The Road to Parity is marking the opening of its fund-raising channels with a major cycling challenge from Land's End in the southwestern tip of the UK to John O'Groats in the far north east of Scotland.

Jonathan Hill, the charity's Founder and Chairman, will begin the legendary cycling route on Saturday 11 July. It will take him at least 3 weeks to complete the journey of around 1,000 miles, using B-roads and cycle trails, avoiding main roads where possible. 

Jonathan said: "Cycling is a passion of mine and I thought how can I challenge myself in a way that benefits the charity and creates something positive amidst all the Covid negativity? I started mentioning the idea of LEJOG (Land's End - John O' Groats) to a few people, did some research and before I knew it, I’d talked myself into it!" 

The challenge will begin in England where Covid restrictions have sufficiently lifted for the trip to go ahead. By the time Jonathan reaches the Scottish border, it's expected that key movement and tourism accommodation restrictions will have been relaxed in Scotland.  

The charity lifts people out of extreme poverty through entrepreneurship. A total of 20 enterprises have either been set up or are in the process of launching in Delhi slums. Results so far show these small, mostly street businesses, boost household income by up to 120%.

Jonathan has been largely funding the charity himself for the past 18 months. The plan now, with partner, Learning Links Foundation in India, is to scale up, fund more micro-enterprises and free more households from desperate poverty.

Jonathan said: "That’s where I need your help. I know things are difficult for many people at the moment because of Covid, but if your bank account has more in it than you need, please do the right thing and donate." A JustGiving page has been set up for the challenge with a target of 1,500 pounds (USD 1,956). The main updates from the trip with be on the charity's Facebook page @theroadtoparity.

The charity helps the poorest of the poor. Many of the beneficiaries are illiterate and exist along with fellow household members on less than 35p (USD 0.45) each a day.
 
The business model is very simple and based on Jonathan's academic research in India. The charity provides a small grant (average so far 52 pounds) so that carefully vetted beneficiaries can buy a piece of equipment or supplies to get a business started. It could be a cart and some vegetables for a street stall or a sewing machine to begin a tailoring business.
 
"You should see the joy when very poor people are given a chance. It brings immense pride, financial independence and a wonderful realisation that the extreme poverty they have endured is no longer a life sentence," Jonathan added.

An entrepreneurs programme set up to lift people out of extreme poverty has shown it can increase household incomes by up to 120%.

Project Unnati, launched by The Road to Parity in conjunction with Learning Links Foundation in India, provides one-off grants to individuals wanting to start a small business.

The first batch of entrepreneurs launched their new ventures in slum areas of Delhi last year. The businesses were set up with an average grant of 52 pounds (66 USD) and included street stalls selling items, such as vegetables, household goods, dumplings, cosmetics, and snacks.  

Here are the highlights:

• None of the businesses established so far have failed
• Household income increases ranged from 13% to 120% - with an average household income increase of 65%
• Up to 9 members per household have been positively impacted
• Businesses were assessed over a 3-month period pre-COVID 19

 
The success of the trial comes despite most of the beneficiaries being illiterate and having no prior business experience.  The pilot also revealed signs of business agility as one of the entrepreneurs started off selling vegetables and then switched to boiled eggs to better respond to circumstances on the ground.   
 
Jonathan Hill, Founder and Chairman at The Road to Parity, said: “The results are extremely encouraging and show the model works. Unlike a loan, the one-off grant does not need to be paid back as we feel people who have been in extreme poverty have suffered enough.”  

He adds: “However, we make it clear to beneficiaries that this is one-time only financial support. It's an opportunity to transform their lives, become financially independent and escape crippling poverty.”

​Project Unnati has been disrupted due to COVID-19, but existing businesses will resume trading and new enterprises will be started as and when conditions allow. In all, seven businesses had been established prior to COVID-19 and were included in the pilot results. A further 13 new enterprises are waiting for conditions to improve to start trading, although one of these, a tailoring business, has been able to begin some work from home.  

The Road to Parity has provided funding to its first batch of entrepreneurs, setting them on a path to break free from extreme poverty.

The new micro-enterprises in a Delhi slum include stalls selling vegetables, boiled eggs, snacks, household goods and cosmetics.

The entrepreneurs have been provided with start-up funding to buy equipment and supplies.  Each business cost around 50 pounds (63 USD) to set up.

The Road to Parity, along with its partner in India, Learning Links Foundation, devised strict criteria to identify the
poorest of the poor and most vulnerable.  

This included looking at the per head household income, the size of the household, the number relying on the sole breadwinner and level of education. Priority has also been given to female entrepreneurs and those with disabilities.

“This is a very tough call. Of course, you can’t help everyone, and you need to make sure that the people being selected are the most in need,’’ said Jonathan Hill, Founder and Chairman of The Road to Parity.  “One of the things we discovered when we were assessing families is that some were living on less than 10 pounds (12.5 USD) per person per month. This is heartbreaking and we want to try to help as many of these people as we can.”

Before the initiative, the beneficiaries would generally be scraping a living from intermittent or very low paid labour. 

The financial support is provided as a micro-grant, and unlike a loan does not need to be paid back. However, it is monitored and will likely be the recipients’ only chance to get out of poverty.
 
28-year old Phoola was in a desperate situation, working as a domestic helper and supporting a family of six, when she was identified for funding to set up a boiled egg stall. 

Phoola, who is illiterate, was asked to describe in a word what it meant to her being the first beneficiary under the micro-entrepreneurship programme. 

She said “Unnati,” which means progress, as she believes the start-up money she’s been given will bring prosperity. The programme in India is now called Project Unnati.