Mandela is seeking start-up funds for a new social venture that will provide low-income, Panamanian farmers with a package of assistance to restore their degraded lands, sequester carbon, increase farm productivity, connect farms to consumers, facilitate agrotourism and make the purchase of beneficial tools, seeds & equipment accessible. Our mission is to cultivate connections that benefit the environment, farmers and consumers through agro-ecology. We hope to launch in July 2025.
A team of 7 Panamanians plus one US citizen have been laying the groundwork to launch this new venture. Now, in order to take the final steps to prepare for and begin operations, we need to raise $375,000 in start-up capital from angel lenders. Why angel lenders? While we feel confident in our projections that Mandela will be able to pay back these loans with interest, there are enough unknowns to make it a risky investment. Thus we’re looking for people who would like a chance to earn money improving the well being of our planet and her people, but can afford to have their investment not pay off as expected.
For those willing to take the risk, here’s what we plan to deliver in return. First, we expect to make annual 5% interest payments to lenders and balloon paybacks within five years. We’re looking for about 40 people to make unsecured loans of $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000. Promissory notes will be provided.
And, if we raise the needed start-up funds, we expect to achieve multiple environmental and social impacts too. Within three years, we plan to be assisting 400 small-scale farm with ecological production of crops, selling direct to consumers and hosting agrotourism groups. Additionally, we expect these farms to provide fresh, healthy food to 1,000 consumers, sequester 3,200 tons of carbon dioxide per year and increase biodiversity on their land.
Please consider making an angel loan here, or reaching out to Flo for more information at freed@mandela.food or 207-266-6684. Click here to see who has already made an angel loan.
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