Shoe cycle

A huge percentage of the worlds population has no significant way of disposing off damaged shoes.This leads to pollution of the environment with these shoes by throwing them as waste.We introduce a way in which these shoes could be repaired,recycled or their parts re-used to make other shoes.

We encourage individuals with damaged shoes to submit the shoes to our outlets where Bots using artificial intelligence will determine percentage damage and the owners of the shoes will be paid a calculated amount of money.Robots will also be dispatched to dumping sites to pick out shoes dumped as waste.These shoes will go through recycling,repairing or re-using where necessary to make new shoes sold at a lower price.

In this way,damaged shoes can find a better use,their owners will be paid for submitting the shoes,the re-made shoes will be affordable to the low income earners and the environment will be cleaner.

The main problem we tackle is lack of a means to dispose off damaged shoes.This problem is worldwide since most shoe-developing companies use new raw materials instead of finding a way of making use of damaged shoes.This leads to a linear kind of production which results in a lot of waste.However,recycling ,reusing and repairing may lead to a circular way of production hence less waste and more profit.

We target all individuals globally who wear shoes.Once their shoes get worn out we request them to submit them to our outlets and pay them for the value of their shoes depending on the nature of damage.

We use the social media to pass this message to these individuals we target and in addition we'll develop an app and web to create a direct connection to individuals with  questions or interest.

This solution provides them a value for their damaged shoes via the pay,More shoes will be released to the market thus meeting the demand and these shoes will also be cheaper than other shoes to make them affordable for low income earners.

Submitted shoes and those picked from dumping sites by robots are sorted out in terms of the materials used to make them and also according to their level of damage .This sorting is done solely by bots which depend on Artificial intelligence.

Trained employees,who are mainly women from the communities where our outlets are located,start on the process of repairing and designing the shoes to be of good quality and appearance.

Using our app,pictures of selected damaged shoes are posted to allow the members interested in our products to give their design suggestions.The best suggestion will receive the shoe freely once designed.This process enables us to create a cordial relationship with our customers.

Once ready all the re-made shoes will be sold in our outlets or our online store at a price lower than that of newly-made shoes.

Our solution makes use of the internet which is a technological platform that reaches a large number of individuals we target hence easier marketing. 

In designing the process of production of shoes to be circular rather than linear,we save a huge quantity of materials that could have been wasted, to be used in coming up with new materials.

The key technologies we use are Artificial intelligence and robotics .We use Artificial intelligence in the bots that pick shoes in dumpsites and also in the bots that sort out the collected damaged shoes according to type of material used in making the shoes and the level of damage of the shoes. 

We are currently serving a small population that ranges from 40 to 50 ,majorly for experimentation of our product.In one year we are projected to serve 500 and at least 4000 in 5 years.These are the individuals we aim at directly impacting them with our products and services.

Within the next one year we aim at passing message about our products and services and how we offer them.In the next 5 years we aim at increasing our market base by spreading our products to different countries especially the one sneighbouring Kenya.

The financial constraints are the major barriers since it denies us the chance to collect the shoes from our target groups and also pay them for the shoes.

The increasing market demand for new shoes might affect our expansion in the next 5 years.

Full time staff :4

Contractors:28

Our team comprises of mainly contractors characterised to be coming from communities without access to jobs.Having trained them in the process of re-designing damaged shoes they mostly concentrate on giving their best so as to retain the contract and as well ensure our production increases.

Most members of the team have also ever experienced the hustle of repairing damaged shoes with an aim of increasing durability of the shoes.

With these experience we are at a better point to design having the users of our products in mind.

At first we plan to solicit for grants from organisations focused in matters concerning production with use of technology.

Secondly,we find investors to boost our capital pool hence helps us to start out quick.

Revenues from our sales are what will run this company in the coming future.

At solve We expect to increase our exposure to a larger market,to meet up with people with advanced experience in technological platforms who can help us streammline our project to suit a larger market base.

Any monetary gain will be channelled to our pool of capital and we aim to expand our services quickly to serve a larger market.

If selected for the AI prize my team will use this opportunity to reach out to companies focused in AI and Robotics to guide us on the ways we can use robots in the field while collecting remnants of damaged shoes dumped and also in the sorting of these remnants in terms of percentage of damage and type of material used in their making.

We also plan on interacting with the individuals taking part in the judging of our projects to gain insights on how we can improve our idea of application of AI in this project.

Financial gain will be a great booost for us since we will be able to launch the concept of robotics being used in the process of recycling which is not being used anywhere in Kenya at the moment and most of thhe neighbouring countries.

The financial gain will be an added advantage to us as we start out to revolutionise the process of production majorly in Kenya,Africa and the world at large from the linear to a circular one.Thus reducing wsate and increasing production.

The exposure we gain will be utilised to sensitise a larger population of citizens globally on the advantages of embracing circular economy.

Our aim as a company is that 80% of the employees will be women by 2021. The financial gain will enable us to many women who are mainly unemployed or survive on very low income and train them on how they will handle  the processes of reusing,recycling and repairing damaged shoes.

It will also help us in improving the welfare of the women mostly in terms of food,health,housing and their families.