BANANA WASTE TO BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING

 We help environment by transforming banana/plantain trunks to biodegradable packaging (Shopping bag, cardboard, rolls of paper). Indeed, Cameroon, with production of 4,000,000 tons of banana/plantain per year, is among best producers in ACP area (Africa-Caribbean - Pacific). But it's clear that these stems represent a great resource first, unfortunately contribute to carbon production. This production is amplified by plastic which produced 2 billion tons of carbon each year worldwide.

To this problem is added marginalization of rural women and lack of information concerning biodegradable packaging producers: we are bringing this agricultural innovation. It will allow rural women to increase their income by marketing trunks from the crops; reduce carbon, bring together over 1 million biodegradable packaging producers around the world; create wealth and motivate young people who gave up and no longer believe in their potential to be change they want to see in the world.

After an in-depth study, following observations are made:

Today more than 820 million people worldwide are hungry, including more than 4 million in Cameroon

• Environmental pollution from carbon emissions has increased from 46% higher than in pre-industrial times.
• By 2050 Africa will only be able to meet 13% of its food needs due, among other things, to pollution that will have caused climate change. (Climate change that greatly reduce agricultural yields.)
• Carbon footprint of banana in Cameroon is 4,000,000 tons each year.
• Amount of CO2 increase in the atmosphere reduces the nutritional quality of many crops (Zinc, iron, protein deficiencies)
• Deforestation despite being a polluting factor is progressing due to 15.3 billion trees cut per year worldwide
• Many youngs often abandon their projects due to lack of encouragement and strong young success story to copy.

Faced to these problems, we have established an innovative solution that will reduce pollution and deforestation by transforming banana stems to biodegradable packaging. In addition, for world producers of  biodegradable packaging, we will bring them our E-platform which will help to better build their business network.

Packaging manufacturing begins with stems purchase at the edge of fields from farmers and then are transported to our processing site. These trunks, free of impurities, are transformed into a paper plate. Depending on consumer's need, we personalize packaging (logo, color ...) and give the desired shape (Bag, cardboard, roll of paper).

This transformation of banana trunks to biodegradable packaging is welcome in sense that it reduces use of plastic packaging prohibited by the government ` (Cameroon Law Number 2013-003 of January 23, 2012). In addition, our e-platform will make available to all packaging consumers a global network of producers of biodegradable packaging closest to them. This global network of packaging producers will also allow collaboration, an exchange of know-how, and facilitate partnerships creation between producers.

OUR TRANSFORMATION PROCESS 

1-TARGET 

*PACKAGING CONSUMERS

Our biodegradable packaging is products intended for people aged 15-70 years, large sales areas and also small sales areas given competitive cost of our packaging on the market.

With regard to supermarkets, we distinguish supermarkets, bakeries, wine cellars, ready-to-wear and textile industries.

As for small areas, these are the shops in the neighborhood, mobile sales stands.

Biodegradable packaging that we produce is eco-friendly, (Saves their lives by reducing carbon level in atmosphere), cheaper (Allows them to save money compared to packaging usually used on the market), attractive.

*FARMERS

Training of 150 farmers per year on transformation of agricultural waste into biodegradable packaging by HAND-MADE method which will, among other things, increase income.

*BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING PRODUCERS

 Our e-platform will create a global network of packaging producers who will share their experiences, easily find customers and exchange other ideas that can improve their visibility on a global scale.

2-WHAT WE HAD DOING

Multiple exchanges and market studies have enabled us to understand the real needs of the service solution and even to adapt our packaging to the taste of our customers (We produced several prototypes, and presented them to customers in adaptation of the various versions to their preferences.

Our goal is sustainable nutrition system. We observe big polluting sector through carbon production from stems abandoned in fields. Carbon contributes to climate change.

Beyond reducing banana carbon footprint, our transformation process will reduce carbon rate produced by agriculture worldwide - 298 carbon tons over next 5 years. We will produce jobs and wealth.

 Objective achieved will reduce hunger crisis since agricultural yields will increase and thus ensure continuous nutrition for 2 billion people by 2050.

We empower rural women and farmers through training sessions on “HAND MADE"-transforming agricultural residues to packaging. We enable creation of small and new businesses.

1- OUR UNIQUE VALUE 
(Innovation triangle)
* TIME LIMIT

Wood used to produce paper packaging generally takes 15 years for reforestation. But plantain stems used are available every 5 months, once farmer have harvested plantain fruit.

With e- platform, packaging customers around the world will have 1000 choices of packaging sellers, mapping of customers and sellers will save time.

