The Importance Of Ngos In Rural Business Development

Summary

Business Development can be simplified as all ideas, initiatives, activities to enhance the overall business, In Business Development we commonly used the metric like revenue, Expansion, and strategic partnership. Business Development activities extend across different departments like Sales, Marketing, Project Management, Product Management, Vendor Management, Partnership, and cost-saving effort. First, sales will focus on particular market or particular clients, often for a targeted revenue number. Second, Marketing involves promotion and advertising aimed towards the successful sale of products to end-customers.Third, Partnership will define the strategy to enter a new market, will it be worth going solo by clearing all required formalities, or will it be more sensible to strategically partner with local firms already operating in the region. Fourth, the project management/implementation teams swings into action to work towards the desired goal. Fifth, Regulatory standards and market requirements vary across countries. Sixth, The Business Development team of Vendor Management work through the business question like example, will shipping of a product need a dedicated courier service? Will the firm partner with any established retail chain for retail sales?. Seventh, A few business initiatives may need expertise in soft skills. Eighth, BD is not just about increasing sales, products, and market reach. Strategic decision are also needed to improve the bottom line, which include cost-cutting measures. An internal assessment revealing high spending on travel, for instance, may lead to travel policy changes, such as hosting video conference calls instead of on-site meetings, or opting for less expensive transportation modes. Similar cost-saving initiatives can be implemented by outsourcing non-core work like billing, accounting, financials, technology operations, and customer service. Strategic partnership needed for these initiatives are a part of business development.

Abstract

After 12 years of providing solar energy to rural and isolated areas of Nicaragua through my business, Technosol, I came to realize the importance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as economic development institutions and as useful partners, cooperatives and local community groups. Often, when one embarks on an entrepreneurial endeavour, one thinks about the market opportunity (meeting the needs of a certain group of people) in constructing a business model that is functional and operational, while taking into account the financing needs of the business. If your project is innovative or involves adapting a new technology, few people will want to try it initially. It does not matter that the technology was already tested in other countries or cultures. In this case NGOs are an excellent way to facilitate the use of technology. NGOs manage relations with many potential individual customers with whom educational chats can take place. In the case of Technosol, there were two key success factors in the first years: 1) gaining the trust of customers; and 2) gaining the trust of financing institutions. Getting both was a difficult and titanic undertaking. If only I could have had the decisive NGO support to push technology in the rural sector! Nonetheless, some years after my company’s creation, an international development institution, E+Co, believed in this project and financed the company’s growth plans in Nicaragua.

Reference: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2010/10/the-importance-of-ngos-in-rural-business-development/