What is your mission in 140 characters or less?

Kosovo Wind Gardens (KWG) designs and delivers wind turbines designed for low-income markets with the aim of bolstering domestic capacity in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

 

What does your business do, in 140 characters or less?

KWG delivers wind turbines to support rural development. The turbines offset the energy costs associated with existing electric generators (e.g. diesel, propane) and mitigate the effects of electrical blackouts.

 

Why are you launching this business, in 140 characters or less?

KWG seeks to promote economic development in impoverished regions without compromising environmentally or financially.

 

Describe your products and/or services. Please focus on the benefit they will provide or the problem they will solve for your customers.

The nation of Kosovo is the poorest in Europe and, owing to the scars of a decade-old war, suffers daily blackouts from a regularly overloaded electrical grid. Consequently, rural farmers must find other sources of electricity for equipment which must operate nonstop, such as refrigeration units. Almost all choose diesel-run generators, creating significant pollution at a cost far above that of grid electricity. Kosovo Wind Gardens provides an attractive solution to this problem through the use of the marketplace to distribute wind turbines in support of rural development. The turbines have the capacity to offset fuel costs, mitigate the effects of blackouts, and to, eventually, generate income through the sale of excess electricity, made possible by recently implemented feed-in tariff legislation.

 

In more detail, why are you launching this business?

Kosovo Wind Gardens (KWG) was formed as a socially-conscious venture driven to make a difference while generating profit, not vice versa. The foundational principle of KWG is that the open market is the fastest and most sustainable way to bring about social change. Over the next 20 years, emerging economies like Kosovo will be the ones driving the world's energy demands. The problem with this situation is that most of these countries lack the policy infrastructure to support sustainable economic development. The solution to this policy problem is the use of the marketplace. Kosovo Wind Gardens uses the market place to deliver renewable energies to support such sustainable economic development.

 

How do you plan to make a positive long term social and/or environmental impact?

KWG uses a two-prong approach to reach its mission. The first is business development; our goal is to create markets for wind turbines in low-income countries, for the first two years we be partnered with an existing small wind turbine manufacturer. Initially, we will be focusing on the Western Balkans because of their growing economies, good wind resources, and poor electrical infrastructure. The second prong is technology development. Since January of 2011, KWG has been developing a wind turbine designed specifically for low-income markets. Currently, US and EU wind turbine manufacturers are designing their turbines for mid-to-high income markets; the turbines are designed for extremely high quality and longevity, and are consequently prohibitively expensive to developing regions. As such, KWG is using materials and techniques which will significantly reduce the upfront cost of turbines to a point which is affordable for the target demographic. Additionally, because the turbines are more labor than capital intensive to assemble, we expect to have a significant impact on our target countries' local employment.

 

What relevant knowledge, skills, and experience does your management team have? If there are other positions you need to fill what is your plan to fill them?

Adam Walker is currently an M.S. Candidate at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Adam has bachelor's degrees in Physics and Philosophy from Carnegie Mellon University. Adam has experience in developing social enterprises, and his thesis work is on supporting entrepreneurship in developing countries. He also achieved top 20 status in the Dell Social Innovation Competition (which boasted over 1,400 competitors in 86 countries), and is active in the Summer Startup Incubator at RIT. Lindsay is a fourth year Bachelor of Science in Busines Administration, Internation Business and Marketing. Lindsay served as an Account Executive and Public Relations intern at Dixon Schwabl where she composed market analysis and competition reports. Lum Citaku is a recent graduate of the American University of Kosovo, where he earned a degree in Media and Graphic Communications & Management. Lum has been recognized as one of the best young new media artists in Kosovo. Matt Munderville is a graduate of the Simon School of Business, where he earned a Master's degree in Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, with a focus on renewable energy. Prior to this, Matt worked as an analyst for three years at a mid-sized energy consultancy. Matt also has Bachelor's degrees in Physics and English. Manuel Sosa Skrainka is a current student of RIT, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Sustainable Engineering, and a graduate of the Universidad Central de Venezuala (UCV), where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and co-founded the team representing UCV at the Formula SAE Competition; he was awarded the Social Impact (2006) and Technology Entrepreneurship (2005) awards from his alma mater. Manuel works as the Sustainable Business Practices Coordinator to the Office of the Sustainability Advisor at RIT. His thesis work is on the environmental impacts of remanufacturing of wind turbines. Shpend Jusufi is also a recent graduate of the American University of Kosovo. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Management and Public Policy. Shpend had previously cooped with the Swiss wind developer, NEK, where he assisted them in developing a wind map for Kosovo. Josh Turner is a current student at RIT, where he is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Josh has experience in Remote Data Acquisition Systems (RDAS), turbine blade design, and turbine performance models. Dan Driffill is a student at RIT currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Management, and will be entering an MBA program upon graduation. The co-founder of RIT's Entrepreneurship Club, Dan has firsthand experience with several other entrepreneurial ventures. We are currently sourcing a project manager and director in Kosovo. Fortunately Engineers Without Borders and our potential investors in Kosovo have both made recommendations for potential employees.

