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Why We Initially Went to Africa — Mining With Purpose

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We initially went to Africa for a very specific reason: to make enough money to produce one feature film and attach our movie marketing plan to it. We believed the film could demonstrate a new approach to movie marketing, increase theater attendance, and become the starting point for a much larger plan to help preserve and rebuild the entertainment industry.

We began developing these ideas as early as 1995, when we saw changes taking place in the entertainment industry that we believed could eventually create serious problems for theaters, studios, and the traditional movie business. Over time, our vision expanded from producing one film into using entertainment as a broader economic-stimulus platform.

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A major production studio can create activity across construction, transportation, hospitality, technology, manufacturing, food service, housing, education, and numerous other industries. Our proposed model is to establish a full-scale production studio in every U.S. state...approximately 50 studios nationwide...employing local talent and crews while creating opportunities for surrounding businesses. Under our model, 100% of net profits would be reinvested into the participating state's economy, supporting business expansion, employment opportunities, and infrastructure.

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Why Africa Became Part of the Plan

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At the same time, we had been presenting ideas to U.S. presidents, investors, hedge funds, and others about the importance of developing stronger joint ventures between the United States, African nations, and countries around the world, particularly involving minerals, agriculture, refining, manufacturing, and trade.

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We eventually traveled to seven African countries, where we saw many challenges and opportunities firsthand. We met with local people, businesses, landowners, and government officials to better understand how natural resources and agriculture could contribute more directly to national economic development.

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One of the concepts we discussed was that African nations could take greater control of the development and economic value of their own mineral and agricultural resources. Rather than primarily exporting raw materials, countries could participate more directly in development, refining, manufacturing, and sales, allowing more of the economic value to remain within their own economies.

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Our belief is simple: owning the resource is only the beginning. Mining and selling a raw mineral creates one level of economic activity; refining it, manufacturing products from it, and selling finished goods can create additional businesses, jobs, skills, infrastructure, and economic opportunity. Whoever controls the minerals has significant economic leverage.

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Rabbit Investment: Mining With Purpose

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After our experiences across Africa, we established Rabbit Investment in Sierra Leone and obtained gold and diamond export licenses. Our objective was not simply to extract resources and leave. We wanted to demonstrate a model in which natural-resource development could also contribute to local communities.

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Our approach includes restoring mining areas after operations, refilling excavation sites where appropriate, and using suitable land for crops and other productive purposes that can potentially create ongoing revenue for landowners and their families. We have also worked toward community infrastructure and essential services, including clean-water wells, roads, housing improvements, solar and generator power, medical assistance, food, and clothing.

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We established a charitable foundation and opened a community pharmacy intended to help address illnesses such as malaria and typhoid. These efforts reflect our larger philosophy: business should create opportunities for both the company and the communities where it operates.

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From African Resources to a Global Economic Model

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What began as an effort to finance one movie became a much larger vision:

 

Natural resources → capital → film production → technology → employment → business expansion → infrastructure → economic reinvestment.

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Our experiences across seven African countries reinforced our belief that countries should have greater opportunities to control and capture more of the value created from their own resources while developing local refining, manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries.

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We believe properly structured international partnerships can connect Africa's mineral and agricultural resources with American and global capabilities in manufacturing, technology, entertainment, energy, and trade, creating opportunities for multiple economies.

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Our broader concepts...including our production and economic-development plans...have been presented to U.S. presidents, investors, hedge funds, humanitarian organizations, and government-related organizations as potential economic-development and stimulus strategies.

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The Bigger Picture

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We went to Africa because we believed its resources and opportunities could generate the capital needed to put our entertainment ideas into action. What we discovered was a much larger opportunity: mining, agriculture, manufacturing, entertainment, technology, employment, and infrastructure can potentially be connected into one economic-development model.

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Rabbit Investment is therefore more than a mining company. We mine to help others. Our goal is to use business to create opportunity, natural resources to generate capital, entertainment to stimulate multiple industries, and reinvestment to help strengthen the communities and economies involved.

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We believe ideas only matter when they are put into motion.

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See IDEAS IN MOTION.

 

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