On June 19, 2023 five Pocatello Rotary Club members starred as “Sharks” in the first of what will be many Rotary Shark Pond entrepreneur pitch shows. These monthly shows (held over Zoom) invite aspiring entrepreneurs from Ghana and Nigeria to pitch their business ideas to Rotarian sponsors for startup funding. All Rotary Chapters in D5400 are invited to star in future events that are like the Shark Tank TV show…but friendly. Watch the show below…
Rich Kirkham, Jared Stein, Summer Jackman, Jedd Thomas, and Ben Davidson (members of the Pocatello Rotary Club World Service Committee) sponsored 3 entrepreneurs from Ghana. The businesses included a barber shop, seamstress, and miller of bean flour.
Gift Akua Okiyi of Nigeria won the 1st prize grant of $1,000 to expand her business, Gifted-Crunchy. She mills and distributes bean flour to hotels and restaurants. She will use the grant to buy a grinding/peeling machine, dehydrator, sealer, and packaging materials. The process looks like this:
Beans are first Harvested by local farmers. Then Cleaned and sorted by hand to remove stones, dirt, or damaged beans. Her new peeling machine will dramatically reduce time spent cleaning beans. Once Soaked to soften and improve digestibility, they are Dried by spreading them in thin layers outdoors for air drying to prevent spoilage. The new dehydrator will reduce this time from days to minutes. Beans are then Ground into a fine powder, Sieved to ensure a consistent flour texture using a series of screens, Packaged in Ziploc bags, and Distributed to hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets through direct relationships with buyers or online platforms on Facebook. This life changing grant put a huge smile on the face of Gift.
The show host, Ben Davidson, travels to Rotary clubs across the district to share the program. The Rotary Club’s goal is to sponsor 50 businesses by 2025. Entrepreneurs are not asked to give up ownership rights or pay interest. As Davidson says, “sponsors get the greatest ROI possible…heaven’s choicest blessings and a new friend in Africa.”
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