Workshop Day 2: Selling peanuts for more than…peanuts

With a later start time of 9.30, many groups mixed business with breakfast, meeting early to get a head start on their projects. Today was a more theoretically orientated day, which unfortunately meant even less time dedicated to group work. We had 5 steps to take that day, and a lot of theory and powerpoint slides to get through first. Harry outlines the order of the day: 1)establish a new revenue model, 2) Design the new organization 3) discuss what could be outsourced 4) How to make space for Open Innovation and 6) to determine how much value is created for stakeholders. 

Admittedly, much of what was covered that day, from micro-franchising to open innovation was lost on my team at least. A quick glance around showed them dis-engaged with the business concepts being presented and engaged in answering the work emails that streamed in on their laptops. For the other NACWOLA team  who were creating a model for an agricultural co-operative through which WLHIVs could sell peanuts, how to add value was a very quantitative exercise; figuring out how to sell peanuts for more than peanuts involves looking at the price of transport, key farming inputs etc. However, for our team the value proposal was qualitative, looking at how to improve the experience of the end users and users according to qualitative indicators like ‘a sensitive approach.

When the time for group work began and we set to work on the value proposal for users (CSAs) it was extremely hard for the group to see the other organisations that NACWOLA trained women could work for as competition. Other NGOs target and recruit NACWOLA CSAs to work for their own organisation because of the critical skill set they have already developed through NACWOLA support. In business terms such organisations needed to be presented as competitors, but are seen by the NACWOLA staff as complimentary. This is because they offer good salaries and opportunities for the very women NACWOLA is trying to support-WLHIV.

Much work with other organisations is also part time and so leads to no clash in time commitments. CSAs also learn new skills from both agencies, adding value to their work with both.  However, with some organisations like Mother2mother recruiting/poaching CSAs for full-time work, NACWOLA is left to fill their gap by training a replacement. Essentially NACWOLA find themselves draining their own resources to provide skilled and knowledgeable staff to other organisations. Our value proposal for users then, was designed to try and retain NACWOLA volunteers by offering them a competitive package of benefits.  Alternatively we noted that NACWOLA needs to negotiate a better deal for itself when government and other donors decided to recruit its volunteers, rather than handing them gladly over.

In our group work at the end of the day, time pressure was really beginning to be felt and the teams worked doggedly until 6pm when we were invited back into the conference room to listen to a talk by an intern at the Acumen fund Kenya, who had flown over especially for the occasion.  The Acumen fund offers capital patient loans to social enterprises, meaning they don’t mind waiting years and years for a small return on their investment because what they invest in are enterprises that are socially as well as financially profitable. We listened attentively to the eligibility criteria which unfortunately excluded most of our enterprises in the short term, but did offer a possible source of capital for the medium term.  

After sifting through some of the NACWOLA and Global fund documents I joined the others for the BBQ, buffet and beers outside and listened to the live music courtesy of Kampala Music School. Singing a mixture of local songs and more western ones - sometimes in tune, sometimes completely out - they were entertaining and were, in our new language, a great value proposition to the evening, offering a new dimension and richness of experience. I particularly liked the Rwandan style of dance where the dancers crouched low to the ground and pushed their hands out and up with palms to the sky and all the while  with small pots balanced on their heads. Impressive. The BBQ social also provided the opportunity for me to introduce Brooke, the fellow anthropologist and the work she was doing to Jon, whose house I would be spending the next few weeks in. To my relief it was agreed that she could stay too, meaning I would have some company in the big house on the top of the hill. As I went to bed I passed the usual crowd gathered at the Wi-Fi hot spot of the restaurant balcony, furiously trying to connect with their lives back home.