I want to tell at least one of the business stories in enough detail that there is a sense of how these things might develop and proceed. Of course, every story is unique but I don’t have the time and chances are neither does the reader, to hear them all.
Anyway, taking up from the last chapter…as my time to travel to Tanzania neared I was introduced to Chilwa Kiliaki. Chilwa is a woman who is a key policy maker in the Tanzanian central banking institution. She is full of energy, exuberance and joy. Her arrival is accompanied by a flurry. We were speaking on the telephone across many time zones and I was describing the Cheetah project to her. She asked what were some of the business ideas in which I was most interested. As I listed some off, she interrupted me with a burst of long laughter and then said, “Now I know you are directed by God because you are talking about bicycles.”
Well, I had not claimed to be directed by God and so this was her own conclusion. She said that she needed to tell me her own story: She was dreaming of starting businesses, especially in rural villages to help people. She wanted to start in the place her father was born and spread from there.
(In the picture above you see a store on wheels, selling rat poison. Stores like this are common. It had a continuous playing announcement. Notice the condition of the chain. The bike is now pushed everywhere it goes but it is still invaluable to its owner.)
Chilwa's thought was to open bicycle shops to sell to farmers because they can have such an impact on their lives. Three weeks prior she had been sent by the Tanzania government to China to study their economic policies to see if any might aid growth in Tanzania. While there, she visited Chinese bike manufacturers and shops to learn as much as possible.
When she returned she commissioned a report on the Tanzanian bicycle market. This is an important subject because bicycles can truly help to fight poverty. She said when I would come to Tanzania I would receive access to this report. For a company entering a market like this, such a report might be a great help. What an amazing ‘coincidence.’
Displayed prominently on her desk is a cell phone holder in the shape of a bicycle.
In her family room:
Eventually, she invited me to stay with her. Here is the light fixture in the room I am staying:
Chilwa said that these were chosen for their colors years ago, and she didn’t even think of them as bicycles until I noticed them.
...almost as if there was a plan ahead of time. (Ephesians 2:10)
(Story continues here: http://cheetahdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/06/bicycle-factory-chapter-3-wonder.html)
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