Burro Enhances Household Security

Ayisha Tahiru is using three Burro batteries to power her LED flashlight that she hangs above her compound each evening to provide general lighting and nighttime security. Before switching to Burro, Ayisha was spending about the same amount for inferior, carbon-zinc batteries that she needed to carefully ration to stay within her budget. Such "cheap" batteries can add up in cost quickly, particularly if they leak (as they are prone to) and destroy equipment.

Now, with Burro batteries, Ayisha is able to power her light all night long, every night. One set of batteries lasts Ayisha four nights straight. When they do drain down, she simply walks a dozen yards or so to her Burro agent and swaps them for fresh ones at no additional charge. Ayisah appreciates the enhanced security that all-night lighting provides her. She intends to renew her Burro battery subscription.

For an affordable, flat monthly fee, Burro promises to provide superior lighting solutions to women like Ayisha throughout our expanding market area.

Burro Client – Papa Bashiru

Mr. Papa Bashiru is a highly satisfied Burro client in Tin Kong, a large village on the main road, about 14 km south of Korforidua. He has no electricity at his home, so he is dependent on battery power for his entertainment. Mr. Bashiru tells us that with Burro he is saving a bit each month compared to his prior purchases of conventional batteries, but, more importantly, he tells us that he is now able to enjoy his radio far more than he was able to before Burro. He especially enjoys listening to the news in the evening after working his farm all day. He intends to renew his Burro subscription next month.

First Burro Employee – Philip Sarpong

Philip Sarpong signed on this week to be Burro's first ever employee. In true Burro fashion, he's wasted no time jumping right in to help deliver on our "Do More" promise. Here he is checking in his first agent on his first full day in the field. Philip joins Burro as the Assistant Branch Manager for our pilot branch here in Koforidua. We received more than 100 applications for our online job posting, and Philip stood out from the very beginning. He has a wealth of highly relevant prior experience including:

• Analysis of route operation statistics for the largest passenger bus carrier in Ghana;


• Extensive field experience coordinating teams of people to execute dozens of promotional events for the largest brewer in Ghana;


• Teacher of high school mathematics and English literature;


• Scenic Designer for the National Theatre of Ghana;


• Degrees in both theatre arts and sociology;


• And substantial and ongoing professional acting experience in television commercials and soap operas.

A Co-Founder with me of the Career of the Month Club, Philip promises to bring the eclectic flair and heads down execution we need to begin to develop Burro agents into the most disciplined and powerful sales force yet seen in Ghana.

A big Burro welcome to Philip!

Burro Agent Jump-Start Brings Limitless Tunes to Elder Gentleman

Francis Aniteye Larwer interviewed for Burro's first Assistant Branch Manager position, but we felt he was stronger agent material. He agreed to give it a shot from his home turf of Koforidua Ada, a major suburb on the northeast flank of Koforidua proper.

With some quick in-office training at Burro worldwide HQ and a formal education in marketing, Francis went off dutifully to assess the market on the 4^th of November. He returned to Burro on the 6^th full of ideas about how to better handle Burro distribution, partnerships, sales and marketing. But he hadn't sold a single battery. It was time for the big guns.

Burro partner Tim Gamor (right) headed out with me and seasoned Burro agent Eric Boamah (left) to give Francis a proper introduction to full-contact, in-the-field, Burro sales techniques. In just minutes, Francis was batting close to 100%. Here he is seen closing the sale of six batteries to Mr. John H. Abogah (seated next to Tim).

Living just off of the grid but loving his old-school, traditional Ewe folk music, Mr. Abogah had invested a great deal in a very heavy duty radio and cassette player only to find that its demands on conventional batteries were so great that he had to very carefully ration his listening time. Burro was able to deliver six "always fresh" battery rentals for a monthly amount well within his budget, and Mr. Abogah is now very happily enjoying limitless access to his favorite tunes.

Exceptionally fast on the uptake, Francis has applied his training to great effect with a record-breaking first week performance of 87 battery rentals. This swept him to victory in Burro's first weekly agent promotion, earning him an attractive bonus prize payment in addition to his rapidly growing, sustained earning base.

Congratulations, Francis!

Mr. Hayford Atteh - Burro Agent

No better way to break a long silence than with a salute to Hayford, one of Burro's top-performing agents, and a very special soul.


Hayford is a boundlessly energetic 64 year-old gentlemen with a heart of gold and countless friends all up and down the paths for miles around his village of Sonkwenya. The image shows Hayford suited up as a volunteer for the major polio vaccination drive that Rotary sponsored worldwide a couple of weeks back.

Working a few hours a week over the last month, Hayford has signed up more than 50 Burro clients who are now benefiting from the Burro "Do More" promise. Subsistence farmers, cocoa growers, snail hunters and shop owners are among Hayford's clientele enjoying lower battery expenditure, greater productivity, enhanced security, and more entertainment options.

Hayford himself is well on the way to building a business that will supplement his other income by more than a buck a day. That may not sound like much, but Hayford is as optimistic as we are that his Burro business will grow well beyond these humble beginnings. Just last week, Hayford finally withdrew some of his accrued commissions. He bought school books for his young grand-daughter. Little things truly can make a big difference.

Burro salutes Mr. Hayford Atteh.

Burro Promise Gains Traction

In less than three weeks of operation, Burro has five agents trained and selling. More than forty clients have signed on. More than 120 batteries have been rented. All indicators are rapidly improving. Interviews with clients suggest high satisfaction and a high likelihood of renewal. Almost without exception, agent performance has exceeded expectations with agents highly enthusiastic and highly satisfied.

Our most recent training just yesterday brought on board Nurudini, shown below with Jan and his ten first batteries for new cutomers. Nurudini hails from Tin Kon, a small town on the main road about 14 kilometers south of Koforidua. Tin Kon has electricity, but battery usage is still high for a number of reason. Nurudini runs a small shop in the town with his sister. He sold out these ten first batteries in his first day before taking public transportation back to Koforidua today to refill his stock with us.

Eric also signed up yesterday as an agent operating within a large suburb of Koforidua. He too sold all of his first ten batteries in his first day on the job and returned to Burro HQ for new stock today.

Jan has done a great job of calibrating our growth plan to our current capacity. While we could go much faster, we've decided to add a new agent about every other week for now. We'll have strong representation in three critically different types of service areas: more remote villages, smaller towns on main roads, and the heart of our larger city, Koforidua. We're focused on supporting existing agents and clients at 110% to ensure that by 15 November we understand all critical parameters related to the ongoing success, sustainability, and scalability of the business. If all signs are as positive then as we now expect, we will be dropping our second, major order for additional batteries.

Being a bit of a carto geek, we of course have a giant, large-scale map mosaic plastered on the wall to help us plot our expansion. Here's a tiny section of it over the heart of the region. The pink dot is Burro HQ. The green dots are our two agents who are currently working "Kof Town". Yellow dots show areas we believe should support a new agent. The larger map over the entire region hosts about 40 yellow dots.

It is still very early, but Burro's future is looking brighter with every battery rented…

Jan Leads First Burro Agent Training

Barely 48 hours after touching down in Accra from JFK, Jan Watson, Burro partner and ops wizard, was leading Burro's first ever agent training session. Here she is with Burro partner, Tim, answering questions from Agnes and Hayford who are covering the half-dozen or so villages along the Adawso - Mangoase road about 10 miles south of Koforidua. They already have 17 clients between them and haven't even yet begun any real sales effort.

Beatrice, Francis, and Victor Azagro are kicking off coverage within the city of Koforidua beginning tomorrow.

This is a huge milestone for Burro. Welcome, Jan!