BUSINESS AND COUNTRY VARIABLE ANALYSIS

Part 1 Introduction

Feed Burundi is a non-profit organization seeking to find ways to battle hunger in the
Republic of Burundi, in Africa, which is the worlds hungriest country percentage wise. We will
explore the purpose of Feed Burundi and explore variables such as physical, demographic,
culture, environment, legal, ethical, trade, and investment, foreign exchange and exchange rates
issues. We will analysis and determine what issues can be used to our advantage, and if any
issues will affect the impact that we can make in Burundi. Feed Burundi will analyze explore
ways to accumulate food for the food kitchen. We will look into purchasing a small amount of
land to grow food, importing food from neighboring countries, as well as purchasing locally
grown food from vendors.
Part 2 Organizational structure
The company to be created is a nonprofit hunger-relief company called Feed Burundi. We
will seek to solve hunger in the Republic of Burundi, Africa through a nationwide network of
member food banks and engage the nation in the fight to end hunger. At Feed Burundi, we will
invest 98 cents of every dollar donated straight into programs that will help people across the
country access the food they need to live an active, healthy life. Feed Burundi will seek to aid
children, adults, and seniors of low-income and homeless families. We will begin with setting up
a small affordable food kitchen where we can serve a hot meal a day directly to individuals and
families in need. We will host food drives in more prominent neighborhoods and collect
monetary donations to help purchase food for the kitchen. Monetary donations will also assist in
purchasing food for us to bag and give to families to take home. All workers will be volunteers
or missionaries and will not be financially compensated for their time. Funding will be needed to
fix up a building into a sturdy, welcoming kitchen as well as to transport volunteers to Burundi.
Part 3 Country variables
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Physical and demographic

The Republic of Burundi is located in Africa between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo and Tanzania. This geographic setup makes The Republic of Burundi a noncoastal
country, and to Burundis disadvantage, it will be unable to profit from foreign trade (Arvis,
Raballand & Marteau, p. 2). Lack of trade restricts economic growth but Feed Burundi can help
offset the food expense for low income families, so they may use those funds elsewhere. Almost
67% of Burundis population of 10.16 million, as of 2013 (Burundi, n.d.), live below the poverty
line (Burundi, n.d.). With over 7 million families in need, Feed Burundi has a great chance for
success as it will help supplement the income of families in dire need. Although 86.45 % of
Burundis land is using for farming and gaming (, as of 2011, it still suffers from hunger due to
many external factors (Agriculture Land, n.d.). Burundi can clearly produce food, however the
issue lies with soil erosion due to deforestation, overpopulation, high food prices and an ongoing
civil war for land (Burundi: Food Has, n.d.), the country has to import more than they are
exporting. This means that many land owners are exporting their produce in order to survive,
leaving a food shortage for those families who are unable to produce their own food. Feed
Burundi will help combat that food scarcity and hunger that families encounter. Feed Burundi
will provide one daily hot meal to help fight hunger.
Cultural Environment
In the Republic of Burundi the cultural foods consists of beans, corn, peas, millet,
sorghum, cassava, sweet potatoes, and bananas. The daily nutrition incorporates carbohydrates,
vitamins, and minerals but lack fat and protein. Meat in Burundi only accounts for 2 percent of
food consumption because cows are considered sacred and holds a great deal of symbolic power.