* QUALITY

With its design, color, and physical looks close to that of wood, our packaging is solid, pretty, biodegradable.

* COST 

High availability of low-cost raw material, simplicity and speed of transformation process give us very competitive cost in the market.  (Annual production of 4,000,000 tons of plantains in Cameroon)

2- OTHERS

Having experience in what we do, coupled with our love and determination for it, our specific concern about young and rural women empowering, are key elements that differentiate us from all other project of the same kind.

3- COMPETITORS

*PACKAGING PRODUCTOR

 MASSILIA, OK PLAST, SOFAMAC, CAMPACK, PENNSY

*PACKAGING E-PLATFORM NETWORK

Global Packaging Alliance (GPA), RESOPACK

1-ACTUALLY

 Now core technology which powers our solution is in manufacturing aspect. We are redefining a new way of treating agricultural waste (especially from plantain production) in our community. Transformation of banana trunks into fiber, then into paper plate and finally their shape is give.

In fact, the majority of farmers abandon thier trunks in fields, which contributes to creation of carbon in environment. Recycling offered them allows them not only to increase their income (by selling these trunks), but also to contribute to environment protection.

2- IN MEDUIM TERM

Core technology which will powers our solution will also be:

• E-learming: Farmers and others can be trained to transform their agricultural waste to biodegradable packaging with a simple semi-manual process (HAND-MADE) in order to increase their income.

• E-commerce: Purchase and sale of packaging online. Packaging customer can buy biodegradable packaging produced from agricultural waste.

• Social media: For interconnection of various producers and consumers of biodegradable packaging worldwide. We will have a strong network of producers around the world to help them collaborate, partnership and improve their products quality.

• Possibility to have map biodegradable packaging producers around the world.

• AI (artificial intelligence) helps to offer to consumers/sellers of packaging according to their potential preference.

• Mobile application: Mobile application which combines above functionalities.

• Link to our products

https://www.facebook.com/PRApr...

• Our packaging is used by some online and ready-to-wear product delivery companies: FABA ……

OBJECTIVES AT THE END OF THE FIFTH YEAR OF OPERATION

LONG TERM 1: CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT

Immediate outputs:

• Reduce carbon rate (reduced 298 tons carbon in environment )

• Recover agricultural waste (Production of 1,016,400 packages using 70 hectares of fields)

LONG TERM 2: AFRICA AND WORLD GROWTH

Immediate outputs:

• Reduce unemployment (Create 100 jobs with an average of 20 temporary and permanent employees per year)

• Empower rural women (training 1,500 women)

• Create wealth and inspire young people (TURNOVER accumulates minimum of $ 571,242 for a PROFIT accumulates of $ 150,959

CURRENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE’RE SERVING (2,417): ‘1 YEAR EXTRAPOLATION’

• Permanent and temporary employee: 6 (per month)

• Rural women trained per month on simple techniques for recycling agricultural paper waste: 12

• End users of our packaging per month: 2,400 annually (200 bags per month)

NUMBER WE’LL BE SERVING IN ONE YEAR (144,020)

• Permanent and temporary employee: 20 (per month)

• Rural women trained on simple techniques for recycling agricultural waste into  paper 1,200

• End users of our packaging: 142,800

NUMBER WE’LL BE SERVING IN FIVE YEARS (CUMULATIVE) (1,023,720)

• Permanent and temporary employee: 120

• Rural women per month on simple techniques for recycling agricultural waste into  paper 7,200

• End users of our packaging: 1,016,400

Genesis of this business is to impact lives of millions of people around the world and young people in particular. Direct impact on lives is defined by: number of jobs generated, number of lives saved by reducing pollution, person indirectly affected by wealth created in Cameroon and in the world, number of farmers and rural women train on transformation of agricultural waste to packaging.

Beyond this direct impact, indirectly,experiences sharing that we are doing and will continue to do during international entrepreneurial exchanges (Fairs, conferences on radio and TV) to impact maximum of people and encourage young people to undertake are significant.

ONE YEAR GOALS (Minimum of 144,020 lives impacted)

• Number of jobs generated: 20

• Number of people affected by purchase of low cost biodegradable packaging: 142,800

• Number of farmers and rural women trained on transformation of agricultural waste to packaging : 1,200

• Person indirectly affected by  wealth that we will create in Cameroon and in the world (Turnover $ 77,404)

• Life saved by reducing pollution by 85 tons of carbon.

FIVE YEARS GOALS (Minimum of 1,023,720 lives impacted)

• Number of jobs generated: 120

• Number of people affected by purchase of low cost biodegradable packaging: 1,016,400

• Number of farmers and rural women trained on transformation of agricultural waste to packaging : 7,200

• Person indirectly affected by wealth that we will create in Cameroon and in the world (Turnover $ 161,001)

• Life saved by reducing pollution by 298 tons of carbon.

