Getting Legal Protection with ESS Legal Assurance!
The Access to Legal Services Problem & Solution
Erick Mukiza, the Executive Director of ESS Creative and Legal Foundation, started this organization after his mother, Grace Ndyetabura a primary school teacher, became a victim of not accessing justice affordably. In Tanzania, the cost of legal representation is very expensive and provision of legal aid service is limited. This planted a seed into Erick’s mind and he became passionate to help people access justice affordably. Therefore, the organization was founded to provide legal assurance at least to 5 million Tanzanians who have justice problems whose income range $200 — $500 per month. They are not poor enough to access legal aid for free service (pro-bono) and not too rich enough to hire private advocates. In view of this, ESS has come up with an innovative and unique approach known as ESS Legal Assurance service which will enhance people-centered justice affordably.
The ESS Legal Assurance Way!
Features & Functionalities
Legal Assurance is an assurance product that covers members against unforeseen legal costs that may result from legal actions brought against a member.
This is done by providing monthly subscription fees categorized in terms of Gold, Platinum, Silver, Copper package. The Legal Assurance coverage is like having a lawyer on retainer, you purchase before an incident happens, so if the member needs legal representation they can access it in exchange for their subscription fee.
This implements UN-SDG goal number 16.3 Access to Justice for All. What sets us apart from the rest; is our legal services are affordable and reliable.
In equipping our team, we build staff competencies by doing ongoing training on the mission and vision of the organization and hiring highly skilled staff; to deliver affordable, timely legal services to our target group, as we gear up for scaling our operation in and outside Tanzania.
Pricing
The average price of our service is $10 per month per customer or Tsh. 20,000
Target Audience/Customers
Tanzania Network for Legal Aid Providers (2017) report indicates that 60% of Tanzanians are barred from accessing legal advice and representation. This makes total available market (TAM) of 5 million people to be worth at least $600 million a year.
Marketing & Sales- Our Marketing Plan
We have devised a Go-To-Market strategy which is a combination of marketing activities, these are:
- Direct sales.
- 2. Community Outreach Programs: Providing free legal education and legal clinic across all the wards of Tanzania
3. Digital Marketing: education, branding, and advertising our offerings.
4. Using Referrals especially from our customers and government institutions.
Our market segment is SMEs since our total available market (TAM) is 5 million, it is estimated we have 3 million SMEs in Tanzania, which makes the serviceable available market (SAM) is 3 million, our serviceable obtainaible market (SOM) is 5000 for the next two years.
BUSINESS ANALYSIS
SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats)
Strengths
● Holds Tanzania copyright clearance certificate no. C0837187.
Weaknesses
● Limited financial ability to expand our legal services.
Opportunities
● Unique market, 5 million Tanzanians.
● Government political will to support entrepreneurs
Threats
● Unpredictable changes in policies.
Our Current Needs
Resources:
Ideally, we need $100,000 for the expansion of our legal services throughout Tanzania to fund our community outreach programs, to recruit and maintain a team of professionals, invest in technology (develop software), to reach more people and do work more efficiently. 2.) Mentorship, coaching and training so we can grow our capacity operations, for the next two years.
Our Goal
Erick is a justice innovator, whose long-term entrepreneur goal is to revolutionize the existing justice system of Tanzania, he endeavors to make sure legal assurance service is incorporated into the national justice system.
Our Achievements
Our organization is currently is in the growth stage, from 2018 to date, we have helped 40,000 persons to access justice in Tanzania; Our legal education events have attracted over 1000 participants, also we have more than 1,000 registered members under our legal assurance scheme.
The following are our achievements:
• 2019 winner of $22,000 Innovating Justice Challenge organized by the Hague Institute of Innovation for Law (HiiL).
• Expansion of office location from one office to two offices.
• By the end of 2021 we managed to hire 11 more staff thus making a total of 20 staff.
• Our growth rate is 16% per month.
• Our total revenue by the end of January 2021 was $25,000.
With the ESS Legal Cover, we give you the right to confidently say, “Don’t talk to me, talk to my lawyer” because we got you covered against legal risks.
Article by Erick Mukiza