Category: News Page 4 of 5

Back in the Netherlands again, and we look back to a very successful and inspiring trip to Ghana.
Our objectives were:
1. To set up the local organisation (legal, office, storage, distribution, personnel)
2 Do research for marketing plan and production of promotion materials
3. Definite selection of products for pilot
4. Research shipping possibilities
5. Meet with MicroFinance Institutions
6. Meet with possible partners/investors
7. Research into local payment methods (installments, loan, microcredit etc)

This was ambitious, because there was not much time in Ghana. But thanks to SIFE Ghana we managed to get a lot of appointments, and we talked to investment companies, producers of goodgets, microfinance organisations, NGO’s, shipping companies and more.

Almost all meetings were very positive, with everybody wanting to cooperate. We got a lot of feedback on the plan, and this made us decide to make a change in the original plan.
We will add another link in the chain. We intent to set up a one-stop shop or a so called flagship store in Accra where all our products are displayed in the different categories (water, solar, other renewables, agriculture, health, transport etc).
The reason for this is that we found that not only the BoP are interested in the products, but also the (lower) middle class in the city. With the flagship store we can display our products to both groups, and also we create a fixed place where people can go if products are not working (this was a very important outcome of our research).
The flagship store will function as a basis for the future microfranchisees who go into the countryside (to the BoP) with a range of goodgets. In time the store can be copied to other cities and places (think Apple store).
Also, the store really gives us the opportunity to do some serious branding of the Goodget name and service.

In the mean time Goodget Limited is almost a fact – this means we have set up a local company in Ghana! There is a lot of work to do, but our target is to start the business in the beginning of 2013!! Thanks everybody who has helped us so far. If you want to be involved as a volunteer, please contact me asap at elvira@goodget.org at goodget.org

Last sunday we presented our idea and our products to selected entrepreneurs from the Accra area. In general, they were very positive about the products, but they also came up with many questions and tips for improvement of the products to suit the needs of their customers. Why doesn’t the solar panel have a cover against dust, and why is there no camera on the solar mobile phone? Shouldn’t there be a cover on the water filter if you want to use it in your kitchen where a woodstove is used? We will provide the producers of these products with this feedback, and hopefully they can further improve the products.

In the past 2 weeks we had conversations with social investors, producers of goodgets, local entrepreneurs, shipping companies, microfinance institutions and NGO’s. Our conclusion is that our business model needs to be slightly changed. This is why we could not yet seriously discuss this subject with the entrepreneurs last sunday. But they seemed to be open to our new ideas as well. Our task is now to rewrite the business plan, and then return to all our contacts, establish working relations with them and set up the company.

Our trip to Ghana is almost over, and we want to thank everybody who has helped to make it such a positive experience. We want to thank Evelyn, Evans, Gershon, and Linda of SIFE, all the volunteers from Enviu, RSM and TU Delft in the Netherlands, and all other people involved. On behalf of Goodget: Thank you!!!

Goodget sold its first product yesterday! Every day we have more positive meetings here in Accra, and it happens all the time that people want to buy the samples from us. For most samples that is not possible yet because we have only one product.

Coming sunday we are going to present the products to prospective local entrepreneurs who are going to sell the goodgets for us in the Greater Accra Area. Our aim is to find out what products they think they can sell to their customers, and of course – how many  they think they can sell. For this we collected samples of locally produced cookstoves, water purification devices and more.

Especially the solar charging devices are in huge demand, but we also see a market for our other products. The Africans we have met so far definately have money to spend and are willing to pay a good price for quality products.

Next week we are going to do some more research on shipping and logistics, and also we need to make a definite selection of the products we are going to sell.

Emmy Voltman is in Accra for Goodget to discuss the outcome of the market research performed by our local partner Enactus Ghana. The outcome of the market research is very promising, it provided us with many new insights. One of these new insights is that pay-per-use is no option in Ghana; people just want to own the products themselves. Also, the market research suggests that in the pilot we should focus on youth and young adults, because they are the ‘early adapters’ for our products, especially when it comes to solar products (telephone chargers, lamps, radio’s). We found that we do not have to go far outside of the city to start the business, and that makes it easier for us when it comes to logistics etcetera.

