Gratitude Traders is seeking $1 million in initial funding through a private placement offering to import and export agricultural commodities between Ethiopia and the US. The company plans to acquire, sell, and export Ethiopian products like sesame seeds and coffee beans. Long term, Gratitude Traders aims to generate profits of 40-50% annually and return 10% to a non-profit called Ethiopian Journey to support education in Ethiopia. The presentation outlines Gratitude Traders' leadership, business strategy, partnerships, and projected investment returns.
Raising Dough: Financing Your Farm or Food-Based BusinessElizabeth Ü
In order to start or grow a farm of food-based business, you need money. Farmers have more financing options than ever before to raise capital for their farm-based businesses, but choosing which fundraising methods to pursue requires knowing how they work. In this track, learn the criteria, sweet spots, pros and cons, tips and techniques of the many financing options available. Complete with interactive exercises, success stories, and cautionary tales, discover what it takes to access the right kinds of capital for your farm. You’ll leave with steps you can take right away, whether you are currently seeking financing or don’t expect to for years to come.
Presenters:
Rebecca Thistlewaite, Sustain Consulting
Elizabeth Ü, Finance for Food
Bill Kitsch, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit
Topics Covered:
--Clarifying Your Values & Prioritizing Business Investments
--Organizing Financial Records & Improving Your Credit Rating
--Cash Flow, Budgeting & Enterprise Analysis
--Overview of Financing Types & Laws to Keep in Mind
--Loans; Land Financing Options; Grants; Community Supported Models; Crowdfunding
--Social Capital: Why It’s Important & How to Build It
--Equity Financing
Presented at PASA's 23rd Annual Farming for the Future Conference: Letting Nature Lead. State College, PA. February 8, 2014
Retaining Donors Through Tough Economic TimesSean Triner
Using data available to Pareto Fundraising, the retaining donors through tough economic times workshop looked at the ways in which charities could maintain and strengthen their relationships with their donors.
Fundraising Is Broken And Here's How To Fix ItMarketSmart
What if you could lower your fundraising costs while exponentially increasing fundraising revenues? Now you can! With Engagement Fundraising. MarketSmart’s President, Founder and CEO, Greg Warner gives his interesting point of view on this, backing it up with stats, graphs, and captivating visuals to prove his point.
Building Back Better Business CreditabilityYvonne Gamble
To understand your Business Creditability, I’m going to invite you to look at wealth, finances and credit, on several different levels. It's more than just "money."
RetireGuide™ from Betterment - Investing Made BetterBetterment
Are you investing correctly for retirement?
Try RetireGuide™ and see our free advice. Our new tool can help you determine whether you are on track for your retirement. Unlike typical retirement calculators, RetireGuide takes into account all of your investment accounts, including those with other providers, and your spouse's holdings.
How Is RetireGuide Better?
1. Consolidated View of Your Wealth. RetireGuide™ takes everything in your life into account, including your current savings across all accounts, where you plan to live in retirement, and your current income.
2. A Plan That Grows with You. Your customized plan stays with you, automatically reflecting market changes and ready to handle the shifts in your life.
3. Scenario Testing. Your customized plan stays with you, automatically reflecting market changes and ready to handle the shifts in your life. If you don’t like what you see the first time, try different scenarios, such as when and where you retire, your retirement income, or amount of investments.
Raising Dough: Financing Your Farm or Food-Based BusinessElizabeth Ü
In order to start or grow a farm of food-based business, you need money. Farmers have more financing options than ever before to raise capital for their farm-based businesses, but choosing which fundraising methods to pursue requires knowing how they work. In this track, learn the criteria, sweet spots, pros and cons, tips and techniques of the many financing options available. Complete with interactive exercises, success stories, and cautionary tales, discover what it takes to access the right kinds of capital for your farm. You’ll leave with steps you can take right away, whether you are currently seeking financing or don’t expect to for years to come.
Presenters:
Rebecca Thistlewaite, Sustain Consulting
Elizabeth Ü, Finance for Food
Bill Kitsch, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit
Topics Covered:
--Clarifying Your Values & Prioritizing Business Investments
--Organizing Financial Records & Improving Your Credit Rating
--Cash Flow, Budgeting & Enterprise Analysis
--Overview of Financing Types & Laws to Keep in Mind
--Loans; Land Financing Options; Grants; Community Supported Models; Crowdfunding
--Social Capital: Why It’s Important & How to Build It
--Equity Financing
Presented at PASA's 23rd Annual Farming for the Future Conference: Letting Nature Lead. State College, PA. February 8, 2014
Retaining Donors Through Tough Economic TimesSean Triner
Using data available to Pareto Fundraising, the retaining donors through tough economic times workshop looked at the ways in which charities could maintain and strengthen their relationships with their donors.
