By Elyssa Souissi
We have met a couple of months ago in Deauville, Lauren Thomas at the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award, as she was one of the african finalist of the past edition. A lovely person with a big heart and a great business : Mozambiques
UFFP has been deeply touched by this wonderful social initiative, so we chose to share this story with you. Mozambikes is a business but most importantly a Social and ethical entrepreneurship.
Introducing Mozambikes
Mozambikes Limitada is a Mozambican business created to address the transportation needs in the developing world by offering bicycles at prices affordable for low income Mozambicans.
The business is a for-profit social venture, seeking profits to scale the social mission, which is to alleviate poverty through efficient transportation. Mozambikes is owned by Co-Founders and Managers Ms. Lauren Thomas and Mr. Rui Mesquita, who formed the Company in March 2009 to fill an observed need for affordable transportation in Mozambique.
Customize your Bicycle
Mozambikes are branded with the colors and logos of local businesses. These businesses then purchase the branded bicycles for their communities, employees or other stakeholders, or allow Mozambikes to sell the branded bicycles into the market at low prices. Our bicycles are appropriate for the local geography, with reinforced tires with tread, a rear carrying structure, a light and reflectors, as well as an angled frame friendly for both men and women.
Benefits of Bicycles
Bicycles allow people to carry 5x the weight and move 4x faster than on foot. As a result, Mozambicans can carry more product, transport it further distances and reduce their travel time. In an economy where 80% of people work in the informal agriculture sector, bicycles directly enable people to increase their daily incomes. Moreover, bicycles provide access to clinics and schools that people could otherwise not reach by walking, reducing deaths from preventable diseases and increasing education and skills levels.
Hybrid Donations Opportunity
Mozambikes recognizes that some people in rural Mozambique cannot afford bicycles even at our attractive rates. To increase the presence of bicycles in these areas, Mozambikes launched a sister organization, Mozambikes Social Development, Inc. This organization is a registered 501c non-profit that collects donations from philanthropists world-wide to purchase bicycles at cost from Mozambikes Limitada, which then gives away the bicycles to Mozambicans living on under $2 per day. Mozambikes Limitada sponsors all overhead for the non-profit, so every donated dollar goes towards a bicycle for someone in need. Purchase a bicycle at http://www.mozambikes.com/en/doar.php.
Read about this spectacular business in the Jewish Times. Thank you for having the insight to help others. I will continue to read and share this information; Again, thanks. Elicia Word-Jackson