Looking Ahead

2016 has been a year of growth for TWB. Our model has evolved and grown in the last year, and while it still resembles the original concept, it is far more robust and professional. We designed TWB to be a social enterprise – a baking educational service for hire in Rwanda. We manage nearly every aspect of the startup, launch, and operation of our bakeries in Rwanda. Because of the drive and intellect of our team, we have become experts in this field and our services are being sought after by large organizations, companies, and enterprising individuals.

Building on this momentum, 2017 will be a year of analysis. We are so close to solidifying our model. This may sound strange because we’ve been operable for two years, but like most startups, TWB’s model has gone through innumerable iterations. It’s like an experiment – you have an end goal (or multiple end goals), and you’re trying to find the correct, most efficient, most easily replicable means to achieve that goal. That’s where TWB is right now. We have most of our end goals in sight, and now is the time to test different means for how best to achieve those end goals.

A singular goal for 2017, from which our other goals stem, is to build lasting bakeries. As Julie Greene, TWB’s Co-Founder/Co-Director points out, “profitability means sustainability,” and I agree. We strive to code sustainability into every piece of our model, but we’re learning that sustainability tends to be a “product of,” not a “precursor for.” That is, critical thinking is a product of training and practice. And sustainable bakeries are (most often) a product of profitability.

So how do we do that? How do we ensure that each bakery we build or help to launch will be profitable without TWB staff there every day of operation for an indefinite period of time? Good question! That’s what we will spend most of 2017 answering. We’re close – we have robust projections and hypotheses for bakeries’ profitability, but 2017 will be the year to test these operational variations.  

Why do sustainable bakeries matter? This question contains multiple answers and illuminates many of our other end goals. Sustainable bakeries provide a group of women with consistent and growing incomes. That’s job security. And it’s also opportunity. Women can rely on their work at the bakeries and choose where, when, and how to invest their earnings. Sustainable bakeries provide suppliers (farmers) and buyers (shop-keepers) consistent business. That’s micro-economic activity that can self-improve and correct. Sustainable bakeries also provide community members consistent access to nutritious bread. That’s Good business.

The ancillary benefits that radiate from sustainable bakeries are motivating (to say the least) and conclusive. They’re what make TWB’s model not only plausible, but powerful. Powerful because we are using business – bakeries – as a medium to achieve multiple grades of social good. It’s like a chain reaction: by building a bakery that is profitable, we help to create a system that lasts as long as the women work and works on behalf of a community’s well-being.

Thus, 2017 will be the year to analyze and perfect the profitability of our bakeries. We will do so by taking a deep dive into our model – testing various aspects, building on what works, and boldly tossing what doesn’t. Our long-term goal is still scale – 100 more women trained and 10 bakeries in Rwanda – but to achieve sustainable scale (and real impact), we will first focus on profit. 

Christmas in Kigali

When I was young I attended church with other children in my community. I remember a small hut with a manger inside in the front of the church and other ornate decorations around us. There were programs for children to sing and the opportunity to hear a pastor preach the days’ message.

Now, as an adult, I have the chance to spend Christmas Day with my mom and siblings. It is amazing for all of us to gather and share meals. Our meals are typical Rwandan food: rice, beans, and potatoes. Since it is a special day, we had to find meat. The drink for these special celebrations in my family is sorghum beer, which is my favorite. 

As I was enjoying this day with my relatives, I also reflected on the group of women TWB is currently training in Kigali. I called some of them, wishing them a “Merry Christmas”, and some of them, like Liziki and Faith also called to wish me a special day. I became excited to continue our training with them, to find out what they did for the holidays and to learn more about their own family traditions.

On the first day of our Phase II training – continuing from Phase I, ending before the holidays, I asked how they spent this day and the answer was fairly similar to mine. They attended church in the morning, came back and prepared meals together as family. Faith who is from Kanombe (the eastern part of Kigali) told me that she went to church and then cooked “umunyigi” which is smashed plantain, her favorite dish. Vestine spent her day near her hometown in the North, near the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. When I asked her favorite memory during the festivities, she said, “I was so amazed to see many people leaving Kigali to go spend the days in the rural areas with their relatives.”

Though many work in Kigali, if people are able to earn money money and other opportunities, there is a chance to visit home sweet home. Two days before Christmas, it was so difficult to get buses from Nyabugogo bus station to neighboring provinces as many people wanted to share the festivities with their relatives.

The holidays were an interesting, busy, and special time for myself and the women of The Women’s Bakery. We were able to find some sense of rest and now, are excited to keep moving further into training and bakery business launch.

Happy New Year from The Women’s Bakery!