ActionInvest

ROPE

Ambition

  1. Assign RISEmembers.
  2. Send written requests for ActionInvest capital from Action10. 
  3. Give out and collect loans.
    • Manage RISEtalks
  4. Ensure sustainable impact at the level of the RISEmember
    • Design SOPs & implement GMP.
  5. Perform TestE surveys, in January every year.

Outcome Challenges

If loans are not paid back then

  1. the guarantee is executed
  2. lessons are learned and discussed in the RISEtalks and together informed decisions are taken

How to request a TRANSFER FROM ACTION_INVEST

The request

Send a written and signed request through WhatsApp or Email.  The request shall address, per RISEmember:

  1. The size of the full loan expected.
  2. Previous loans taken and
    • the level of paying back.
  3. The size of the new loan requested for
    • loan period,
    • interest level
    • frequency of paying back (f ex per month)
    • method of paying back
  4. Guarantee
    • Guarantee provided for this loan
    • Guarantees provided from previous loans and lessons learned
  5. RISE member fee
    • Previous in total
    • Present, in combination with this loan
  6. ROPE parameter compilation
    • Ambition
    • Outcome Challenges
    • Progress markers
    • Progress marker scoring as a result of previous loans with lessons learned and informed decision compilations.
  7. RISEtalks
    • level of participation and of being active in the quarterly RISEtalks
  8. Material for Action10’s fundraising campaigns.
    • Reports, photos and videos.
  9. The request shall then be presented in an ActionTalk giving the Action10 Volunteer Staff opportunity to assess the proposal, ask questions and develop a campaign.

ROPE review and Test_E

ROPE parameters are compiled per RISEmember

  • The Ambition of the loan taker
  • Outcome challenges
  • Stakeholder committee
  • Activities & Milestones
  • Input
  • Output & RISEagency
  • Progress Markers
  • RISEtalks
  • SOPs
  • GMP
  • Testing the strength of evidence for sustainable impact surveys.
  • Lessons learned and informed decisions and this is included in the RISEtalks.

Campaign material.

  • Reports, photos and videos from RISE members  related to the ROPE review are shared with Action10 that can use when campaigning for funds.

The Development equation _ Action10 & donors

Action10 acknowledgement

Country Branches must acknowledge the effort by Action10 and the donors.

  • Volunteer staff invest a large amount of work-hours, skills and knowledge.
  • Monthly givers supports from their private assets monthly.
  • Ad hoc givers supports from their private assets at certain occasions.

RISEmember information

Country Branches must offer material that Action10 can use in their fundraising campaigns as well as in their reports to monthly and ad hoc givers. This is reports and stories with photos and maybe videos. It is crucial that photos and videos come with consent.

  • Presentations of new RISEmembers and their business ideas
    • Institutional capacity, sustainable economy, social good and progress markers.
    • Volume of investment, collateral, pay-back agreement, risks and risk mitigation activities.
  • Status reports from assigned RISEmembers, annual or bi-annual
    • Progress marker scoring.
    • Lessons learned and informed decisions.
    • TestE review data.

Annual reports

The annual reports shall contain, besides the information about the Country Branch itself, also information of each RISEmember activities during the year of reporting.

ActionInvest capital & financial balance

The Branches are expected to manage a capital that ensures that the Branch is financially sustainable, thus the income is larger than the costs.

Each Branch makes assessments of the size of the capital required to ensure financial balance.  The capital shall increase with time as the company is growing, and more costs are to be covered.

The profit is always reinvested.

ActionInvest capital request

The Branches can request transfer of new ActionInvest capital from Action10 when new RISEmembers can be assigned that needs investment to grow and deliver social good, or previous RISEmembers have opportunities for scaling, and if this investment will generate income to the Country Branch.

This request is make in writing, to the deputy President of Action10,  together with the new business plan. The request is also presented during ActionTalks, and Action10 members can then ask questions.

Such request must be linked to RISEmember information that Action10 can use in their fundraising campaigns and reports to supporters.

Moreover, such request can usually only be made by country Branches that have registered a for profit private company, limited by guarantees, in the country of operation, as well as a bank account, with three signatories, linked to the company.

The Balance in finances-
finance administration & accounting

Substantiality

It is important that the RISE members have balances in their businesses. The ActionInvest capital shall not decrease as a result of members failing to pay back. As donations are collected, the capital on the Branch bank account shall always mirror the amount collected. 

Additional fees

HR&S does not charge any additional fees but the interest.

RISEmember pays a RISEmember fee that covers RISEmember services such as RISEtalks and company site visits for TestE reviews.

Accountability procedures

  1. Team-building and joint financial responsibility for the ActionInvest capital among RISE members, combined with accounting training and auditing with management reports.
  2. RISE member direct coaching and training of RISE members customers.
  3. Signing agreements with employers that loan and interest is withdrawn directly form the salary.

10 % of funds transferred can be used to cover running costs as well as as financial reward to active Branch team members
Team members requesting a financial reimbursement  shall present a written activity report by the end of the year. In a RISEtalk due 15 February the Branch Team Members present their individual activity report and the Branch shares the reward funds as they find is right. HR&S approved the distribution prior to it being transferred to private accounts.
 Reason being that as it is demanding to get the ActionInvest to generate local income due to the level of corruption, our team needs another support to be able to operate. Previously we gave a reward to all team members, that did not work as many joined to get the reward but without contributing.

Calculation Examples

Long-term 10% if one year or more.
If we borrow EUR 100 we pay EUR 100+10 after one year, and 100+20 after two years.

With 36% annual interest / short-term one month
If we borrow EUR 100 we pay back EUR 100+3 after one month.

With 14% annual interest / short-term six month
If we borrow EUR 100 we pay back EUR 100+7 after six months. Proposal for our programme in Togo.

Examples from the programme:

  • Togo villages, loan-giver is a RISE member,
    six months loans paying 7% of the capital (A.3) 
  • Liberia employees,  loan-giver is the HR&S Branch,
    one months loans, paying 3 % of the capital (A.31). 
    Expected income: A capital of EUR 2,000 = EUR 720

Interest

Why do we have interest on the loans?
We cannot expect the Branch team to work as volunteers, the branch team has to be reimbursed for the services they offer to the loan-takers. Financial viability depends on that income covers costs, and this is the reason for interest.
The wealth of a country depends on a strong business sector, and companies cannot take off unless they have access to capital, this capital has to come from somewhere, a loan, and those working with providing the capital has to be reimbursed, interest.

Our interest is fair, and we work as partners, if the loan-taker has problems we will solve them together, no-one will suffer because they took a loan. BUT we do not accept nonsense and loan must be paid back. Please read elsewhere on our web-site about how we handle this.

What HR&S is offering is exactly what Sweden did 150 years ago, and this is how Sweden went from being a poor country to a country that can offer social security to it population.