Eight years ago, Jimmy Tune was selected as a possible candidate for a scholarship from Aiducation. Inspired by a visit to Switzerland in 2014 and equipped with the necessary skills at one of Aiducation’s Startup academies, he developed a brilliant idea to launch his own start-up: the Crosstown Courier. Jimmy is full of entrepreneurial spirit and happy to share his story with us.

Jimmy, what is the idea behind Crosstown Courier LTD?
Crosstown courier LTD was borne to bridge the gap of doing city deliveries. There being no elaborate system to provide this service the company came in handy to bridge the gap in doing deliveries of parcels, mails, lunch, shopping, small boxes, paying water and electricity bills and all petty errands from one office to another within the city. All this we do by bicycle means as our main aim is not only to make profits but also lead the way for green entrepreneurship.

Jimmy (left) and one of his riders.

How did you come up with your small business idea?
I was volunteering in an organisation that was organising a major event in the city. As part of the organising team we printed many letters that were to be delivered to the relevant stakeholders. The internal messenger department was to handle all deliveries but they instead used third party to do the deliveries. This resulted to a majority of the letters not being delivered. The event was thus not succesful and the organisation incured huge losses since the turn out was low. I went back and thought over the whole situation; what if I had a bicycle to guaranteer door to door delivery of all letters? This would be a win-win situation for me and the organisation.

Was this a project you have always dreamt of launching?
After the incident at the organisationI would‘nt stop researching about bicycle courier businesses around the world and my passion grew stronger with each passing day. I came to learn that the bicycle courier is doing well in Europe countries like Switzerland with companies like Flash and Velo Couriers. I always dreamt to make it a reality one day and I started working towards it with the little I had.

His startup was featured in the national newspaper.

What role did Aiducation play in the success of your business?
Aiducation came through with the Start-up academies being offered with support from SwissRe insurance company. These mentorship sessions taught and equiped me with vast knowledge on starting, maintaining and running the business. It is through Aiducation international that I also received funding for my start-up company.

Were there any challenges you were facing when you started your project?
I had no capital so I instead borrowed a bicycle of one of my friends who was working night shift as I would use the bicycle during the day to handle the few delivery orders I had then.

David Jonathan is a 15-year-old boy from Marikina City, Philippines. He has recently received a scholarship to fulfil his dream of becoming an engineer. We asked him in a video message how he felt when he was informed about this good news.

Aiducation stands for for maximum transparency of your donation. As an Aidumaker you receive annual copies of the scholar‘s progress and grades. But transparency does not stop here: Many AiduFellows choose to post video messages like this one and allow their donors to receive a first-hand impression of what a scholarship means to them. If you want to learn more about transparency at Aiducation, visit this page or write an email to info@aiducation.org.

The „WIWAG 6.0 Business Week“ is new training program that was held from November 24th-27th 2015 in the Philippines. It was facilitated by the Bato Balani Foundation in the Philippines and the Ernst Schmidheiny Foundation in Switzerland. The four day training brought together several people from Aiducation Chapters in the Philippines and Kenya who earned their Trainer Certificates to facilitate future Business Weeks in Kenya and Philippines.

WIWAG is a program that teaches business strategy and decision analysis within changing market conditions. Participants take the role of the management of various industrial companies, typically small or medium-sized, that are in competition with one another. This is done via a one-week computer based economic simulations based on real world business conditions.

As one of the Kenyan Aiducators, Erick Otieno also attended the qualifying courses to first become an official “Economy Weeks Facilitator” and then later on an official “Economy Weeks Trainer" in Kenya for fellow Aiducation Fellows and Alumni.

Erick (third from left) with his Philippine colleagues at the WIWAG.

During the WIWAG training, Erick was particularly happy to meet so many new faces who were willing to volunteer for the better cause. He experienced the culture at the workshop superb and extremely welcoming: „This made all of us flow along as we ventured in to the world of Company management – despite all of us not having experience in Business Management.“ After a simulation competition, the participants were trained to teach and handle learning lessons and finally to receives a certificate as a Trainer.

„I am grateful for the experience and I learned a lot“, Erick said. „Now we are very excited about the impact Business Week workshops can make for our Alumni and Aiducaton Fellows in both countries.“

It’s a dream come true: Aiducation has awarded their 1000th scholarship! That means nothing less than the world to 1000 bright and needy students. These AiduFellows all of a sudden got access not only to school, but also to their own potential which will help them become social, economic, and political forces in their home countries.

“I remember very well how we started back in 2007”, Florian Kapitza, CEO of Aiducation International, recalls. “To see us pass the 1000 is satisfying and humbling at the same time.“

Our AiduFellow number 1000 is Angelica, a 15-year old Filipina, who aspires of becoming an engineer. “I see myself as the person who inspires other people to continue their dreams”, the oldest daughter in a family of five children says. Her father, a day labourer at a construction company, and her mother, a housekeeper, are proud of their diligent and dedicated daughter.
This incredible journey of impact would never have been possible without the invaluable contributions of all our supporters in the past. With our latest video we want to express our wholehearted thanks to all of you!

Written by Rachael Sidi, AiduAlumni and young Kenyan entrepreneur.

“On the 11th of October, I was for the first time in my life in Europe – the beginning of a fantastic three-week journey through Switzerland. One reason was to attend a conference on Future Economic Systems in Engelberg, but I also acted as an Aiducation ambassador and shared my story and how Aiducation impacts my and other AiduAlumni’s lives.

Kenya meets Switzerland: AiduAlumna Rachel in the Swiss Alps.

The conference was a great and memorable event in every aspect. There was a lot to learn about economy in only four days. Young scientists who were considered the future generation had an opportunity to share and discuss their views and ideas on future economy. Other fascinating topics included aspects on mobility, basic income and the Athens case as a proper model for the future economy of Europe. Of course, such a great conference of insights and learning in the Swiss Alps can’t go without a great event dinner at the Titlis Mountains. That was incredibly amazing – up in the mountain with a lot of snow and even a glacier cave. The whole conference will forever keep brilliant memory, and if all the ideas discussed could be put into practice, one day we will have the best economy we ever witnessed.