How does scouting work? What is the pathway from idea to experimentation? How can an interesting idea from rural Africa be transformed into a successful small business? It takes scouting!

farip specializes in this “first mile.” In Tanzania, people with new ideas ask farip to support them with their business ideas. Who will take on the idea? How will the group organize itself? What practical tests can show if the idea works? Where is the market for the products?

Many ideas are dropped. Only the best ideas with real potential move forward and get support by farip as a “venture”. The initiators receive funds for the “proof of concept” in defined stages.

farip helps these ventures with loans and sharing experience. farip also connects them with other innovative projects. And farip coaches them on how to learn from failures and develop new ideas.

We have two stages in scouting: We support

1. Ideas – if it is clear whether and which business model can be developed from them.
2. Experiments – we finance experiments suggested to us by innovators “à-fonds-perdu”. We do not expect refunds for the kick-starter loan we provide. Innovators and entrepreneurs thus get a chance to undertake initial clarifications, and test whether the project can be brought to a stage in which it is feasible to carry it further.
   If the test phase is successful, and the project is accepted by the farip Foundation Board, it moves into commercial development and becomes one of our “active projects”.

farip also finances R&D during the scouting phase, until a business model has been worked out to a stage in which someone wants to try to make it commercially viable.