Building bridges of trust

In townships across South Africa hundreds of thousands of painters, carpenters and other tradesmen eke out a living. Distrust towards them, low credibility, limited marketing resources and lack of business skills and are just some of the barriers that even the most exceptional tradesmen from these communities face that prevent them from growing successful businesses.
At TRADE-MARK we hand-pick the very best of these tradesmen using a strict screening process. We promote their services as skilled, reliable professionals giving them access the market of affluent homeowners and businesses. Business and life skills training equip the tradesmen with the skills they need to run a successful business.
Creating attractive options for wealthy consumers to spend money in the townships brings badly needed revenue into these communities. Generating thousands of positive experiences between tradesman and client challenges negative preconceptions that the wealthy hold towards the poor.
Categoría de tu proyecto
Consumo/Producción colaborativa
Cómo se diferencia tu producto o servicio de lo existente en el mercado?
For anyone in South Africa wanting to get someone in to do renovations or maintenance on their home there are two options. Either you use a registered contractor/company who are all expensive and mostly unreliable. Or you use a labourer from the side of the road, without knowing whether they are skilled or reliable. We have now provided a third option, offering the best service at the best rate. We won't walk away from a client until they are happy, as reflected in our average client rating of over 9 out of 10. This is unprecedented in the building industry which is notorious for delivering a poor service at a high price.
Describe el impacto social que genera tu solución
Creating opportunities for our tradesmen (as well as those they employ) to earn additional income assists them in moving out of a situation of poverty. We measure this using a tool developed in Paraguay called the 'Poverty Stoplight'. Enabling our tradesmen to compete effectively in the marketplace reduces the high levels of income inequality as they secure a market share previously held by wealthy competitors in the industry. Celebrating our tradesmen as leaders in their industry and in their community builds their self-worth and increases their standing in their community. In becoming successful job providers, rather than job-seekers, our tradesmen inspire others in their communities to escape a life of poverty through their own efforts and by honest means. Bridging the gap of distrust between wealthy and poor communities challenges negative preconceptions and builds common understanding and community across the economic divide.
Descripción breve de la sustentabilidad económica de tu proyecto
While TRADE-MARK is registered as a non-profit organisation, we are not a charity. We function as a social enterprise, and will roll out across South Africa and beyond as a social franchise. We generate revenue by charging our tradesmen a 15% commission for every contract we connect them to. This cost is effectively passed onto the client so the tradesman doesn't lose out.
¿Cómo es la escala de tu proyecto?¿Zonal, regional, nacional o globlal? ¿Por qué?
The project is most definitely scalable at a global level. Our plan was always to take the concept beyond South Africa. Coincidentally our thought was to begin rolling it out in South America as the next step. The concept is particularly relevant in countries where there are high levels of income inequality. TRADE-MARK can be applied wherever wealthy communities require services that poor communities can provide.
¿En qué etapa se encuentra tu proyecto?
Implementación
¿Tu emprendimiento se encuentra constituído en algún país?¿Cuál?
South Africa
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Hi Josh. I apologize for reaching so late. Im your mentor and one of the jury members. Congratulations for having passed to the final 30. Do you think we can talk on skype or by e-mail: camilo.mejia@totalholding.com.co. Best regards
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hace 9 años
Hey Josh! Loved your initiative! Would be great to see you here in Colombia. Would you tell us a little more how the implementation has developed in South Africa? How have the constumers adapted the tool?All the best!
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hace 9 años
Toda iniciativa debe ser apoyada por eso dejo aqui mi IDEA, ESPERO CONTAR CON SU APOYO, FAMILIA, AMIGOS Y CONOCIDOS. SALUDOS DESDE COLOMBIA VOTA POR MI IDEA?http://socialab.com/ideas/ver/16539
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hace 9 años
This business model is highly replicable and the potential for scaling is good. I'm a big supporter of Trade-Mark.
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hace 10 años
Great idea to pollinate south-south like this. Good luck
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hace 10 años
You have a very good project in your hands and you are explaining it quite nicely. I recommend you to encourage your friends, family and costumers to vote for your idea. Keep going!
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hace 10 años

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