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Posts Tagged ‘Africa’
GIM Expert Featured in Fox Business: Who Needs Cash? Online Banking for the World’s Poorest
Written by SS
Friday, 11 May 2012 13:15
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Excerpt. For full article, please use this link.

“Players in the financial-services industry are traveling to the world’s most cash-rich locales, scouring rural villages in an effort to tap an untouched market where some 2.4 billion people have yet to open a bank account.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s a tectonic shift in technology here, a leapfrog opportunity,” said Gordon Cooper, Visa’s head of emerging market solutions. “We are quite certain that the real opportunity lies in non-traditional growth.”

Sobhani, who focuses on U.N.’s growing inclusive markets initiative, said providing the poor access to financial services through mobile platforms is a “critical enabler.”

That ranges from governments and relief programs providing and tracking direct aid to earthquake victims in Haiti to the ability of hooking rural farmers up to the grid in what led to the creation of Sub-Saharan Africa’s first commodities exchange in Ethiopia.”

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/04/23/who-needs-cash-online-banking-for-worlds-poorest/#ixzz1uaA5WJDl

 
Q&A with Olayinka David-West, case author of Tetra Pak and Food for Development Nigeria
Written by carina
Monday, 09 May 2011 12:02
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Olayinka David-West is a lecturer of Information Systems at Lagos Business School, and has over 19 years experience in the local IT industry. She is also an academic director at the Enterprise Development Services (EDS) Centre of Pan-African University. She combines her teaching and research interests with industry consulting engagements in the areas of Strategic IS Planning, IT Personnel Selection, IT Assessment & Review/Due Diligence, E-Business, Business Planning, Software Selection & Management, Systems Implementation, Project & Change Management, Process Improvement and Systems Design. Her research interests include the adoption, utilisation and performance of of information systems in organisations, IT governance, and issues relating to the development of IT organisations. Olayinka is currently enrolled in a doctoral programme at the Manchester Business School, and is researching e-banking performance for her DBA thesis. In addition, she holds an MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University, London, and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Lagos. She is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) and an academic advocate to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

In collaboration with local governments, Tetra Pak West Africa (TPWA) developed a state‐wide school feed programme using Nutri‐Sip, a maize‐based meal supplement.

To download the Tetra Pak Food for Development case study from the GIM database, please click here.

What is Tetra Pak’s Food for Development programmes’ basic value proposition and what makes their financial models sustainable?

The value in food for development programme offered by Tetra Pak comprises of the ability to deliver basic nutrition to the Worlds most vulnerable – children in developing countries. The Tetra Pak FFD programme can only be financially sustainable with adequate investment in backward integration of the raw materials for food production. As we saw in the case of Nigeria, the importation of the soy-based product was affected by systematic logistics issues in the Nigerian ports; also in the case of local production, adequate supply of the raw materials, working infrastructure and Government commitment to purchase, and enabling policies are critical for private sector participation and sustainability.

What were the main challenges faced by Food for Development in Nigeria and how could this initiative have been scaled up?

Where health and nutrition are the main responsibilities of Governments, continuity in government administrations is one of the major challenges of food for development in Nigeria. In addition to the policy and funding issues, other challenges included logistics management, project management, and community relationship management.

What is the importance of Food for Development programmes for a country like Nigeria?

FFD programmes are important in a country like Nigeria due to the high occurrences of malnutrition in children. In addition, deployment of the initiatives through schools also encourages school attendance for both male and female children especially amongst discriminating communities.  In addition, with increasing discussions on food security, FFD programmes will also help enhance Nigeria’s industrial and food processing capabilities.

 
Q&A with Winifred Karugu, author of KACE case study in Kenya
Written by carina
Wednesday, 20 April 2011 08:51
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Winifred Karugu is currently the Managing Director (MD) of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Enterprises (JKUATES), a company that is 100% owned by the University. She is based in the University’s Main Campus at Juja, in Kenya. The Company is the commercial wing of JKUAT and engages in direct linkages with industry through training, consultancy and related activities. She had also served as a director of the JKUATES for three years before her appointment as MD. Prior to this appointment, which took place in February 2008, Winifred was the Director of the School for Human Resources Development, which houses Business and Humanities at the University, a position that she held for four years. Winifred also lectures in economics and marketing courses units at the university. She also engages in research and consultancy. She has published several articles in refereed journals and written several business cases both teaching and analytical. Her research interests include pro-poor business models, SME growth strategies in emerging markets and gender & technology transfer. Winifred is a member of: Academy of Management (AoM), International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), Africa Technology and Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and Kenya Association of Business and Management Professionals (KABMAP). Find below selected publications of her work.

Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE) is the first and only national agricultural commodity exchange in Kenya, and it differentiates itself by dealing with a variety of commodities of which maize and beans are the most heavily traded. KACE acting as an intermediary further empowers rural farmers with market information and provides capacity enhancement, business training and technical assistance.

To download the KACE case study from the GIM database, please click here.

What is KACE’s basic value proposition and what makes its financial model sustainable?

KACE’s main value proposition is the inclusion of previously hapless small scale farmers into the mainstream economy. Small scale farmers have long been exploited or unable to sell and/or obtain fair prices for their produce. The net result is that they tended to sink deeper into poverty and despair. KACE’s activities be they radio-based, mobile phone-based, internet-based or the warehouse scheme have resulted in farmers receiving better prices and being able to negotiate in the market place. Their standards of living have risen and they are able to plan for the longer term rather than living from day to day. Greater availability has meant greater food security in a region where hunger stress was common.

Access to markets has clearly improved the livelihoods of many farmers; though what are the remaining challenges for the growth of this business model?

The main constraints to growth include missing or incomplete output and input markets, high transaction costs and low levels of technology.

How important is new technology, as used by KACE, in improving the lives of poor in Kenya?

The mobile phone has had tremendous uptake in developing countries for example in Kenya with a population of 40 million people 24 million now own mobile phones. The applications and technology for the mobile has also grown tremendously with internet connectivity, money transfer, banking and hundreds of applications now routinely available. For example current Central bank figures show that Kenyans now move in excess of a billion USD through mobile phones every month. Mobile phones have enabled millions of the unbanked to have bank accounts and to trade. The possibilities of what can be done with this are huge.

What are the success factors that need to be in place for this commodity exchange model to be replicated elsewhere?

The fact that small scale farmers and traders can be more in control of their destiny has led to several African countries studying the KACE model and adopting it. The model is useful in the fight against poverty on the continent.

What would you say was critical about the actor ecosystem that enabled this business to be successful?

The CEO of KACE had wide experience in this field and a passion for trying to uplift vulnerable farmers who were sinking deeper into poverty through exploitation and ignorance. Also several things disturbed him such as the facts that certain areas in Kenya would have overproduction and waste, while other areas would be experiencing drought at the same time. He wanted to level the field so that all poor farmers were included in the wider economy and able to participate on a more equitable level.

What has been your personal experience going through the GIM training and case research process?

My experience in the GIM training and research of cases has been invaluable to me in that I gained knowledge and deeper insight into models that positively influence the poor.