Financial Model and Partnerships

Financial Model Assumptions:

Total overhead costs and returns are relatively stable compared to the past. However, this is difficult to accurately project due to the fluid nature of the current pandemic that is adversely impacting the global financial market. Given this high level of uncertainty, it is nearly impossible to estimate the conditions several months in advance at this point.

 

Design Phase Funding: We are no longer in the design phase of development.

 

Implementation Phase Funding:

 

  1. Crowdfunding campaign during Summer 2019. This is a good fit for the venture because it shows the commitment and validity of the venture as a whole and allows us to achieve one of the main goals of the operation: a self-sustaining method of funding. Although this crowdfunding campaign is not directly self-sustaining, it contributed to the implementation of Ukweli Test Strips in Sierra Leone through the community health worker backbone that will create a self-sustaining system of revenue.
  2. World Hope Internationalàmatched the crowdfunding campaign contribution. This is a good fit because of the aforementioned reasons above, but it also shows the commitment of WHI and formalizes that meaning of the word “partnership” to a greater extent than what was previously established.

 

Partnerships Forged/Needed:

  1. World Hope International – provide logistical support to the Ukweli operation as they are a well-known nonprofit organization with a presence already established in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  2. Community Health Workers – these form the backbone of the Ukweli system by a CHWs inherent level of trust and credibility within their communities. By leveraging this partnership, Ukweli is able to gain credibility with the people it aims to serve.
  3. Sierra Leone Pharmacy Control Board – approval from the organization allows Ukweli to legally distribute the test strips within Sierra Leone
  4. Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation – Formal partnership still needed in order for the Sierra Leonean government to eventually take over the Ukweli system and manage its operation
  5. Liberian government- preliminary proposal in the works to expand into Liberia, the support of the Liberian government will be needed in order to make this partnership permanent and allow Ukweli to reach millions more people.

Blog 10

Refine your Business Model Canvas:

    1. Include a Visual Canvas
    2. Extremely specific notes for each block
    3. Explain how exactly you will deliver an end-to-end solution.
  1. Ten practical lessons from the business (revenue) models of ventures we reviewed today (or others you research) as they relate to your venture.
    1. Envirofit uses large distributors but also smaller, local businesses in order to distribute their product to more rural areas.  We can look at this and see how we might scale up in the future in order to make the test strip widely available
    2. Envirofit heavily focuses on the impact they’re making on the people, not necessarily the product→ when reaching out for funding proposals or competitions, we can use Envirofit as an example of how we should market our product. 
    3. Envirofit does impact reporting where they call their customers to evaluate their products and collect information on cooking habits and what it’s being used for. We could translate this into our project through the testing of the WhatsApp communication system.
    4. Envirofit’s Impact of 1 Million Stoves highlights the company’s real-time data that they are collecting on their website.  Being able to include something like this on our website in the future could be incredibly useful for displaying our impact. 
    5. Reel Gardening really focused on simplifying the gardening process and making it easy for users to participate.  Our test strip is designed to make it easier and cheaper for medical staff and patients to use. 
    6. Reel Gardening provided a simple step-by-step tutorial for their users to even further simplify the process.  Our group could look at doing informational videos or messaging for CHWs and the women in the communities on the symptoms and risks of UTI/Preeclampsia going undetected.  Offer a more visual option.
    7. Reel Gardening offers an “Our Blog” section on their website.  It provides customers with information pertaining to gardening.  From different recipes to how to collect rainwater, Reel Gardening provides its customers with all information that’s relevant to the product.  Through our WhatsApp communication system, we can look at different ways to engage UHWs with the test strips and ultimately encourage increased testing.
    8. Greystone Baker has an open-hiring policy and not only pays its employees but also goes above in beyond in providing benefits for them.  Ukweli may not be able to fund benefits/opportunities like Greystone, but we can look at providing some sort of reward or benefits for becoming a UHW.  Making certification to be a UHW something that is exciting and exclusive, while maintaining our accessibility, could encourage word-of-mouth marketing between CHWs.
    9. Barefoot College really looked at spreading their knowledge through already established social networks.  For example, they trained grandmothers in order to educate and spread the use of solar power.  Similarly, we are using already established social connections through CHWs to distribute the product.  We could also potentially look into using and encouraging certified UHWs to spread the word about Ukweli and the test strips to increase interest and testing. 
    10. Barefoot College works to empower women directly by giving them the tools to establish solar power in their rural communities.  We could potentially look at a way to work directly with women so we know they’re seeing an impact and feel empowered to seek medical care. 

Business Model and Aravind Eye Care

  1. Develop a Business Model for your venture using the Osterwalder Business Model Canvas. 

Value Propositions

For mothers in Sierra Leone, our Ukweli Test Strip is a simple, affordable testing strip for UTIs and preeclampsia that could save their lives and increase their quality of life by identifying potential health issues.

