Let Agogo | Laiterie Leogane - Maxime & Guimaldo Cidrac, owner and production manager (brothers)
Mentoring Guide | Prepared following the December 2012 visit by Evan Keller (author)
Knowledge Accumulated:
1. Guimaldo’s email is: cidracguimaldo@yahoo.fr. Maxime’s email: let_agogo_leogane@yahoo.fr.
Both are single, but Maxime has a girlfriend.
2. Business address: Route Neuve Cartimo #3. Phone: 3709-0554, 3777-1986, 3811-5747
3. They would like to buy $17,000 worth of production equipment, and would like to apply for a
loan from PW. He told Daniel that he thought grants were available. Further clouding the
relationship is Maxime’s feelings about past leadership decisions that were made. I encouraged
forgiveness, grace, and moving forward. He affirmed that he did want continued mentorship.
4. They buy milk (at 100 Gde/gallon) from four men who represent a total of 60 farmers. Finding
enough quality milk is a big challenge (especially in the winter), & some farmers constantly try to
cheat by adding fillers. They test the milk for the proper density each time a farmer brings it in
to sell. Following the example of other franchisees, they plan to buy 8 cows, lending them to
farmers’ wives (with a written contract) & teaching them to produce milk. Other local
businesses only buy milk in tiny amounts.
5. Vanilla flavored 8 ounce bottle of sterilized milk is their main product, but they sometimes
produce chocolate, strawberry and coffee flavors as well. These 8 ounce servings are sold in
glass bottles and have a 9 month shelf life at room temperature.
6. Each case they sell has 24 bottles of 8 ounces each. Since there are 128 fluid ounces to a gallon,
8 X 24 = 192 oz = 1.5 gal/case. Their maximum production is 65 cases/day, 6 days/week, which is
97.5 gallons/day. When they don’t meet their max, lack of milk is almost always the reason.
7. All 3 (1 government, 2 private) of the schools they sell (187 cases/week) milk to are a part of the
World Food Program contract, so they have one main external client. They’ve hired 4 employees
in 2012 after beginning to produce 286 cases/week for the franchise (which continued during
the summer slow season), which pays 16 Gde per bottle compared to 21 from WFP. The two
comprise about 95% of their sales, the remaining being markets, including Total Market in
Leogane. Sales to their 3 street vendors are negligible. The WFP contract is with the national
franchise (which has 20-30 franchisees in Haiti), not with Laiterie Leogane.
8. The WFP tests their product monthly (one bottle from each batch) and make random
inspections of the processing plant as well. So far they’ve had no major problems with these
quality control inspections.
9. 2013 is the last year of a 3 year contract with the WFP. Prior to that contract, Let Agogo sold its
milk to Caritas. They are confident that other NGOs would step in and buy their milk if the WFP
contract ended. So the demand side seems strong (at least during the school year) for the
foreseeable future, a certainty many businesses would envy.
10. The WFP is now only 2 months behind in paying their account (improved from 5!). The WFP
contract starts on the 3rd week of school (as Haiti’s schools get a slow start).
11. In 2012, an accountant began preparing the financial statements required by the WFP, but
they’re never on hand when we visit.
12. Their plans to open a second location in Grand Goave are stalled for lack of the needed
$150,000 USD from investors. A group of 80 farmers there is willing to provide milk.
13. They plan to start a program to help farmers keep their cows healthy. It will combine education
with discounts on vaccines for those who sell their milk to Let Agogo.
14. They want to invest in kids to prevent them from becoming thieves with no other income.
15. August 2012 brought theft of water pump, batteries, stoves, stalling production for 2 months.
They plan to put bars on the windows.
16. They pay employees according to production, so wages are usually below minimum wage.
17. 2012 Metrics: 40 to 60 farmers, 7 to 12 jobs (with temporary dip to 6 in December when school
is out). Community Service: they plan to donate a per bottle amount to church missions.
Observations:
1. Not having to worry about sales (except when school is out) allows for a strong focus on
production, but could also lead to complacency and sloppiness.
2. During the school year, they claim that they can sell as much milk as they could possibly produce
to schools through the WFP. So increasing production of their current product should be the
focus rather than diversifying to cheese or ice cream.
Questions:
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Koman fanmi ou ye? What is your girlfriend’s name?
Koman biznis ou ye? What has happened in your business since our last visit?
What would you like to discuss today?
When is the WFP contract up for renewal?
What do you hope your business will be like in 5 years? How many new jobs could you create?
Were you able to rebuild the school and community center?
Have you recovered from the August thefts? Did you put bars on all the windows? What else can
be done to increase security? Do you have a security guard?
Can we see your financial statements? For the past three months, what is your gross revenue,
cost of goods sold, and net profit? How does this compare with the same months last year?
Did you start the program to help farmers keep their cows healthy (using vaccinations)? How’s it
going? Does it have a name? How are you measuring the cost-to-benefit ratio of this program?
How much do cows cost and where will you get them? Will you buy them full-grown? How much
milk over what period will be required to recoup the investment? Who pays for the care of the
cow?
How many employees and farmers do you currently have?
Since you’re producing at capacity, what would it take to increase your daily capacity to 100
cases?
Recommendations for the entrepreneur:
1. From your working capital, buy and install window bars gradually until they’re all secured.
2. Reconcile with leaders of Partners Worldwide and forgive past grievances.
3. Extend your production capacity. Identify & overcome the barriers to producing 100 cases/day.
4. Decide how to wisely invest time and money in your school and community center.
Recommendations for the mentors:
1. Connect him with dairies in the US for his January visit to CountryDairy.com in New Era, MI
2. Lynn Walter should follow up a dairy lead he has, seeking help on producing other dairy
products that don’t require refrigeration.
3. Discuss the possibility of a loan for them.
4. Help them find ways to increase their production capacity.
5. Encourage their community outreach efforts.