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My startup in Togo

My name is Ako GUNN. Currently, I am taking my Master courses in Social Business and Social Policies in France and I’m about to finish this upcoming September after the presentation of my thesis in September 2016. My plan is to return in Togo, in December 2016, in order to run and realize a feasibility study for my startup. I want to implement my startup during the third quarter of 2017.

Then, from December 2016 to March 2017, I will initiate an online crowdfunding through websites or other suitable channels. Behind all this, I set a schedule, a step by step plan, in order to achieve this.

My idea comes from my experiences and what I’ve witnessed across my country Togo and other sub-Saharan countries I’ve been to such as Benin, Burkina, Côte d’Ivoire etc.; places where i've notice the same issues of wastes foods like fruits and vegetables. Firstly, in Lomé, I was involved in a worldwide student’s organization called AIESEC in Togo. I discovered talented people who want to contribute to changing our world. I made my way from my university studies years until I finished my Master at the University of Lomé, Togo. This is where the idea begun.


My social enterprise project will be implemented in Togo, a small developing country in West Africa with rich soul. The idea came from some alarming reports that address the global waste of food, in particular of fruit, crops and vegetables. Many food companies are now interested in the same issues. Aware of this, my project in Togo consists out of the re-evaluation of unbakeable and undervalued fruits, crops and vegetables (those left in the fields), in order for them be manufactured and turned into finished products to be injected into the consumer circuits. In concrete terms, through an innovative partnership between producers and local people, my small manufacturing social enterprise will collect, sort, and process these products to make finished products such as juices, purees and jams. They will be designed for our different groups of customers: retail, communities, catering and receptive tourism.


The big plan is to create a small “holding of social business” with a charity creation and a small and medium social enterprise (SME).
I started realizing a strong desire to do something myself, such as creating an enterprise, in Togo, as Togo is one of developing countries in the sub-Saharan region in Africa. When saying “developing country” it explains almost everything: lack of training, lack of projection of oneself, the economical situation, health issues, food insecurity; even though my country is said to be a high potential agricultural country in West Africa.


My arrival in France two years ago has obviously changed my way of thinking, my mind-set and has turned my entrepreneurial outlook skills into a priority.
Through my reading and research on internet, I discovered this alarming situation of food waste and losses. This waste can be observed during the industrial processing phases, distribution and consumption. Therefore, it was to me like a wake up call to do something. Food waste and losses have become an alarming subject in medias in France and in some other countries as well. And they feed discussions according to international institutions like World Bank and other international NGOs. Food waste has become a very alarming phenomenon everyone talks about. I saw some companies, while visiting some commercial fairs, interact with some social entrepreneurs that are trying to tackle these matters.

Organizer

Ako Gunn
Organizer
Corenc

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