Things are looking good, and we are really making progress. This week we have a lot of meetings with people from microfinance institutions, (local) producers of goodgets, shipping companies, and companies with existing distribution networks like Vodafone and Unilever. Also, we are busy preparing a seminar for the future local entrepreneurs on sunday 2. September. We hope to convince them that Goodget can deliver a range of good quality innovative products, and we hope they see a big market for our products!

On tuesday 21. August, Emmy Voltman of Goodget will travel to Ghana to meet with our Ghanese team. The Ghanese team, led by Evans Hokey of SIFE Ghana has delivered a market research for our products, a selection tool for the first group of local entrepreneurs, and has done research into storing and logistics.

The outcome of the market research was very positive: there is certainly demand for our products in Ghana! So now the local entrepreneurs need to be trained, they need to get access to microfinance, and ofcourse, we need to set up and test every aspect of the Goodget microfranchise formula.

Together with SIFE Ghana, we will work out a communications and marketing strategy to inform the potential customers of the products we are going to sell. Most products and their benefits are unknown in Ghana, and we need to change this on a small budget. With a lot of creativity and local knowledge goodgets will be promoted as cost-effective and sustainable alternatives that can improve living conditions and environment for almost everybody in Ghana.

This is a big challenge, and we will write regular updates of our progress in the coming weeks on this website.

From april to june 2012, the teams of Goodget in The Netherlands and Ghana will work hard to get everything in place for the pilot. The Dutch team will prepare a market research and work out an elaborate logistics program to get the goodgets to Ghana. The Ghana team will perform the market research, and select the first group of 5 local entrepreneurs. Also, they will make sure there is demand for the goodgets we selected for our pilot in Ghana.

In august 2012, we will travel to Ghana to start the pilot with the first group of 5 entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs need to be trained, they need to get access to microfinance, and ofcourse, we need to set up and test every aspect of the Goodget microfranchise formula.

Together with our local partner SIFE Ghana, we will work out a communications and marketing strategy to inform the potential customers of the products we are going to sell. Most products and their benefits are unknown in Ghana, and we need to change this on a small budget. With a lot of creativity and local knowledge goodgets will be promoted as cost-effective and sustainable alternatives that can improve living conditions and environment for almost everybody in Ghana.

After 4 months, we will select another group of 20 local entrepreneurs, train them, coach them and learn from them. Is demand big enough, is our marketing strategy effective, is the sales strategy of the local entrepreneurs working out, is the training and coaching of the local entrepreneurs sufficient? These are some of the questions we hope to answer during our pilot.

The pilot runs for a year, and will conclude with a thourough evaluation. We will then scale up in Ghana, and from there on to 2 more countries in West Africa. If you want to know more about our pilot, please go to our crowdfunding page on www.crowdaboutnow.com. There, you can download our Businessplan, and our financial plan.

In the summer of 2012 a unique interactive distribution platform will be launched in this spot with innovative, sustainable, low-cost consumer products and best-practice solutions (green business strategies and successful sustainable development projects).

We want to bridge the gap between the inventors of sustainable products and poor people whose well-being and welfare could increase with the help of these products.

Read our mission on this website to find out what we are all about. If you want to know how we are planning to set up Goodget, and for whom, please read the blog Goodget: the project.

Do you want to stay informed or become active? Please connect to our cause Goodget at LinkedIn.com

Goodget is selected to pitch for investors and bankers at the Entrepreneurs Without Borders – Event in Amsterdam on 3. October 2011.

Entrepreneurs Without Borders, or Ondernemen Zonder Grenzen in Dutch, is a big annual business plan competition for start-ups with business in developing countries.

The business plan of Goodget was selected among the 6 best business plans of 2011, and that means we are going to pitch in the closed board room to selected investors.

Now that the business plan is finished, we really hope things can speed up in the next couple of months, so we can start our pilot in Ghana. But first, we have to secure an investment of 50.000 Euro.

Thanks again to everybody who has supported and helped us do far (Enviu, Technical University Delft, Jathin Segal at Ernst & Young)!