Liberian Ministries

Business Opportunity

Generator Rebuild and Sales in Monrovia

Date

05/06/2005

Submitted By

Rodney Edwards

Summary Description	Purchase used diesel generators in the United States, refurbish and sell them in Monrovia.
Detailed Description	Until such time as the city power grid can be replaced, the people of Monrovia will rely upon diesel generators to provide for their electrical needs. A company in the U.S. (Affordable Power) buys the diesel generators from refrigerated rail cars, refurbishes them and sells them within the U.S. on ebay and through other means. I have contacted the company and they are willing to sell the base units to us, prior to overhaul, in container load (20 units each) quantities for a reduced price. The units are all identical, are simple to rebuild and have a long service life. A Liberian company can be set up to receive, overhaul and sell the units in Monrovia.
Potential Benefits	The opportunity to earn gross profits of $75,000 (see financial projections in spreadsheet entitled Generator Sales Projections.xls) based upon selling 100 generators per year seem realistic. In addition, an ongoing service and rebuilding business could be established. Christians could be hired and trained providing additional jobs. Special pricing could be provided to Christian ministries operating within the country. Inventory could be used to provide for the needs of our Monrovian operations reducing our need for a dedicated generator.
Potential Difficulties	We would need to buy/build land and a building to operate out of. Workers will need to be trained to service and overhaul the units. Capital (approximately $60,000) would be required to buy, ship and rebuild the first container of generators. A means of accounting for the money earned and spent would be required.
Research Needed	Validation of the potential sales price of the units is needed. Property and a building must be found and added to the financial projections. See if churches are willing to sponsor one generator (or more) each.
Other Comments	The land and building could be shared among all of the ministry’s businesses. This would also remove the $1,800 annual rent.
Other Tools	See BusinessOpportunities-GeneratorSales.xls for preliminary financial analysis of this opportunity. See potential units at www.affordablepower.com.