International Office 12 Kirk Road Point Lonsdale Victoria 3225 Australia Ph +61 3 5258 3691 kwf@les-pecheurs.com

The Les Pêcheurs Micro Enterprise Project

in Madagascar

Background

This project is an initiative of Les Pêcheurs Internationale, a Christian Humanitarian Aid organisation based in Australia.

The name “Les Pêcheurs” is French for “The Fishermen” and this encapsulates the true nature and purpose of the organisation.

The Vision of Les Pêcheurs Internationale is:

To help people in under-developed nations fulfil their potential by metaphorically “teaching them how to fish rather than giving them a fish”.

The founders of Les Pêcheurs Internationale (LPI) decided that Madagascar would be the focal point for the organisation’s first Humanitarian Aid Project.

The Project was to be based in Antananarivo (the capital of Madagascar) and the objective was to help people in this city fulfil their potential by “teaching them how to fish” and to do this by providing them with training and assistance, free of charge, to establish, develop and operate their own “micro enterprise” businesses.

Why Choose Madagascar ?

This is an island nation with a population of some 22.5 million people. It is very poor and the people live in extraordinarily difficult conditions (by Western standards) yet they are inherently intelligent, extremely hard working and they have the potential to achieve much more if given the opportunity to do so.

Our hope and our plan is to give as many of them as possible this opportunity to set up and operate their own business. We believe that by providing excellent training and assistance to high potential candidates, others will observe the positive results achieved by them and this

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will have a “multiplier effect” psychologically and economically on them, and it will flow down through their communities and potentially throughout their country.

The Setting Up of the Project

At an early stage we realised the difficulties associated with transferring funds to third-world countries because of concerns about funding terrorist organisation and the like.

We were directed to an outstanding non-Government organisation (NGO) called Global Development Group (GDG) which was established for the specific purpose of dealing with the types of issues we and other aid organisations and projects like ours were encountering.

GDG operates under the umbrella of an Australian Federal Government Agency called AusAid and the Government gives donors to these approved projects a 100% in the dollar tax deduction for all donations made to GDG for each projects

Hence, this particular project in Antananarivo is a joint undertaking involving:

Les Pêcheurs Internationale.

Global Development Group.

The Australian Federal Government.

The Project

This project is officially known as the:

J782N Les Pêcheurs Micro Enterprise Project – Madagascar.

Since early 2013 the following action has been taken:

A Les Pêcheurs office has been established in Antananarivo.

Mr Sylvain Ramilison, a very experienced, capable and highly regarded Madagascan leader has been appointed as Executive Director of Les Pêcheurs Madagascar.

Three young Madagascans, all with double university degrees, have been appointed to the staff. They are:.

o Fanjaniaina Rakotomalala, appointed Administration and Finance Manager.

o Sombin’ Ny Aina Henintsoa Ramilison, appointed Training Manager.

o Michaël Antonio Ramino, appointed Recruitment and Candidate Services Manager.

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All three have settled into their roles extremely well. (For all three this is their first job).

A large number of prospective candidates was interviewed for the 24 positions available in the first Training Program intake.

Les Pêcheurs Internationale prepared its own unique set of course materials in English, and these were translated into the Malagasy language by the Les Pêcheurs Madagascar (LPM) staff.

The course began in July 2013 with 24 candidates who were required to attend lectures for a full day once per week.

The units covered in the course were:

Unit No Subject

110 The Les Pêcheurs Organisation

Including information on :

Les Pêcheurs Internationale.

Les Pêcheurs Madagascar.

The Global Development Group.

The Australian Government.

120 The Policies and Underlying Principles of Les Pêcheurs and the Global

Development Group.

130 The Christian Principles which Underpin all Aspects of Les Pêcheurs

and the Madagascar Project.

210 Choosing the Right Business Opportunity.

220 Skills Needed for Generating Wealth in a Business.

230 Business Principles, Concepts and Philosophies.

310 Business Planning – A Vital Ingredient for Success.

320 What is a “Business Plan”?

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330 Getting Your Own Business Plan Started.

