Because International Corporation

The shoes that grows: Because International is committed to the un's sustainable development goal 1: end poverty in all forms everywhere. We believe this starts with extreme poverty helping individuals and families who are living below the 1.90 threshold. Physical products play an important role in meeting immediate needs and creating long term opportunities for empowerment. When we talk about using physical products as solutions, we're referring to the entire life cycle of the product - from ideation to creation, from manufacturing to distribution, from providing relief to the end user while providing jobs and opportunity to those involved in each stage of the product lifecycle. Because International began with a simple idea: durable, growing footwear developed for kids struggling to always have a pair of shoes that fit. In addition to distributing footwear to kids around the world, we've been committed to a production and distribution model that creates opportunities for empowerment along the way. 2023 marked a year of increased shoe distributions and continued research and development. We remained committed to distributing the best footwear in the world for kids living in poverty. We exceeded our goal of distributing 40,000 pairs of shoes - distributing a total of 41,715. This came about through new partnerships along with running a number of significant campaigns. On the shoe development front, we began designing a completely new version of our shoe late in the year. This new design will be released in 2024. The shoe that grows continues to provide relief for kids and families impacted by injuries, parasites, and soil borne diseases simply Because they lack adequate footwear.

Accelerator: as an organization, our mission is to use products as solutions to alleviate poverty by meeting immediate needs and creating opportunities for empowerment. One of the ways we are doing this is through the Because accelerator, a business accelerator designed to take ideas for innovative products like the shoe that grows to the next level. As we experienced continued success with the shoe that grows, we began connecting with and being contacted by aspiring entrepreneurs who had their own ideas for product solutions that also aimed to solve a social need. After informally helping a handful of them with their ideas and businesses, we realized that instead of trying to come up with more of our own ideas for product solutions, we could better achieve our mission by coming alongside others with their own product ideas. It was at that point we decided to formally create the Because accelerator - a program focused on providing coaching, training, networking, and funding opportunities for social entrepreneurs with product-based ideas and businesses. In 2023, we continued to refine and develop the services provided to our entrepreneuer partners while also measuring and celebrating their success as they grown their businesses, create jobs and increase their impact. As in past years, a new cohort of 23 entrepreneurs began and completed the program. We also focused on creating new programming for graduates from prior years. Specifically, we launched virtual networking groups, allowing entrepreneurs the opportunity to better connect with fellow alumni of the program and discuss issues and opportunities they are facing in their businesses. We also announced a partnership with the alternative board, expanding the professional mentoring services that we offer. New funding opportunities were also rolled out.