Country
South Africa
Import/Export
Export
Topic
Zero Project 2020/2021
Transfer Model
social franchise
Status
I Love Coffee is a social enterprise based in Cape Town, South Africa, that is building a chain of coffee shops and operates a coffee roastery run by Deaf young people. Employees receive barista and hospitality training, along with support for accessing other services, such as banking and social services. There are ten locations across Cape Town and Johannesburg, including both public and in-office locations. In 2020, I Love Coffee has 26 employees, and it plans to operate 40 cafés soon and replicate their model abroad though a social franchise approach.
Solution
I Love Coffee is geared towards the employment of Deaf young people by providing training in health and safety, coffee production, and customer service. All hearing staff are also trained in sign language. There is a defined career pathway within the organization for employees identified for promotion, including accredited facilitation training, trainer development, and management training.
I Love Coffee opened its first café in 2016 employing three staff; in 2020 there are 26 people working for the company, 80 per cent of whom are Deaf. Between 2016 and 2020, I Love Coffee has opened ten outlets.
I Love Coffee is in the process of accrediting its training programme and has partnered with industry leaders to ensure that its programme fulfils the specific needs of the hospitality industry. While training and operating practices are deaf-specific, the organization ensures that its training is in accordance with industry norms so that staff can work in the general hospitality industry as well.
Impact
I Love Coffee has grown from one to ten locations
We have trained over 75 Deaf people – 90% of whom have found sustainable work.
Goals
I Love Coffee aims to be self-sufficient and is supported by the SAB Foundation and the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. Equipment is funded through Enterprise Development grants or loans; and income from the coffee shops covers salaries, utilities, and operating expenses.
In 2020, I Love Coffee completed the construction of a new operational facility hosting a coffee roastery, central kitchen, and training infrastructure. As a social enterprise, I Love Coffee plans to reinvest all profits into the growth of the organization.
From 2015 to 2020 the company has scaled from one to ten locations and is now looking to scale further both nationally and internationally through a social franchise model.
Needs
We need to partner with a social franchise expert to help us distil our training and operations into a model we can easily replicate. For these activities we require funding from a strategic Impact investor
We are also interested to explore collaborations with organizations interested in replicating our model through a social franchise approach.
Transfer Model
Our impact goal is to empower 1000 Deaf youth to enter the workforce within 3 years
To achieve this, we want to empower more Deaf trainers and scale our coffee production through a social franchise model.
Our plan is then to pilot I Love Coffee in Mauritius before we look at a wider rollout.
Why Mauritius? Well, it has a similar economy, and the Deaf community face the same challenges accessing education and employment.
Further Info
Gary Hopkins, Founder and Manging Director, gary@ilovecoffeegroup.co.za
https://www.ilovecoffeegroup.co.za