IN THE NEXT YEAR

• Difficulty in acquiring remaining production equipment in order to start production on a medium scale. We will thus have an improvement in quality and quantity of our packaging
• Difficulty in increasing staff to go from 6 people in 1 month to make 200 bags to 20 people in 1 month for 14,000 bags
• Lack of networking, mentoring,  solid and strategic partnerships to move from the mid manual stage to industrial stage and thus increase our sales
• None-availability of our E-platform

IN NEXT FIVE YEARS

• Difficulty designing other products from processing of agricultural residues: ecological charcoal, banana wine, etc.?
• Construction of agricultural transformation training center is underway but not finalized.

• One of our resources is our self-financing capacity of $ 149,076 at end of third year of real functionning, money will be reinjected to develop other products and finalize training center of agricultural transformation.
• Training of project team will increase internal skills and innovate towards a better version of company.
• Partnerships will be developed with companies to sale our packaging, to train us in industrialization, improvement our business model and in many other handicapping sectors for us: MIT network, SOLVER….
• Funding research will help us, among other things, in purchasing rest of missing equipment to scale up our packaging production and thus reduce the unit cost of packaging and improve quality.

PRA (Product Related to Agricultural sector) team is made up of  2 full-time workers , 2 part-time workers, 2 volunteer consultants, namely:

FULL-TIME STAFF

1-SIDJE TAMO ARMELLE armelle.sidje@gmail.com  +237 699301806

2-MBOUKEM KENMOE STÉPHANIE pragricole@gmail.com +237 691816922

PART-TIME STAFF

3-BOUBA BASSORO BASSORO boobabass@yahoo.fr +237 698339957 

4-TSAMO ARIANE +237696051822

CONSULTANT

5-ABOUDI EKOMO ALVINE BIBIANE +237 696361642

6-NOUMEU MARIE CLAIRE,+ 237 699134606

We emphasize that creation of PRA company is result of a very great individual observation of each team member. This observation highlights lack of agricultural recycling, lack of information concerning biodegradable packaging and lack of an easily accessible purchase / sale chain for these biodegradable packaging.

 Our team is made up of people who want to see a pleasant and holy environment, who want to facilitate access to biodegradable packaging for global packaging users; anxious to collect opinion of these prospects before marketing of their first prototypes.

Team consists of a person with skills in Designer and Communication with more than 3 years of experience in the field; network and telecommunication engineer with 7 years of experience in the field with skills in farming / agricultural transformation / Leadership and entrepreneurship / environment; biochemistry student; person with skills in Human and Financial Resource Management; person with tax system abilities.

In addition to all these points we emphasize dynamism in work, transparency and faith of team in their potential to be the change they want to see in the world.

We don't have a partnership yet.

We offer attractive, solid and biodegradable packaging at very competitive costs on the market. Revalorization of agricultural waste (banana trunks) abandoned in field, helps reduce carbon level in atmosphere by offering alternatives to plastic packaging, but also alternatives to frequently used wood.

OUR PRODUCTS / SERVICES:

• Biodegradable packaging in the form of cardboard, paper roll, shopping bag
• E-platform:

1. Face-to-face and online training on transforming process waste to biodegradable packaging for farmers
2. Connection and map of packaging producers around the world
3. Purchase / sale of packaging

SHOPPING BAG SIZE : 45x35x10 cm

PRICE: $ 1 - $ 5

WHERE AND HOW TO SELL?

• At wholesale and retail outlets in the cities of Yaoundé - Douala - Bafoussam and internationally
• With our E-platform available around the world (In pending)

For us, selection of our solution is really a dream and we strongly believe will become reality. Our strong desire is to reduce banana footprint carbon for sustainable food systems; reduce environment destruction caused by non-biodegradable packaging, change living conditions of people in my community, to create wealth for Cameroon, Africa and the world.  

SOLVE is a powerful means of exchanging my modest experience as young woman entrepreneur not only with other people, but also with companies even more experienced than me. These exchanges will certainly allow me to extend my network but also to better progress in my company PRA (Product Related to Agricultural sector), to better develop innovative solutions to  major problems facing the people of the world.

SOLVE is beneficial for me because it will allows me to relay exchanges and learning gained to hundreds of young people here in Cameroon and in the world (hundreds of young people with whom I trade in fairs, radio, schools during entrepreneurship events organized).