For instance, milk can neither be heated nor drunk on the same day in which peas or peanuts are
consumed. Feed Burundi will take into account that peas are huge part of the local nationals
diet, so we will not serve milk in our food kitchen to keep food options open to all. We will also
be sure to follow local traditions which states that if a cow dies, it is customary to plant the horns
near the building in order to bring good luck. If we setup a food kitchen near Lake Tanganyika,
we will incorporate more fish into the diet to help combat protein deficiency. In Burundi beer
drank from straws, is an important part of social interactions, so at Feed Burundi, we will do our
best to offer beer on holidays. There are several ethnic and racial groups living in Burundi today
with the most common spoken languages being Kirundi and French, Swahili, and English.
Approximately 67% of the population over the age of 15 are literate. At Feed Burundi, we will
need an interpreter who can speak all languages, or a few interpreters who can speak at least two.
All of our signs at the kitchen will incorporate the 4 languages to properly welcome families.
Legal and Ethical Environment
Starting a business in Burundi requires the entrepreneur to submit an application, photos
of all partners, and all requested documentation with 40,000 BIF ($25.69) to the Agence des
Promotions des Investissements in order to obtain a registration certificate and a tax
identification number (Starting a Business, n.d.). Although there may be numerous documents
submitted, there is only a 2 day turn around to receive the certificate and tax ID number. This is
beneficial for Feed Burundi because we can start the process as soon as we get to Burundi, rather
than submitting documents weeks in advance. If Feed Burundi plans to obtain business loans
locally, we would need to purchase a company seal which costs 20,000 BIF ($12.85) and has a 2
day turnaround (Starting a Business, n.d.). There has been a civil war in Burundi since 1993 that
forced hundreds of thousands of individuals and families from their land (Kohlhagen, 2012).
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Land is a number one way that Burundians make income, mainly by growing their own crops to
sell. Without land, many families are left without income and without food (Kohlhagen, 2012).
At Feed Burundi will seek to find available land for a low price to begin growing crops for
families in need as well as attempt to grow vegetables in potted soil.
Burundi's is an agricultural and livestock economy with over 90% of the population
engaged in subsistence agriculture. (Burundi-Encyclopedia, n.d.) Although Burundi has massive
amounts of crops, the citizens choose to export these crops, in order to raise money for importing
other resources. This leaves the citizens with a shortage of food at the end of the day. Feed
Burundi will seek to purchase small land to grow its own crops for the business, purchase crops
from the local landowners, as well as bring canned food from outside the country. Since 1993,
ethnic tensions and ongoing violence have severely disrupted the economy, bringing the
government's economic reforms to a halt. International sanctions in 1996 exacerbated the poor
economic situation, causing further food shortages, and high inflation. (Burundi-Encyclopedia,
n.d.). The high inflations in Burundi means a higher cost for local food. This will severely limit
that amount of food that Feed Burundi can purchase locally. We will need to seek small food
donations from the local landowners to assist with the community hunger. As of 2014, Burundis
Gross Domestic Product per capita income was $267, which is much less than the World Banks
poverty line of $1.25 a day (Burundi, n.d.). Living under the poverty line means that the local
citizens are struggling to get by in their daily lives and are in need of assistance from outside
organizations, which will include Feed Burundi as we will provide free meals to those in need.

Trade and Investment

Commercialization and nationwide distribution of daily necessities and foodstuffs are

practically nonexistent [in Burundi], due to constant civil wars (Burundi- Encyclopedia, n.d.).
The lack of delivery of these supplies contributes to the food scarcity. Feed Burundi will seek to
setup multiple food kitchens within the first 5 years in order to provide food and nourishment to
as many families as possible, without restrictions to geographic location. All domestic trade is
influenced by the coffee harvest, which during the harvest season (JuneSeptember) provides
increased income and stimulates trading, with a somewhat inflationary effect. (BurundiEncyclopedia, n.d.). Feed Burundi can use this season of slight temporary inflation to
concentrate more efforts on seeking forms of donations from local nationals. In 2004, Burundi's
imports exceeded its exports by 266%. Burundi's export income is highly volatile and fluctuates
sharply with shifts in world coffee prices. (Burundi- Encyclopedia, n.d). To combat the
unpredictability of the weather and land, Burundi began expanding its variation of exported
products. It exports to some of the same countries that it receives imports and foreign aid from,
to include France and Germany. It may be possible for Feed Burundi to receive volunteers,
donations, and assistance from these same countries who have trade history with Burundi.
Foreign Exchange and Exchange Rates
The currency of the Republic of Burundi is the Burundian Franc (BIF) which is the
equivalent of 0.00064 American Dollars (The Worlds Trusted, n.d). This converts to one
American Dollar equaling 1,569.59 BIF which means that Feed Burundi would not require large
amounts of money to start up and sustain itself. The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that
in 2004 the purchasing power parity of Burundi's exports was $48 million while imports totaled
$175.9 million, resulting in a trade deficit of $127.9 million, (Burundi Encyclopedia, n.d). In
this situation, more money is flowing out of Burundi, rather than into Burundi. To counter this,
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Feed Burundi will seek to purchase food locally for its business, in order to assist in stimulating
Burundis economy. With Burundi importing more than it exports, it shouldnt be much of an
issue to reach out to nonprofit organizations in partnering countries and ask for a helping hand.
There is already a trade route from these countries which should allow supplies to flow into the
country freely and smoothly.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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and supply chain reliability (Conference ed., p. 2). Washington D.C.: World Bank.
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http://www.irinnews.org/report/78656/burundi-food-has-become-too-expensive
4. Burundi. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://data.worldbank.org/country/burundi
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http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Burundi.aspx
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http://www.landandpoverty.com/agenda/pdfs/paper/kohlhagen_full_paper.pdf
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9. The World's Trusted Currency Authority. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from
http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=BIF