Partner: African Evangelical Christian Mission
African Evangelical Christian Mission (AECM) has been a Mission One partner since 2006. During that time, Mission One has supported the ministry through quarterly support and occasional special gifts including a one-time purchase of a Ministry car that has since broken down and was never repaired or replaced. Presently, AECM needs a ministry car in addition to more funds to support their ongoing ministry in Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and a possible expansion to Ivory Coast. AECM has over 100 Pastors in the organization, all of whom are struggling to make ends meet given the fact that they serve in very poor communities that are not able to support them consistently.
On a recent partner visit, Mission One found that the partner is struggling, and their ministry is suffering as well because they just don’t have the resources to do the work that needs to be done. The organization needs a ministry car to facilitate travel to rural communities. Each village pastor needs a motorbike to travel across their area and minister to people. Currently, Joseph Ayigah, AECM president, and his wife Graciah survive off the occasional honorarium they receive when they travel to share Graciah’s testimony of being resurrected from the dead. The quarterly support that AECM receives from Mission One is not sufficient to meet all the needs of the organization. With over 100 pastors, spread out across multiple rural communities in four countries, the amount of $1600 each quarter cannot meet the needs of the organization members. Both Mission One and AECM would like to collaborate on projects that will enable the operational cost of AECM’s ministry to become locally sustained in the next few years. This is a shared goal that also aligns with Mission One’s current strategy.
Initially, the partner had proposed the idea of starting a Soybean farm to support the ministry. However, during the Mission One partner visit it became clear that while this idea has merit, the partner needs a project that can generate revenue in the short term compared to what is possible with an agriculture project. After further discussion, the partner suggested starting a car rental service as a project that would generate immediate cash flow and meet day-to-day expenses. The idea came because Joseph and Graciah have a neighbor who has already had some success with a car rental and shared the idea with them.

OUR PLAN
The plan is for Mission ONE project funds to purchase a vehicle and then run the car rental through GOZEM, an Uber-type company based in West Africa. GOZEM would install their software in the car and monitor rides through a GPS tracker. Customers for the rental car would come through the GOZEM platform. That would guarantee a steady stream of customers and therefore steady revenue flow. The first step of the plan was to research the car rental business idea through conversations with others that have done a similar project. The AECM team also met with GOZEM to understand their requirements and expectations for starting this project with them. GOZEM stated that once the car had been purchased, it would have to be installed with a GPS tracker to track the rides. In addition, GOZEM will also provide training for the driver that would be operating the car on how to properly use the GPS tracker system to track rides. The next step will be to purchase a car and hire a driver who will begin operating the car rental once the GPS tracker is installed and he has received training. After the first car is operational, a second car will be purchased, and once that is operational, a third car will be purchased as well. The funds for the purchase of all three cars will be provided by Mission ONE’s strategic project funds which will make it possible for the Car rental project to scale quickly and provided cash flow for AECM’s operational expenses. However, the scale-up from one to three cars will be contingent on the anticipated achievement of project milestones.
DESIRED IMPACT
The desired long-term impact for this car rental project is that it will replace the quarterly support that Mission One currently sends to AECM. In addition, revenue from the car rental as it continues to grow can support the purchase of a Ministry car and motorbikes for AECM’s pastors. Since the Pastors work in rural communities often covering large geographical areas, having access to transport will significantly improve their ability to perform pastoral care in the communities in which they serve. In addition, for the AECM leadership team based in Lomé, a ministry car will make it easier for them to regularly travel across the Country and to Benin to provide ongoing training and ministry for the local Pastors. Finally, this project will provide jobs for at least three drivers long-term in addition to the many indirect benefits of operating a locally sustained Ministry in Togo.
MEASURABLE GOALS
01.
August 2022
Replacement of quarterly support six months after the project is implemented.
02.
February 2024
Purchase of 4 motorbikes for the AECM ministry team two years after the project is implemented.
03.
February 2026
Purchase of a Ministry car 4 years from when the project is implemented.
04.
January 2025
5 stories of impact from local pastors 3 years after the project is implemented.