Fundraising Is Broken And Here's How To Fix ItMarketSmart
What if you could lower your fundraising costs while exponentially increasing fundraising revenues? Now you can! With Engagement Fundraising. MarketSmart’s President, Founder and CEO, Greg Warner gives his interesting point of view on this, backing it up with stats, graphs, and captivating visuals to prove his point.
Building Back Better Business CreditabilityYvonne Gamble
To understand your Business Creditability, I’m going to invite you to look at wealth, finances and credit, on several different levels. It's more than just "money."
RetireGuide™ from Betterment - Investing Made BetterBetterment
Are you investing correctly for retirement?
Try RetireGuide™ and see our free advice. Our new tool can help you determine whether you are on track for your retirement. Unlike typical retirement calculators, RetireGuide takes into account all of your investment accounts, including those with other providers, and your spouse's holdings.
How Is RetireGuide Better?
1. Consolidated View of Your Wealth. RetireGuide™ takes everything in your life into account, including your current savings across all accounts, where you plan to live in retirement, and your current income.
2. A Plan That Grows with You. Your customized plan stays with you, automatically reflecting market changes and ready to handle the shifts in your life.
3. Scenario Testing. Your customized plan stays with you, automatically reflecting market changes and ready to handle the shifts in your life. If you don’t like what you see the first time, try different scenarios, such as when and where you retire, your retirement income, or amount of investments.
Data, insights and lessons from equity crowdfunding in the USA. Lessons learned from Regulation D Accredited Investor Rounds, Regulation A Testing The Waters campaigns and the emerging Title III Equity Crowdfunding process.
By Paul Reynolds. The 2015 ISG Advisor Relations Benchmark investigates how service providers fund and allocate their Advisor Relations budgets and how teams are changing in each region to engage with third-party advisors. Join this session and leave with the information you need to benchmark your own Advisor Relations program.
The Risks and Rewards of Angel investing - Join usSalum Awadh
Angel investing is critical in bridging early stage funding gap and in supporting game-changing entrepreneurs across the Africa continent. But what are the risks and rewards of this asset class?
An introduction to thematic investing and why it's a good idea to invest in tomorrow's trends today. Insights shared by AtlasTrend on investing in world trends - what is trend investing, why it's a good idea and is it profitable.
The pressures of running a business while looking for funding causes many founders to underestimate the importance of creating a clear fundraising strategy. You don’t want to waste your time seeking capital without a clear timeline and plan. In this workshop, the experienced investors and entrepreneurs will guide you on how to best prepare, plan and execute a strategy that’s best suited to your business.
This workshop will also address the specifics of what it means to raise capital as a female founder and provide practical tips, checklists, templates and interactive exercises so you can start applying these to your company and Own Your Raise.
Key topics addressed include:
What’s the landscape of raising money for female founders?
What does raising capital mean for me and for my business?
Is my company ready to raise?
How much should I raise?
What’s the process and timeline of raising from angels/VCs?
How can I best prepare to raise my first outside capital?
How do I figure out and understand who the right investors are for my company?
How can I best align running my company and running a fundraising round?
What are the resources out there that can help me fundraise?
By attending this workshop, you will:
Understand what raising outside capital means for you and your business
Have a clear understanding of how to create a fundraising strategy that makes sense for you and for your company
Learn about resources to help you fundraise
Get checklists and templates for planning and executing your raise
Get access to the slides & recording
Please note that this is a woman-only event. Use of “women” & “female” is inclusive of and welcomes trans women, nonbinary folks, and anyone who identifies with womxnhood in any way that is significant to them.
Current Investment Climate and Ethical Investment in Tanzania - presentation ...Janet Chapman
Presentation at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tanzania meeting entitled ‘Current Investment Climate and Ethical Investment in Tanzania’ by Peter Maila, investment director in the Africa Team at the CDC (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation)
Data, insights and lessons from equity crowdfunding in the USA. Lessons learned from Regulation D Accredited Investor Rounds, Regulation A Testing The Waters campaigns and the emerging Title III Equity Crowdfunding process.
By Paul Reynolds. The 2015 ISG Advisor Relations Benchmark investigates how service providers fund and allocate their Advisor Relations budgets and how teams are changing in each region to engage with third-party advisors. Join this session and leave with the information you need to benchmark your own Advisor Relations program.
The Risks and Rewards of Angel investing - Join usSalum Awadh
Angel investing is critical in bridging early stage funding gap and in supporting game-changing entrepreneurs across the Africa continent. But what are the risks and rewards of this asset class?
An introduction to thematic investing and why it's a good idea to invest in tomorrow's trends today. Insights shared by AtlasTrend on investing in world trends - what is trend investing, why it's a good idea and is it profitable.