Our company needs personalized help to face difficulties we encounter: Establishment of more profitable business model, marketing and communication, having an external view that will better see our shortcomings and operational failures, create partnership…

SOLVE is also a way to have support to move company from mi-manual to industrial level:

* Acquire rest of equipment we lack to improve quality and quantity of our packaging: industrial dryer, industrial printer, bag making machine;

* certify our packaging according to international standards (ISO…)

One role of partnerships is to satisfy our customers, expanding our world and growing both internally and externally. Idea behind partnership is also to allow our opposite partner to benefit from collaboration. We would also like partnership to help us get advice and mentorship to make right decisions, in right place and with right people and company.

BUSINESS MODEL: Review and modify our Revenue streams, Value proposition and Key expenses.

SOLUTION TECHNOLOGY: Transformation of waste from plantain production requires a certain level of industrialization. Support in industrialization of our production is welcome.

 PRODUCT / SERVICE DISTRIBUTION: To distribute and sell our packaging where we are not present (International, exclusive distributor in certain regions of the world…).

BOARD MEMBERS OR ADVISORS: Strategy advice to move up in terms of partnership…

MARKETING, MEDIA, AND EXPOSURE: Give a better visibility to our products and our branding.

SOLVE:

Advices solver teams to scale their product innovation in terms of their packaging they used.

Share my modest experience as young woman entrepreneur. Offer free biodegradable packaging to pack awards which will be given during award ceremonies (Salon dinner, brand recognition, etc.) and other ceremonies which requiring gift packaging.

MIT FACULTY (MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING + CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING): 

To test our packaging in terms

• Packaging Interactions with the environment
• Technical characteristics of our paper: opacity, gas permeability, tensile strength & elongation, dart impact resistance, Coefficient of friction (paper)….

SOLVE MEMBERS

• MEALFLOUR : to produce their food packaging.
• XILINT to produce their sustainable sugar packaging.
• RHEAPLY: Exchange industrial equipment possibilities.
• SOKO: Provide personalized packaging to marginalized artisans empower by SOKO .It’s will  help them improve their product quality and biodegradable aspect in global fashion market.
• THE RENEWAL WORKSHOP: proposed our banana fiber for a zero-waste system.

OTHERS

• DANGOTE: To provide a biodegradable craft packaging to pack their cement.
• ALIBABA To provide a biodegradable personalize packaging for their delivering.
• MASSILIA, OK PLAST, SOFAMAC, CAMPACK, PENNSY: Join our E-platform network of biodegradable packaging around the world.

We transform banana/plantain stems into biodegradable packaging (Shopping bags, cardboard, rolls of paper). We are focused on empowerment of rural women teaching them simple techniques to recycle banana stems abandoned in field to biodegradable packaging. So, we help rural women believe in themselves but also to enable creation of small and new businesses.

The prize will help us, among other things, to set up a platform with these technologies:

• E-learming: Women and others farmer can be trained to transform their agricultural waste to biodegradable packaging with a simple semi-manual process (HAND-MADE) in order to increase their income.

• E-commerce: Purchase and sale of packaging online. Packaging customer can buy biodegradable packaging produced from agricultural waste.

• Social media: For interconnection of various producers and consumers of biodegradable packaging worldwide. We will have a strong network of producers around the world to help them collaborate, partnership and improve their products quality.

• Possibility to have map biodegradable packaging producers around the world.

• AI (artificial intelligence) helps to offer to consumers/sellers of packaging according to their potential preference.We will avoid time lost and improve customer satisfaction.

• Mobile application: Mobile application which combines above functionalities.

We transform banana/plantain stems to biodegradable packaging (Shopping bags, cardboard, rolls of paper). We are focused on improving lives of individuals by teaching them simple techniques to recycle banana stems abandoned in field to biodegradable packaging. Use of underwear will allow us to amplify our impact by reaching as many people as possible. Additionally by doing this, we enable creation of small and new businesses.

The prize will help us, among other things, to set up a platform using the following technologies:

• AI (artificial intelligence) helps to offer to consumers/sellers of packaging according to their potential preference.We will avoid time lost and improve customer satisfaction.

• E-learming: Women and others farmer can be trained to transform their agricultural waste to biodegradable packaging with a simple semi-manual process (HAND-MADE) in order to increase their income.

• E-commerce: Purchase and sale of packaging online. Packaging customer can buy biodegradable packaging produced from agricultural waste.

• Social media: For interconnection of various producers and consumers of biodegradable packaging worldwide. We will have a strong network of producers around the world to help them collaborate, partnership and improve their products quality.

• Possibility to have map biodegradable packaging producers around the world.

• Mobile application: Mobile application which combines above functionalities.