The development sector is focused on helping to lift people out of poverty, and social enterprises emphasise social or environmental change. The reasons people need help are extremely complex, and every development solution needs to attempt to understand the local, national and often global environment in order to bring about an appropriate and sustainable response. A ‘good idea’ about helping people that is not well examined could turn out to be only a temporary, superficial solution, or even cause more harm than good. A tool such as the Business Model Canvas enables you to explore an idea objectively in order to work out whether or not it will make sense in practice.
The Business Model Canvas enables you to systematically understand and design your business model as well as differentiate it from others.
You may have noted that the Business Model Canvas:
A good revision of the value proposition would focus on what makes this offering unique and how it provides value to both the beneficiaries and the donors. It would probably look something like this:
‘A culturally-appropriate and accessible system to enable efficient trade within rural communities. Beneficiaries can exchange goods within a group wider than their immediate neighbours. Donors will be supporting sustainable economic development.’
Your plan will be personal to you, but it will likely include preparing some documents to provide supporting information and arranging a meeting to bring people together, just as Jophus and Akshay did in the case studies from Case Studies 2 and 3.
The correct matches are:
Value proposition
What do you do?
Key activities
How do you do it?
Key resources
What do you need?
Key partners
Who will help you?
Audience relationship
How do you interact?
Audience segments
Who do you help?
Distribution channels
How do you reach them?
Cost structure
What will it cost?
Revenue stream
How much will you make?