Offloading our end of the year 40ft container of bicycles and sawing machines

Funding of kick start container.

We are thank full to the funding organisations that were identified by David of P4P for this kickstart container.  The funders are:

1. HWMF (The Helen & William Mazer Foundation)

2. Clif Bar Family Foundation.

This donation has enabled this project to resume its activity.  

The  Container Arrives.

Our 40ft Container arrived in the country on 16th Dec 2010.  But we were able to clear it on 23rd December 2010.  It took us time to get the money to pay for the taxes.  Delay results into demorage, storage charges, container charges etc.

Uganda is the most expensive (in terms of transport) of these programs because of the distances involved and the fact that Uganda is land locked.   

We also have a high exchange rate affecting us because of the weakening  Uganda Shilling to the US$.  The last time we offloaded a container 1US$ was equivalent to Shs1,850.  But today it is Shs. 2,230. and rising fast.  Putting in consideration that the lower rate was two years ago does not help matters any because our income generating capacity has not seriously improved since then to compensate for the weaker shilling.
On top of that we have taxes to pay. 

10% import duty, 18%  Import Vat, 15% internal vat, 20% Sir charge on all second hand goods, 6% withholding tax, an unknown excess top up charge.  At the end of the year 30% cooperation tax.

Our  Chief sponsor

Our vocational training institute is sponsored by Pedals for Progress a company in New Jersey USA.  This Social Entrepreneur collects bicycles from Americans meant for the overworked land fill and sends them to developing countries all over the world.  We are lucky to be part of this wonderful program on behalf of our country.   Currently there are 3 active programs out of the original 9 in Africa.  We are the second largest in Africa and the largest and only surviving one in East Africa.

Bicycle Showroom Shop/Store Project.

This program had run into cash flow problems as we diverted the cash into construction of a store and showroom for offloading the container.  We could not raise the money to import these bicycles.
This project was worth it even though it wiped out our working capital and cost us two years of inactivity.
This store saves us Ug Shs.1,500,000 (or $643 at exchange rate of 1US$ = 2330 Ug Shs.) Per month
Or $7,725 each year.

The Shop/showroom section of the store.

We have a Bicycle display rack outside on which we assemble all the bicycles on display.  It has a capacity of 10 bicycles.  It accommodates both children and adult bikes easily.  With fast mounting and easy locking facility for the bikes on display.  It is raised such that in case of rain the bikes do not get soiled from the dirty water from the rain splatter.

Very spacious Showroom

Inside the showroom is quite spacious, allowing sorting of different bikes in different categories so that a customer can make a choice from the different types without having to move the bikes or climb on top of other bikes.  This is very important to preserve the bikes quality and to allow proper appreciation of the quality.  This also affords us easy cleaning of bikes as we can move easily within different rows of bikes and reach each bike easily.

Stock Taking, Categorising, and pricing.

The first day is very tough.  It is better for the container to arrive in the evening because we can work without much disturbance from the traders.  They would like to pick the bikes as they come down from the container.  Also if there are many people on the container they remove small items from the bikes.  it is very difficult to control them.
We make categories of mountain, racer, city bike, children  bikes and group these further into Excellent, Good, Fair, and poor in each category, then we give each group in a category a wholesale and retail price.


And then the Traders arrive

We sell the goods we receive through our country wide distributors.  Majority come from the city center -  Nakasero and the suburbs - Ndeeba, Nateete, Kibuye.  We also sell to up-county agents and across the borders.  There was a rush for the first pick.  Each agent groups his pick and puts it in a selected place.  Some outside, others in other rooms.  The first days sales are brisk.

We use the money mainly for freight for the next container and the balance to fund the vocational institute.  Our target is to import 3 to 6 containers a year and 300 sawing machines.

A bicycle means many families can be taken out of poverty and a sawing machine provides a much needed employment.

David also is carrying the project forward and has succeeded in negotiating with Mr. Claig Calfee of  www.calfeedesign.com a world renowned designer and manufacturer of high quality bicycles made out of Carbon frames Sapphire.  Through his project of making Bambo bicycle frames in developing countries.  He has started design and manufacturing establishments around the world.  See  www.bamboosero.com  We at EIAAT are extremely luck to be one of the selected, to be trained, local manufacturer of bicycle frames to be made out of Bamboo for export to EU and American countries.

This is a wonderful project which will use local materials, introduce new skills and employment to local people and earn the country foreign exchange.

In this container we cleared through customs 8 epoxy glue which will be used for making these bamboo frames for the bicycles.

Mulamata Charles

Principal EIAAT