MakVeto – Namibia » Mike's Bikes Africa

Container 9 Lands, Opening a New Phase in our Distribution of Bikes in Africa

Africa Bike Drive, Jonmol Bicycle Service - Botswana, MakVeto - Namibia, MK Cycles - Zimbabwe, Sister Shops in Africa, Village Bicycle Project - Sierra Leone Comments Off

Aug 052011

Filled to the brim with 480 donation bikes, container #9 has completed its 10-week journey to Gaborone, Botswana, and should clear customs in a few days. This latest resupply container represents a new direction in our model for distributing bicycles in Africa.

In the past, one single Sister Shop has been the recipient of an entire resupply container, taking the entire cost of transport and customs into their overall financial plan. Some difficulties in this approach have been the high up-front cost for the Sister Shop, and a shortage of physical space to store such a large shipment of bikes.

For our new model we’ve partnered with two avid cyclist brothers, both Kalahari Challenge competitors, who own a freight distribution company. They have agreed to store the donation bikes and send them out to our Sister Shops in ‘as-needed’ batches.

This system of distribution offers many advantages for the Sister Shops and for the Mike’s Bikes Foundation. First and foremost, the Sister Shops will be able to take delivery of inventory in smaller, more timely and more affordable batches, which eliminates the problems of lack of storage, slow resupply, and high up-front cost. Being able to forecast and plan inventories and expenditures accurately, the Sister Shops can now become more self-reliant and self-sustaining. On our end, this method of distribution enables the Foundation to focus its attention on increasing bike donations in the U.S. and gives us more time to devote to our new project in Sierra Leone. Because the new system ensures that shipping costs get reimbursed, the foundation will be able to afford to increase the number of shipments annually, while still allowing the bicycles to arrive at the Sister Shops cheaply enough for them to be affordable for buyers in the community.

In order to achieve the high-level goals of large scale distribution of bicycles in Africa and a widespread African transportation cycling culture, we need to speed up the flow of bikes to end users. The sooner we can scale distribution up, the sooner bicycle manufacturers will see opportunities to market their products and services in Africa. And with increased scale will come lower prices, enabling people in developing Africa to have a life-changing transportation option open to them.

This new model is a leap forward in long-term sustainability for the Mike’s Bikes Foundation Africa projects. To our knowledge, it is the the first distribution program of its kind.

When 5% is worth so much more

MakVeto - Namibia Comments Off

Jul 222011

Residents of Mutjiku, Namibia

Two years on, MakVeto Bikes has exceeded all expectations we had for their ability to create positive change in their community in Northeast Namibia. Last month, they initiated the MakVeto School Financial Assistance Program, supporting twenty-one junior high and high school students to improve graduation outcomes. Rallying around the nascent school program, the entire village Mutjiku decided to convene to figure out how they could help all of the students succeed.

Community leaders converged on MakVeto to discuss how to improve youth education.

Some of the students were present for the summit.

HIV/AIDS patients receive their donated bikes from MakVeto.

In addition to discussions about education initiatives, the community voiced concern for neighbors suffering from HIV/AIDS who desperately needed transit to medical care. MakVeto once again generously stepped up, donating ten bicycles to patients suffering from HIV/AIDS.

One of the reasons MakVeto Bikes is able to be so generous—donating roughly 5% of their revenue back to their community—is that sales have been brisk. Out of the initial shipment of 427 donation bikes that we sent, there are only 20 bikes left that have yet to be sold. For this reason, Ludwig is very anxious to get their next shipment of bikes from Container #8 and restock the store in a few weeks.

After two years of brisk sales, there are only 20 bikes left to sell. Hopefully Container #8 gets there soon!

A final note of congratulations: Ludwig has been promoted to manager at MakVeto Bikes, as Erasmus has taken a position with the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism monitoring national parks. Erasmus will continue to be involved with MakVeto, but no longer on a daily basis. We’d like to offer huge congrats to both Erasmus and Ludwig. We’re sure they’ll keep up the good work in both of their new roles.

Paying it Forward: The MakVeto School Financial Assistance Program is off to a great start

MakVeto - Namibia, Sister Shops in Africa Comments Off

Jul 122011

Some of the 2011 MakVeto School Financial Assistance Program Scholars in their new school uniforms.

When we helped Erasmus and Ludwig open the MakVeto Sister Shop in 2009 in the West Caprivi Region in northeastern Namibia, we anticipated that by providing a source of bicycles, we would be helping the local community gain access to health care, education, employment, and market opportunities. A year and a half after the shop opened, it is abundantly clear that MakVeto is achieving these goals and improving the lives of people all over the Caprivi Strip.

This Spring, Ludwig and Erasmus decided to take their goal of public service one step further. They kicked off the MakVeto School Financial Assistance Program, supporting twenty-one 8th-12th graders. Students in the program received assistance with tuition, textbooks, uniforms, shoes and school bags. As you can see from the photos of the area surrounding MakVeto, the bike shop is located in a very remote, rural place; the closest school is over five miles away.

Young minds, ready to learn.

Due to lack of funds for tuition, uniforms, and textbooks, combined with exceedingly long walks to and from school, many students in the area are forced to drop out before graduating from high school. Now with both financial assistance and access to bicycles from MakVeto, the children of this community have found new support in their effort to complete their education and find a path to a better life.

A Busy Spring at MakVeto

MakVeto - Namibia Comments Off

Jun 082011

It’s been a busy spring at MakVeto, our sister shop in Namibia. One of the owners, Erasmus, spent a few months doing tech support for the Tour d’Afrique, the legendary 7500 mile race & expedition from Cairo to Cape Town.

Back at the shop, business has been very good. The store is located right on on the main highway (actually, the only highway) between Namibia and Zambia, so truck drivers on their way to and from Zambia have discovered the shop, and stop by when they’re in the area to purchase bikes. On subsequent trips, they pick up parts to take home. People from northwestern Botswana also have been making the trek to MakVeto. One of our friends reported recently that when he stopped by the shop, there were three customers there having their bikes serviced, and that things appeared to be really humming. Because of the success of MakVeto, owners Ludwig and Erasmus are considering opening a second shop in nearby Divundu.

Hearing how far folks are traveling to get to MakVeto demonstrates how important bicycles are in these people’s lives: one woman we heard about had hitchhiked over 100 miles to the shop to get tubes for her son’s bike!