The pressures of running a business while looking for funding causes many founders to underestimate the importance of creating a clear fundraising strategy. You don’t want to waste your time seeking capital without a clear timeline and plan. In this workshop, the experienced investors and entrepreneurs will guide you on how to best prepare, plan and execute a strategy that’s best suited to your business.
This workshop will also address the specifics of what it means to raise capital as a female founder and provide practical tips, checklists, templates and interactive exercises so you can start applying these to your company and Own Your Raise.
Key topics addressed include:
What’s the landscape of raising money for female founders?
What does raising capital mean for me and for my business?
Is my company ready to raise?
How much should I raise?
What’s the process and timeline of raising from angels/VCs?
How can I best prepare to raise my first outside capital?
How do I figure out and understand who the right investors are for my company?
How can I best align running my company and running a fundraising round?
What are the resources out there that can help me fundraise?
By attending this workshop, you will:
Understand what raising outside capital means for you and your business
Have a clear understanding of how to create a fundraising strategy that makes sense for you and for your company
Learn about resources to help you fundraise
Get checklists and templates for planning and executing your raise
Get access to the slides & recording
Please note that this is a woman-only event. Use of “women” & “female” is inclusive of and welcomes trans women, nonbinary folks, and anyone who identifies with womxnhood in any way that is significant to them.
Current Investment Climate and Ethical Investment in Tanzania - presentation ...Janet Chapman
Presentation at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tanzania meeting entitled ‘Current Investment Climate and Ethical Investment in Tanzania’ by Peter Maila, investment director in the Africa Team at the CDC (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation)
2. • This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only. The information contained herein and any related
discussion is in no way intended to be a solicitation for investment by Gratitude Traders, LLC (GT).
• The information and opinions presented in this Presentation have been obtained and derived from sources believed by GT to
be accurate, but GT cannot and does not make any representation or warranty with respect to it or its accuracy, completeness,
sufficiency, appropriateness for your purposes or timeliness. GT disclaims, to the extent permitted by applicable law or
regulation, all liability for any use you or your advisers make of the contents of this Presentation.
• This Presentation contains “forward-looking” information which is based upon certain assumptions about future events or
conditions and is intended only to illustrate hypothetical results under those assumptions (not all of which are specified
herein). Actual events or conditions may differ from those assumed herein. In addition, not all relevant events or conditions
may have been considered in developing such assumptions. Accordingly, actual results will vary and the variations may be
material. You should understand such assumptions and evaluate whether they are appropriate for your purposes. Past
performance is not a guide to future performance.
• This Presentation and all information and opinions contained or expressed in it, as the case may be, are the property of
Gratitude Traders, LLC. You may not use any portion of this Presentation except for your, or your authorized representatives or
agents, internal use, and you may not otherwise distribute any portion of this Presentation to a third party, other than your
authorized agents or representatives , without the written authorization of Gratitude Traders, LLC, Gratitude Trading
Management, LLC and Gratitude Trading Fund, LLC.
10/23/2015 Confidential 2
Safe Harbor
3. 10/23/2015 Confidential 3
Gratitude Traders: Building Economic Bridges between
Ethiopia and the United States
Who we are
Gratitude Traders, LLC, in conjunction with its Ethiopian
subsidiary, Edle, PLC, is a start-up, international company
uniquely linking the U.S. and Ethiopia. Gratitude will build
economic ties between these countries through the acquisition,
sale and export of Ethiopian agricultural products, focused
initially on sesame seed and coffee beans.
Mission
Gratitude Traders will form an economic bridge between
Ethiopia and the United States to establish investment
opportunities for the African community in both countries.
Ultimately, Gratitude Traders will direct a portion of profits
to funding Ethiopian Journey, a non-profit aimed at
developing the next generation of Ethiopian youth.
4. 10/23/2015 Confidential 4
Aderajew “Eddie” Yeshiwas, an Ethiopian native is CEO
and Managing Director of Gratitude Traders.
• Native to Gondor, an agricultural region in Ethiopia.
• Learned sesame farming as a youth.
• Emigrated to U.S. in 2005 through a U.S. government-
sponsored diversity visa lottery.
• Now also a U.S. citizen.
• Graduate of Colorado Christian University.
• Leader of the Ethiopian Christian Young Adult’s
Association.
• Small business entrepreneur.
Aderajew “Eddie” Yeshiwas
5. 10/23/2015 Confidential 5
Our Managing Partners Represent a Committed Group of
Benevolent Entrepreneurs…
Lance Fenske David BanksDuane Reed
PRESIDENT MANAGING PARTNERMANAGING PARTNER
Long-time Investor Relations
and Communications
practitioner, most recently
VP-IR for DigitalGlobe
Business Owner &
Entrepreneur
Specialist in Organizational
Development
Co-owner of U.S. Gov’t
staffing agency; retired Data
Processing Manager
6. 10/23/2015 Confidential 6
Gratitude Traders Business Strategy
• Raise money to fund purchase of large quantities of sesame
seed from the farms of Ethiopia and transporting for sale on
the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX).
