1. International Office
12 Kirk Road
Point Lonsdale Victoria 3225 Australia
Ph +61 3 5258 3691
kwf@les-pecheurs.com
The Les Pêcheurs Micro Enterprise Project
in Madagascar
Background
This project is an initiative of Les Pêcheurs Internationale, a Christian Humanitarian Aid
organisation based in Australia.
The name “Les Pêcheurs” is French for “The Fishermen” and this encapsulates the true nature
and purpose of the organisation.
The Vision of Les Pêcheurs Internationale is:
To help people in under-developed nations fulfil their potential by metaphorically
“teaching them how to fish rather than giving them a fish”.
The founders of Les Pêcheurs Internationale (LPI) decided that Madagascar would be the focal
point for the organisation’s first Humanitarian Aid Project.
The Project was to be based in Antananarivo (the capital of Madagascar) and the objective
was to help people in this city fulfil their potential by “teaching them how to fish” and to do
this by providing them with training and assistance, free of charge, to establish, develop and
operate their own “micro enterprise” businesses.
Why Choose Madagascar ?
This is an island nation with a population of some 22.5 million people. It is very poor and the
people live in extraordinarily difficult conditions (by Western standards) yet they are
inherently intelligent, extremely hard working and they have the potential to achieve much
more if given the opportunity to do so.
Our hope and our plan is to give as many of them as possible this opportunity to set up and
operate their own business. We believe that by providing excellent training and assistance to
high potential candidates, others will observe the positive results achieved by them and this

2. Page no 2
will have a “multiplier effect” psychologically and economically on them, and it will flow down
through their communities and potentially throughout their country.
The Setting Up of the Project
At an early stage we realised the difficulties associated with transferring funds to third-world
countries because of concerns about funding terrorist organisation and the like.
We were directed to an outstanding non-Government organisation (NGO) called Global
Development Group (GDG) which was established for the specific purpose of dealing with the
types of issues we and other aid organisations and projects like ours were encountering.
GDG operates under the umbrella of an Australian Federal Government Agency called AusAid
and the Government gives donors to these approved projects a 100% in the dollar tax
deduction for all donations made to GDG for each projects
Hence, this particular project in Antananarivo is a joint undertaking involving:
 Les Pêcheurs Internationale.
 Global Development Group.
 The Australian Federal Government.
The Project
This project is officially known as the:
J782N Les Pêcheurs Micro Enterprise Project – Madagascar.
Since early 2013 the following action has been taken:
 A Les Pêcheurs office has been established in Antananarivo.
 Mr Sylvain Ramilison, a very experienced, capable and highly regarded Madagascan
leader has been appointed as Executive Director of Les Pêcheurs Madagascar.
 Three young Madagascans, all with double university degrees, have been appointed to
the staff. They are:.
o Fanjaniaina Rakotomalala, appointed Administration and Finance Manager.
o Sombin’ Ny Aina Henintsoa Ramilison, appointed Training Manager.
o Michaël Antonio Ramino, appointed Recruitment and Candidate Services
Manager.

3. Page no 3
All three have settled into their roles extremely well. (For all three this is their first
job).
 A large number of prospective candidates was interviewed for the 24 positions
available in the first Training Program intake.
 Les Pêcheurs Internationale prepared its own unique set of course materials in English,
and these were translated into the Malagasy language by the Les Pêcheurs
Madagascar (LPM) staff.
 The course began in July 2013 with 24 candidates who were required to attend
lectures for a full day once per week.
 The units covered in the course were:
Unit No Subject
110 The Les Pêcheurs Organisation
Including information on :
 Les Pêcheurs Internationale.
 Les Pêcheurs Madagascar.
 The Global Development Group.
 The Australian Government.
120 The Policies and Underlying Principles of Les Pêcheurs and the Global
Development Group.
130 The Christian Principles which Underpin all Aspects of Les Pêcheurs
and the Madagascar Project.
210 Choosing the Right Business Opportunity.
220 Skills Needed for Generating Wealth in a Business.
230 Business Principles, Concepts and Philosophies.
310 Business Planning – A Vital Ingredient for Success.
320 What is a “Business Plan”?

