Creating financial sustainability in people, business, and ministry.

The mission of this area of ELI is to stimulate for-profit businesses that focus on empowering the poor through job creation and market access while generating income for ministries.

As an organization we recognize the tremendous opportunity to create businesses that can employ the needy, provide new skills to the workforce, strengthen the local economy and environment and also generate a profit – which can be used to help support the work of ELI within the same country the business operates.

Named for the man spoken of in the book of Philemon as being profitable and useful, Onesimus is one channel ELI is employing to create a catalyst for economic sustainability. In April 2009, ELI launched a for- profit business in Kipkaren, Kenya called,” Onesimus Company Limited Dairy”— a milk collection business that would create jobs, give small-scale farmers a source of income, and generate profit for the ministry of Empowering Lives. When the business opened, Onesimus purchased the milk from just over 170 needy farmers. Today Onesimus is collecting milk from over 1,000 farmers and the resulting income these families make is putting more children in school, decreasing hunger, and inspiring hope in significant ways throughout the village. The business sells the milk for a profit to a major processor and also to markets one hour east of our collection point. The business is already past the break-even point (covering operational costs) and is now able to start paying back the capital that was invested to start the business. Profitability is still a ways off, but we are greatly encouraged with the progress so far.

Other business ventures currently under exploration are reforestation, mushrooms, grain drying and storage.