For this blog post, I decided to look into the company, Envirofit International, and develop a business model canvas around it. I also worked with Jaro on this blog post.
Envirofit International is a social enterprise that innovates smart energy products and services such a wood burning stoves and human-powered flashlights.
The key partners in this company are quite large. From the partner sections on their website, partners include The One Acre Fund, OPIC, Shell Foundation, Ukaid, GIZ, and many more (1). These are partners that the company works with to provide funding and revenue streams. Key partners can also be found in acquiring materials for the creation of these products, however, these partners aren’t public knowledge.
The key activities for this business are providing affordable alternatives to normal wood burning stoves, by creating a wood burning compartment at the bottom of the stove, to conserve the heat given off by the burning wood. This reduces the amount of wood required to cook any given meal and saves time and resources for those using it in a developing country. Along with the stoves, Envirofit also produces hand-crank flashlights and solar-powered lanterns. These devices allow those without a steady electricity source to produce their own electricity and thus light and power for a multitude of applications. These technologies allow people in developing countries to save energy, time and money to be more efficient and opens up many different doors for the people that use them as the applications are endless.
The key resources for this business are also quite large. It requires metal producers for all of the stove components, and for the flashlights and lanterns a multitude of different metals components such as wires, casing, and circuit boards required to create the product. Also, plastics for casings, buttons, and other internal parts are also needed (2). Of course, packaging and shipping supplies are also required but aren’t a part of the product itself. Envirofit’s key distribution channels are through their partners like UKaid that pays for and delivers hundreds of these stoves and flashlights across a multitude of developing countries.
The value proposition is quite simple actually. The entire point of this company is to provide energy and money saving products to those in developing countries. Their products claim to reduce the required energy by upwards of 80% in some of their products. This allows users in developing countries to save money, resources and time which are rare commodities in developing countries. The biggest issue the company address is the lack of available biomass to burn to cook food and boil water.
Envirofit is able to create very strong customer relationships due to the marketing strategies used and the nature of the product itself. The product itself makes a fire appear as though there is little to no smoke, possibly confusing people who do not understand how it works. Since people may not use their products if they do not understand the way they work, it is important that people go and explain how the product works and why it will make their lives better. This also can double as a marketing plan, if people saw how great the product is they are more likely to spread the word about it, raising awareness about the product and possibly creating more future clients. Moreover, as the company grows and is able to provide less hands-on support they also have created a very reliable customer service branch of their company. Moreover, Envirofit is able to partner with companies that also care about making a positive impact throughout the world financially helping people in developing countries while simultaneously making a positive ecological impact (3)
Envirofit has been able to build several distribution channels throughout the years. The website for Envirofit includes many options for distribution. People can become a dealer of the stoves themselves, possibly spreading the product locally. Similarly, people or groups of people can sign up to become distributors. These distributors would handle very large shipments of products. Large companies and organizations can partner with Envirofit to distribute stoves to places in need (4).
The customer segments for Envirofit fall under two main characteristics, those who cannot afford the price of gas or fuel and those who can. People who are unable to afford this product could possibly change theirs by having one of these products, helping them save money over time. Customers who are able to afford gas could use this product save some money as well as help the environment. Since the stove product is cheaper and more ecologically friendly than normal stoves, it could help people financially as well as help them pollute less. Those who cannot afford the cost of gas are the most important customers as they may not be able to eat or stay warm without a stove.
The cost structure of Envirofit revolves around the total price of their product. There are many factors that go into the final price of an Envirofit product. Having materials that are inexpensive is essentially necessary for a company that intends to help those in developing countries. Without the ability to manufacture the product at a very low cost it would not be feasible for Envirofit to service developing countries. Similarly, Envirofit had to build the distribution channels to reach more people in need, without the cost of reliable distribution many people may not have received the help that an Envirofit product provides.
The revenue streams of Envirofit revolve around the great value their products have. Many people throughout developing countries struggle with the costs of daily life and they are able to receive some financial help by using Envirofit products. People are able to improve their overall quality of life for themselves and their families. Moreover, their products also provide ecological value to their customers, according to the Envirofit website, their stoves are able to reduce fuel use up to 60% (5). The Envirofit products give people a chance to reduce their impact on the environment without sacrificing any part of their daily life.