410 Choosing the Right Product or Service.

420 Identifying Target Markets and Customers.

430 Developing and Applying Sales and Marketing Skills.

510 Financial Principles Relevant to Small Business.

520 Essential Bookkeeping for Small Business.

530 Budgeting for a Small Business.

610 Management and Leadership.

620 Technical Skills Required for Your Business.

630 Communication Skills and Practices.

710 Entrepreneurship.

720 Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Putting Them into Practice.

910 Finalising Your Business Plan.

950 Getting Started.

960 Arranging Finance.

970 Next Steps.

Progressively, during the course, participants were required to develop a Draft Business Plan for the venture they planned to set up and operate.

Assignments were set at the end of each session and students were required to apply what they had learned, to their real-life situation and then give a report on this at the start of the next day’s session.

Of the 24 who started the Program, 18 completed the course and produced a commercially viable Business Plan.

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A Graduation Ceremony was held at the LPM office on Tuesday 4th February. Families of the graduands attended and a great time of celebration and encouragement was enjoyed by all.

Completing the course and a viable Business Plan are only stepping-stones to the start up of a business. The next major step is to find the funds necessary for the candidates to set up their businesses and keep them operating.

Les Pêcheurs Internationale wants to help the candidates acquire the funds they need but there are no hand-outs.

We have developed the following method of raising funds in order to assist the candidates.

o Prospective donors provide Les Pêcheurs with the funds required (usually in the order of USD $3,000 –$4,000) by a particular candidate.

o Les Pêcheurs forwards the funds to Global Development Group (who are responsible to the Australian Government for the transfer of all funds going to Madagascar for this Project).

o Global Development Group will issue to the Donor a receipt for the amount donated. This will serve as evidence for the Australian Taxation Office of the donation which has been made and entitle the Donor to a 100% tax deduction against income generated in Australia.

o Les Pêcheurs Madagascar will receive the money transferred by GDG and will then lend it to the relevant candidate under terms and conditions set out in a formal written Agreement between Les Pêcheurs Madagascar and the candidate.

o Les Pêcheurs staff will send a Quarterly Business Report to the relevant Donor so that the Donor can continue to be informed about what is happening with the funds they have provided.

o Les Pêcheurs wishes to encourage donors to act as mentors to the candidates. Staff at the Les Pêcheurs Office in Madagascar will assist in developing this relationship.

o As the candidates repay the investment from Les Pêcheurs Madagascar these funds will be reinvested in the businesses of other candidates. (Hence the original donation has a “multiplier effect”).

o Les Pêcheurs will continue to keep the original investor informed on the ongoing use being made of the funds they so generously provided.

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Note: Les Pêcheurs is strictly a “Not-for-Profit Organisation”. Its only intention in regard to the use of funds provided by donors is to assist the people of Madagascar to achieve a better way of life and all funds are dedicated to this end.

Being a registered “Not-for-Profit” organisation in Madagascar, it is not possible because of the Taxation Laws of the country for Les Pêcheurs to transfer funds out of Madagascar back to Australia.

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Conclusion

When you visit countries like Madagascar and you try to do something to help people to help

themselves, you quickly come to the realisation that:

No matter how great their aspirations.

No matter how great their work ethic.

No matter how great their commitment.

Without money, they cannot achieve anything !!!!!

So where does all this leave us in regard to our objective of making a difference in the lives of

these people?

We have trained our candidates well.

We give them ongoing advice, assistance, encouragement and support.

We have reviewed their Business Plans and amended them many times. We are confident that those we have approved are commercially viable and the owner is capable of carrying through their Plan and making a success of their venture.

We already have 5 of the candidates fully funded.

We urgently need 11 more donors to become involved.

We want to encourage our investors to also become mentors for the business owners they are

helping.

Our hope is that some investors will go to Madagascar and see for themselves how their funds

are being used and what they are doing to help make a difference in the lives of others who

have never received help from anyone.

Kevin W. Fuller

Chairman

Les Pêcheurs Internationale

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Map of Madagascar Les Pêcheurs Office in Antananarivo

Our Les Pêcheurs Staff in

Madagascar

Candidates Undergoing Intensive

Training

The Graduating Class Proud Graduate and Her Sons