Number of Founders

4

Primary Contact Team Members

Please Describe how your business will utilize the funds you are raising

We plan to put funds generated toward procuring a proof-of-concept turbine. Renewable energy in general and wind technology in particular are not well known in Kosovo, and our target customers are historically resistant to adopting unproven technology: as such, we would like to provide a demonstration of our manufacturing partner's 5kW turbine unit successfully providing energy for a dairy farmer's equipment. The team has also been nurturing a relationship with several socially-conscious Kosovar investors. But before they are willing to invest their money, they are requiring our team to put on a proof of concept of this wind technology. Currently, our team lacks the capital to purchase this proof of concept wind turbine. Once we are able to secure a turbine, we will then ship it to Kosovo. From January 4 to 7, Josh, Manuel, Adam and their soon to be hired project manager in Kosovo, will go to Holland to meet with the manufacturer, receive turbine installation training, and sign the agreement to become their distributor of their products in Kosovo (and potentially the US). From January 8th to the 14th, Josh, Manuel, and Adam will then go to Kosovo to put up the proof-of-concept turbine and put on the public relations event. Two days following the event, the team will sit down with their Kosovar investors and draft the Kosovo Wind Gardens charter. Additionally, funds will be used to support the development the world's least expensive 3 and 5 kW turbines Any excess funds we raise will be used to support the development of other prototype technologies: - A remote data acquisition system (RDAS) that allows us to monitor the power output of our turbines, send the data through a cell phone signal, collect and aggregate the data, then translate and sell the data as carbon credits - A low-cost, mobile, Remote Data Acquisition System Trailer that allows us to quickly and inexpensively evaluate the wind resources in low-income markets - An adapted cooling system that more efficiently uses the the wind turbine's electricity to refrigerate milk than would storing the turbine's electricity in a battery bank for future use. Requests and Costs: One turbine system for proof of concept ($19,961.38) Three plane tickets from Rochester to Amsterdam; then from from Amsterdam to Pristina, Kosovo and then from Pristina to USA ($3,823.50) One round trip ticket from Pristinato Amsterdam, for our project manager ($396) Transportation within Holland, 4 round trip tickets from Amsterdam to Groningen ($616) Transportation within Kosovo, 2 day truck rental at 70 euros a day and 20 euros a day for gas ($254.78) Accommodations in Holland, 4 days at 60 euros per room with 2 rooms ($668.83) Accommodations in Kosovo, 6 days at 30 euros per room with 2 rooms ($501.62) Food in Holland ~$30/day, 4 days for 4 people ($480) Food in Kosovo ~$10/day, 6 days for 3 people ($180) Advertising and support for proof of concept event ($557.36) Prototype turbine parts ($9,320) Prototype RDAS electronics ($1,185) Prototype RDAS trailer ($6,150)

 

What is the current stage of your business?

Idea Phase

 

Has your business generated any revenue yet?

No

 

Whether you have earned revenue or not, does your business currently have any non-paying customers such as product testers, beta users, promotional members, etc?

No

 

Has your business been incorporated yet?

No

 

How does your business make money?

Initially we will be selling another company's turbines. We expect in 1.5 years that our turbine design will be ready for commercialization, at which point not only do our profits per turbine increase, but also our sales volume; the lowered price will allow us to reach a larger population of the world.

 

What are your specific goals for this business in terms of revenue, staffing, and/or key impact metrics?

Revenue: We expect Kosovo Wind Gardens to have a positive cash flow in its third year Staffing: Initially we will have a director, project manager and office assistant in Kosovo Once our turbine becomes available - we expect within 3 years of the turbines use, to boost farmers' productivity (by lowering the energy overhead) by over 100%