security in the area, providing quality chickens to schools and wholesale distributors, widening the social and economic impact in the region.
OC Medical Center: Haiti
A local hospital/medical center in North Haiti founded by Dr. Leslie Manigat
Ouanaminthe Community Medical Center: HAITI
Background
Ouanaminthe Community Medical Center in North Haiti was launched in February 2020 by Dr. Leslie Manigat. This clean & attractive facility currently has 23 staff and offers a pharmacy, maternity, pediatrics, internal medicine, orthopedics, diagnostics, 7-beds for overnight stay & 2 beds for emergency care. Their fee for services income helps offset free healthcare for those in need, which is a significant resource for the local community.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact is helping Dr. Manigat develop his expansion strategy which includes:
– Building, outfitting & staffing an operating room, a critical need in the region
– Hiring a cardiologist
– Purchasing a digital X-Ray machine, ultrasound machine, and an ambulance
– Launching a dental practice, renting the space to Haitian dentists
Impact We See
Dr. Manigat has a vision for a full-blown hospital in the region within 5 years. He is actively recruiting Haitian doctors from around the country. He also has a deep understanding of the need for creating employment in his community, noting that even educated, trained nurses can go for years without employment. Over the next 5 years he hopes to create 30 new jobs ranging from cleaners to nurses to surgeons.
Piata9: Romania
A multi-food experience destination eatery started by Daniel and Anca Galea.
Piata9: ROMANIA
Background
The husband and wife team of Daniel and Anca Galea have a multi-food experience destination eatery in Oradea, Romania called Piata9. Combining a restaurant, butchery, bakery, coffee shop, and ready-to-go meal center, all featuring organic, high-quality foods, they believe they have pioneered a concept in Romania that has significant site expansion potential.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Daniel and Anca to help them develop their business strategy and financial planning for new site launches in 2022 and beyond.
Impact We See
Piata9 currently employs 66 people, and has the opportunity to create over 130 new good quality jobs in the next 1-2 years. These jobs include cooks, bakers, servers, drivers, and administrative workers. They also have the vision to bring accessible fresh and high quality food to more people in Romania.
Gonaïves Manufacturing Co.: Haiti
A consumer goods manufacturing business started by Ariel & Valery.
GMC: HAITI
Background
The Gonaives Manufacturing Company (GMC) formed by spinning off from 2nd Story Goods, the company for which Valery and Ariel both worked for 8+ years. GMC produces and/or curates from local artisan producers, household, fashion, and other consumer items, such as jewelry, metal art, leather goods, and kitchen items. They began operations with a staff of seven (7) and look to provide additional jobs with new U.S. based customers.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Ariel and Valery to help them develop their business strategy and operational plans as their business launched in early 2022. This assistance includes brokering relationships with key U.S. partners, researching new factory equipment, assisting with business planning, supporting their budget and financial forecast development, and providing ongoing management support/consultation.
Impact We See
This manufacturing company will provide high quality employment to 10+ Haitians and through their wide network will also provide income for artisans in the Gonaives area. As the company grows its U.S. customer base more independent artisans will be provided work, expanding the reach of the economic footprint into poverty stricken regions that desperately need new jobs.
AKI Garments: Rwanda
A clothing design and manufacturing company started by Marc Gwamaka.
AKI Garments: RWANDA
Background
Marc Gwamaka is the entrepreneur behind AKI Garments, a clothing design and manufacturing company near Kigali, Rwanda, that produces high-quality sportswear, uniforms, and undergarments. After the COVID lockdowns in his country nearly shut down his business, Marc and his team are ready to rebuild with an expanded product line, new branding, and revamped supply chains. His vision is to become a premier garment manufacturer in Rwanda and a top branded sportswear producer selling locally and internationally.
Our Partnership
Infused Impact has come alongside Marc to help him develop his business plans for achieving his strategic goals and scaling the business.
Impact We See
AKI Garments currently employs 7 people, but has the potential to create 60-100 jobs in the next year and 100-150 more in the 1-2 years afterward. These represent good, well-paying manufacturing jobs in a village region near Kigali that is badly in need of employment opportunities. Marc also has a vision for employee and community investment through job skills training, financial literacy empowerment, and company-sponsored childcare provision for working mothers with young children.
Measuring Impact
As these entrepreneurs and others grow their companies and create more employment opportunities we will be tracking how the jobs they create help reduce poverty in their regions.
Specifically we are tracking how these jobs have helped reduce:
- food deprivation
- water deprivation
- deprivation of sanitation facilities
- health deprivation
- shelter deprivation
- education deprivation
- information deprivation (ie media)
- family abandonment – regular presence of fathers in the family
- child abandonment – children being cared for at home
- child labor – children under 15 not in exploitative work
And we are looking to track increases in:
- gifts to family/community/nonprofits
- community participation
- taxes paid