4. Page no 4
330 Getting Your Own Business Plan Started.
410 Choosing the Right Product or Service.
420 Identifying Target Markets and Customers.
430 Developing and Applying Sales and Marketing Skills.
510 Financial Principles Relevant to Small Business.
520 Essential Bookkeeping for Small Business.
530 Budgeting for a Small Business.
610 Management and Leadership.
620 Technical Skills Required for Your Business.
630 Communication Skills and Practices.
710 Entrepreneurship.
720 Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Putting Them into Practice.
910 Finalising Your Business Plan.
950 Getting Started.
960 Arranging Finance.
970 Next Steps.
 Progressively, during the course, participants were required to develop a Draft
Business Plan for the venture they planned to set up and operate.
 Assignments were set at the end of each session and students were required to apply
what they had learned, to their real-life situation and then give a report on this at the
start of the next day’s session.
 Of the 24 who started the Program, 18 completed the course and produced a
commercially viable Business Plan.

5. Page no 5
 A Graduation Ceremony was held at the LPM office on Tuesday 4th
February. Families
of the graduands attended and a great time of celebration and encouragement was
enjoyed by all.
 Completing the course and a viable Business Plan are only stepping-stones to the start
up of a business. The next major step is to find the funds necessary for the candidates
to set up their businesses and keep them operating.
Les Pêcheurs Internationale wants to help the candidates acquire the funds they need
but there are no hand-outs.
We have developed the following method of raising funds in order to assist the
candidates.
o Prospective donors provide Les Pêcheurs with the funds required (usually in the
order of USD $3,000 –$4,000) by a particular candidate.
o Les Pêcheurs forwards the funds to Global Development Group (who are
responsible to the Australian Government for the transfer of all funds going to
Madagascar for this Project).
o Global Development Group will issue to the Donor a receipt for the amount
donated. This will serve as evidence for the Australian Taxation Office of the
donation which has been made and entitle the Donor to a 100% tax deduction
against income generated in Australia.
o Les Pêcheurs Madagascar will receive the money transferred by GDG and will
then lend it to the relevant candidate under terms and conditions set out in a
formal written Agreement between Les Pêcheurs Madagascar and the candidate.
o Les Pêcheurs staff will send a Quarterly Business Report to the relevant Donor so
that the Donor can continue to be informed about what is happening with the
funds they have provided.
o Les Pêcheurs wishes to encourage donors to act as mentors to the candidates.
Staff at the Les Pêcheurs Office in Madagascar will assist in developing this
relationship.
o As the candidates repay the investment from Les Pêcheurs Madagascar these
funds will be reinvested in the businesses of other candidates. (Hence the original
donation has a “multiplier effect”).
o Les Pêcheurs will continue to keep the original investor informed on the ongoing
use being made of the funds they so generously provided.

6. Page no 6
Note: Les Pêcheurs is strictly a “Not-for-Profit Organisation”. Its only intention in
regard to the use of funds provided by donors is to assist the people of Madagascar to
achieve a better way of life and all funds are dedicated to this end.
Being a registered “Not-for-Profit” organisation in Madagascar, it is not possible
because of the Taxation Laws of the country for Les Pêcheurs to transfer funds out of
Madagascar back to Australia.

7. Page no 7
Conclusion
When you visit countries like Madagascar and you try to do something to help people to help
themselves, you quickly come to the realisation that:
 No matter how great their aspirations.
 No matter how great their work ethic.
 No matter how great their commitment.
 Without money, they cannot achieve anything !!!!!
So where does all this leave us in regard to our objective of making a difference in the lives of
these people?
 We have trained our candidates well.
 We give them ongoing advice, assistance, encouragement and support.
 We have reviewed their Business Plans and amended them many times. We are
confident that those we have approved are commercially viable and the owner is
capable of carrying through their Plan and making a success of their venture.
 We already have 5 of the candidates fully funded.
 We urgently need 11 more donors to become involved.
We want to encourage our investors to also become mentors for the business owners they are
helping.
Our hope is that some investors will go to Madagascar and see for themselves how their funds
are being used and what they are doing to help make a difference in the lives of others who
have never received help from anyone.
Kevin W. Fuller
Chairman
Les Pêcheurs Internationale

8. Page no 8 Map of Madagascar Les Pêcheurs Office in Antananarivo
Our Les Pêcheurs Staff in
Madagascar
Candidates Undergoing Intensive
Training
The Graduating Class Proud Graduate and Her Sons