Because International Corp

The Shoe 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. (Continued on Schedule O)Because International began with a simple idea: durable, growing footwear developed for kids struggling to always have a pair of shoes that fits. 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. 2022 built on the success of the latest version of the shoe. We expanded the size options of the new version and by the end of the year, all shoes shipped from and produced in Kenya were of the newer, more robust shoe. In the US, we received a shipment of 6,000 pairs of the new version. Our network of partners and community members connected fundraising efforts with unmet needs worldwide with shoes going to Syrian refugees through our monthly giving program and school children in Kenya receiving new pairs of shoes through a partnership with Girl Scouts Troops nation-wide. The Shoe That Grows Program continues to provide relief for those most in need and we are excited to continue meeting needs and alleviating poverty with The Shoe That Grows.

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. (Continued on Schedule O)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.2022 marked the refinement of the Because Accelerator program. Both the Spring and Fall cohorts graduated 13 entrepreneurs. We paired entrepreneurs with business networks and coaching along with biweekly trainings, resulting in high-impact businesses.In 2022, the Accelerator married its scope and focused on applicants fulfilling more strict criteria. A modernized curriculum connected entrepreneurs with coaches and mentors and leveraged a lecture-based curriculum. The Because Box debuted in 2022. A biannual subscription box, the Because Box introduced 5 or more social impact products, developed by Accelerator alumni, to the US market. The program allowed subscribers to engage with the alumni and gave the alumni valuable feedback to aid R&D.As of 2022, the accelerator resulted in 1,834 jobs being created with entrepreneurs reporting 161% growth in sales, a 42% growth in customers, and a 96% business survival rate at the end of the 2022.