WANTED:

ikitos.com is looking for capital

My name is Gart van Gennip. I am 49 years old and live in Iquitos, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest of northern Peru, where I run this bilingual website called ikitos.com.

I am looking for investors who want to help me give a small company the financial push it needs to come to its full potential bloom. For a relatively small investment, you can expect a fantastic result; not only a pleasant financial return, but also a future for the street children of Iquitos, Peru.

Obviously it is possible to put your money in a savings account. That way you avoid any risks and collect a modest interest. Or you can invest your money in stocks and bonds and options and what have you. But maybe, apart from an interesting financial return on your investment, you also crave the satisfaction of another kind of return; a future for the street children of Iquitos, Peru.

Here’s how it works: ikitos.com is a commercial website, with services and information for the population and visitors of the city of Iquitos. Meanwhile, ikitos.com is committed to reserving part of its revenues for its own charity, benefiting Iquitos’ street children, as well as for preservation and restoration of our natural environment; the Amazon rainforest.

ikitos.com is the ‘virtual community’ of Iquitos. Even though the site is rather young, we already have an average of 80 visitors per day. What is lacking is money to promote and professionalize the website. We need our own server, as well as software to create sections like an interactive forum, a classifieds sections and a few staff members, like a professional sales manager. Some promotional campaigns, targeting this University town’s youth, would make a big difference. Therefore we expect to be able to easily increase the number of daily visitors to 5,000 per day.

ikitos.com is a commercial business, but we want to give back to the community we serve. That is why we want to reserve a percentage of our revenues for charities that benefit the entire city. To this end we have also created our own charity: Paso a Paso.

Paso a Paso (Step by Step) is still a dream that we want to realize with parts of the proceeds of our website. It is a shelter for Iquitos’ homeless youth. Iquitos has almost 400,000 inhabitants. It is mostly a poor city, with unemployment as high as 65%. Many children in Iquitos are homeless, or live on the streets, where they have to provide for themselves. Most of these children work the whole day for a few soles. They shine shoes, sell candy or cigarettes, guard parked motorcycles and cars, or simply beg for money. They perform odd jobs, like walking dogs, handing out flyers, or washing cars.

With Paso a Paso we want to offer these children a safe haven, where they can go 24 hours a day, to sleep, bathe, have a meal and change their dirty clothes for clean ones. If income permits it, we will expand this service with medical care, education and other activities. Eventually, Paso a Paso will also have to become self-sufficient, by means of donations and sponsorship, and by generating its own revenue.

Jair Noronha Piñeiro and Gart van Gennip, ikitos.com

While we are blessed with a big heart, ikitos.com remains a commercial business. Profitability is our main concern. I myself have years of experience working in the commercial sector.

My Peruvian business partner recently received his master’s degree in system engineering. And our third partner-to-be currently studies international business at the UNAP, the National University of the Peruvian Amazon. He is eager to start work as our sales manager.

The satisfaction of being able to do something to help the homeless children of Iquitos is a bonus on top of a successful investment, but obviously, financial gain is important too. That is why I want to offer you an attractive deal.

We don’t need millions to turn ikitos.com into a success. With a small investment, you can make a big difference. Salaries in Iquitos are low and all kinds of services are cheap. There are hardly any bureaucratic obstacles.

The initial investment to purchase the necessary software and hardware, invest in promotional campaigns and the acquisition of advertisers probably won’t cost much more than 15,000 dollars. To cover expenses for the entire first year, including the salaries of three professionals, we need another 22,000 dollars. We expect that your investment will start to render a return starting the very first month of business.

If you are interested, please contact me. I am currently in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on business. Maybe we can meet here, or elsewhere. I can also send you a detailed business plan about ikitos.com and about the reasons why investing in a website is still a commercially attractive idea.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Gart van Gennip, director, creative manager

Are you interested in investing in ikitos.com?

Then please contact Mr. Gart van Gennip.

You can download the ikitos.com business plan here.

You can mail us, or call +31 (0)20 412 3044

in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ikitos.com is registered with number 10412023817 at

SUNAT, the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce