“Our goal is to use coffee retail to develop an education program which will empower youth to gain employment for themselves but will allow them to teach others also.”
What if…
… God called a missional couple to a major city in east Africa in 2014.
… That city was Dar es Salem, Tanzania – the fastest growing city in the world with a population of six million.
… They learned Swahili and did an analysis to determine the most economically and spiritually needy area of the city.
… One of them had a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and the other was a professional social worker and counselor.
… They decided to focus on the needs of the 18-30 age group where even university graduates have no jobs.
… They became the co-founders of a coffee skill education program to teach youth workplace skills – and called it Harakati Coffee. Harakati in Swahili means “movement” and can be related to purposeful living.
… They soon realized that they would have a greater influence if they transitioned to business with a holistic approach so youth could more easily step into the workplace with a sustainable livelihood and even create jobs for others.
… They took the full Triventure program with Mike Baer and found the experience to be “incredible”, as Mike helped them understand faith and work in the marketplace and make the shift to Business as Mission. They began to feel confident in business and move from the NFP project into the BAM social enterprise space.
… They realized they needed coaches and consultants. They are thankful for a person from New Mexico with expertise in the coffee industry and have had three coaches from IBEC. IBEC coaches, Bob, Gary, and Jonathan helped with the vision and focus, and walked with them through finances and business development.
… They were determined to focus on relationships as they develop their supply chain with fair wages and environmentally appropriate practices for the coffee farmers.
… They build the full-service specialty grade coffee bar as they are researching other sustainable products to incorporate as teaching units in their training and development program.
It is not What if…it is What is!
The couple is Landon and Courtney Shuman, and they are working full time on this business beginning with the first five employees in 2021. They seek to use their training1 and experience with the coffee industry and the principles of Business as Mission2 to give hope to Tanzanians and bring glory to God as they face the challenges ahead.
1. A graduate degree in Organizational Leadership helps the student to develop leadership and strategic communication skills with a focus on ethics, motivation, strategic planning and developing solutions for real-world issues.
2. Business as Mission integrates business and mission striving to make a profit, create jobs, make disciples of Jesus, and care for creation.
Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures
Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com