• After succeeding with this crop, we will explore others,
including coffee, beans
and amaranth.
• Our connections in the Ethiopian
government will aid us
in our ventures.
• We predict profits of 40-50%
in the commodities trade.
7. Our Import-Export business model will drive new markets
for Ethiopian agricultural products.
• Ethiopia is among the top agricultural
producers in Africa, rich with coffee, grains,
beans, sugarcane and oil seeds, among others.
• Agriculture is foundational to the Ethiopian
Economy, accounting for nearly 50% of GDP
and almost 85% of exports.
10/23/2015 Confidential 7
• It is among the top sesame seed producing
nations worldwide, with China and India, and
a net exporter to the Middle East and Asia.
• Most producers are subsistence farmers with
small-hold farms.
8. Long-term goal will be to “Own the vertical.”
10/23/2015 Confidential 8
Farm Processing Packaging Transport Exchange Export
9. After succeeding in sesame we intend to branch out into
other agricultural commodities.
10/23/2015 Confidential 9
• Coffee
• Other oilseeds
• Grains
• Beans
• Spices
• Amaranth
• Cut Flowers
10. We have developed strategic partnerships that should
enhance our business development efforts.
10/23/2015 Confidential 10
“We would like to make known our support for the business
efforts of Gratitude Traders, LLC as they enter the
Ethiopian marketplace…”
– Tesfaye Wolde, Minister Councilor I, Public Diplomacy and
Communications, Ethiopia
11. Gratitude Traders estimated five-year share investment
returns assuming 40% annualized growth.
10/23/2015 Confidential 11
$5
$7
$10
$14
$19
$27
$10
$14
$20
$27
$38
$54
$-
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
Basis-Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
5 Units @ 40% Annual Growth 10 Units @ 40% Annual Growth
Dollars in Thousands
12. Gratitude Traders estimated five-year share investment
returns assuming 50% annualized growth.
10/23/2015 Confidential 12
Dollars in Thousands
$5
$8
$11
$17
$25
$38
$10
$15
$23
$34
$51
$76
$-
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
Basis-Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
5 Units @ 50% Annual Growth 10 Units @ 50% Annual Growth
13. Long-term goal will be to return 10% of profits from
Gratitude Traders to fund Ethiopian Journey.
10/23/2015 Confidential 13
Ethiopian Journey is a non-profit agency aimed at improving the educational
opportunities and economic well being of new generations of Ethiopian
youth. Its Mission…“To Raise a Generation with Purpose.”
“I was given a great opportunity by the
United States to live in and learn about this
great country. What I’ve learned helped me
become an entrepreneur, and I now want to
turn my business abilities to improving the
economy of Ethiopia. I believe my dream
can become reality through the Ethiopian
Journey, as we give back some of our
Gratitude Traders profits to making my
homeland a better place to live.”
– Aderajew “Eddie” Yeshiwas, CEO,
Gratitude Traders, LLC
14. We are seeking $1 million in initial funding through a
private placement.
10/23/2015 Confidential 14
• Offering $1.0 million through Reg D, Rule 504 offering
• 1,000 Class A Units for Issuance, with a
5-unit block for $5,000 preferred as an
initial investment.
• Open through March 2017, with an
estimated payback within 2 years.
• 80% of proceeds will be used for
product acquisition and import-export
rights with the balance for sales,
marketing and working capital.
15. Early investors are typically opting for 2-3 block options,
though larger block allocations are available.
Investment Options
% Class A Equity
Held
Value of Investment in Year 5 with
assumed growth of:
Blocks Units Dollars 40% Annually 50% Annually
10 50 $ 50,000 5.0% $ 270,000 $ 380,000
5 25 $ 25,000 2.5% $ 135,000 $ 190,000
3 15 $ 15,000 1.5% $ 81,000 $ 114,000
2 10 $ 10,000 1.0% $ 54,000 $ 76,000
1 5 $ 5,000 0.5% $ 27,000 $ 38,000
Note: Partial block purchases are also available.
1510/23/2015 Confidential
16. Following our July incorporation, we are off and running.
10/23/2015 Confidential 16
• Recently completed a management site visit to Ethiopia.
• Opened an office in a strategic location in Addis Ababa.
• Hired an Ethiopian site manager and
Ethiopian attorney.
• Developed relationships with high-
ranking Ethiopian officials.
• Received licensing.
• Established banking
relationships.