Customer Relationships

Co-Creation

User Communities

 

Channels

Community Health Workers

 

Customer Segments

Women in Sierra Leone 

Community Health Workers 

 

Revenue Streams

Funding from Organizations

Selling of the actual test strips to CHWs

 

Key Resources 

Test Strips (OEM)

CHWs

Intellectual→ Connections on the ground Hassan and his connections, data collection, 

Human→ Hassan, Allieu, Bockarie

Financial→ Funding from world hope and other organizations

Cost Structure 

Sell strips to UHWs/NICs to distribute to the catchment population–>bottle of strips cost 50,000 SL

 

Key Activities

*big idea 

For the Lehigh team, we need to continuously be 

  • Communicating and directing on-site UHWs (Ukweli-certified Health Workers) 
  • Collecting, storing, managing, and communicating data from fieldwork to necessary stakeholders
  • WhatsApp communication with CHWs in order to maintain relationships

 

Key Partners

World Hope

CHWs

Hassan, Allieu, Bockarie

 

  1. List ten lessons from the Business and Operations model of the Aravind Eye Hospital.

a. It only takes one person to start something much, much bigger than themselves: just one person’s creativity and willingness to risk his own life savings was enough to bring vision to millions of people in India.

b. Inspiration can come from many places (some of them more “off-the-wall” than others). This was showcased by the inspiration of their model of efficiency from McDonald’s.

c. Resource scarcity forces any venture hoping to truly transform the world take approaches that are much different from the typical start-up in modern society. Proper training and delegation of resources to the right people, in the correct amount, is vital for their sustainability.

d. Several elements go into any operational model (i.e. support services). In order to support the underserved population, things that might not normally be thought of as part of the product delivery itself (eye care) are essential to maintain accessibility.

e. Changing a simple/affordable camera into a type of retinal camera may not be ideal, but this expands access to the eye care services even further.

f. Bringing the technology directly to people who don’t need to travel to the base hospital through the van is key delivering accessible eye care. A qualified person is able to read a patient’s relevant images remotely without the barrier of transporting someone all the way to the hospital.

g. Although the implications of charging only people who can afford to pay may be far-reaching (especially in a capitalistic society), this is a great way to ensure access to those who normally cannot afford it. I believe that it is entirely justifiable to charge those who can afford it because healthcare, in general, should be a right. Regardless of one’s ability to pay, they should not worry about having a lower quality of life and/or death as a result of their economic status.

h. The presentation was incredibly crisp: this is also key to expanding operations. In order for the masses to have confidence in their services, they must have the confidence the speaker showed in himself (knowledgeable and genuine). This might not be a formal aspect of their “model” but it is perhaps one of the most important elements of any operation,

i. Just because you’re low-resourced does not necessarily mean you cannot succeed. The statistical data shown proves this. This builds their credibility, and furthers the meaning of their value proposition.

k. Their target population was specific: like any aspect of their operation, it must be specific in order to be tangibly addressed. The underserved population was the great majority of their target population, and roughly 20% of Indians are potential candidates for their services. Based on this specificity, they show that they spent a great deal of time thinking about their individual customer population and they convey a real sense of empathy by doing so. This is key to selling their product and furthering the venture because remembering the individual one is serving is necessary to provide the best treatment possible.

Art of the Start/Blog 8

  1. List five compelling take-aways from the Art of the Start.                                                                    The 10/20/30 rule is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a good presentation. A good presentation shouldn’t be overly-distracting visually. The attention should be on the presenter, not the screen itself (i.e. the screen needs to be an aid, not a central feature). To capture the attention of your audience, you need to find ways to be engaging. Humor, when used in the appropriate context, is an excellent attention-getter. However, depending on your audience, this can change what is the most appropriate attention-getting method. Building on the previous point, knowing one’s audience is incredibly important, too. This is because knowing your audience will allow you to tailor your presentation. For example, a presentation/pitch to an investor will likely be very different from a presentation to an audience for purely educational purposes in an academic setting. Investing in worthwhile efforts is always a good way to remain focused. For example, Mr. Kawasaki spent a great deal of time discussing the pointlessness/generic aspects of a “mission statement”. In the grand scheme of things, a mission statement needs to be a “mantra” and effectively/precisely communicate your venture’s goals and reason for existence in a unique/memorable way. Be unique. Do not use generic statements such as “our team is proven/effective”. This is a very generic statement that does not actually show why your venture is worthwhile
  2. Articulate your value propositions for your diverse customer segments.

For mothers in Sierra Leone, our Ukweli Test Strip is a simple, affordable testing strip for UTIs and preeclampsia that could save their lives and increase their quality of life by identifying potential health issues.

  1. Discuss your total available market and total addressable market. List all assumptions/hypotheses.

The total available market includes any mother within a low- and middle-income within Africa. However, our total addressable market is currently ~250,000 and we will reach about 3 million people by next summer. The addressable market is within Sierra Leone, but we will also cover a greater addressable market in a realistic/sustainable manner by expanding our operations into Liberia, too. 

 

Our targeted market overwhelmingly consists of women who would not normally have access to affordable healthcare services. Although these services are supposed to be free, they are often unable to fully realize these benefits due to limited resources/capabilities at peripheral health units located outside of the main hospital within Makeni. Although the average person in Sierra Leone lives on just $2 per day, in the rural areas where our venture is targeting consumers, this number is usually lower. Because of this extreme poverty, our target population is spread thin.