List of Tables and Figures Tables:

Table 1: SWOT Analysis of Biblionef Ghana Table 2: Estimated Total Revenue Stream Per Year Table 3: Implementation Plan

Figures :

Figure 1: Root Cause Analysis

Figure 2: Biblionef Ghana’s Current Business Model

Figure 3: Biblionef Ghana’s Sustainable Business Model

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………. 7

• Company profile: Biblionef Ghana………………………………………………………………………. 7
  • Aims and Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
  • SWOT Analysis of Biblionef Ghana……………………………………………………………………… 8
    • Strengths………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
    • Weaknesses………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
    • Opportunities………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
    • Threats……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
  • Industry Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
    • Political Factors……………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
    • Economic Factors………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
    • Social Factors………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
    • Technological Factors…………………………………………………………………………………… 13
  • Problem Statement……………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
  • Significance of Project………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
  • Needs Analysis and Methodology……………………………………………………………………….. 16
    • Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
    • Target Audience…………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
    • Sample Selection and Data Collection……………………………………………………………… 17
    • Interviews…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
    • Observations……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
    • Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………….. 22

• Non-Governmental Organisations……………………………………………………………………… 22
  • Challenges NGO’s face……………………………………………………………………………………… 23
  • NGOs in becoming self-sustaining………………………………………………………………………. 25
  • The Business Model…………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

CHAPTER 4: SOLUTION………………………………………………………………………………………… 28

1. Introduction of solution…………………………………………………………………………………….. 28
   1. Business Model…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 28
      1. Key Partners……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
      1. Customer Relationships………………………………………………………………………………… 30
      1. Key Activities……………………………………………………………………………………………… 31
      1. Key Resources…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
      1. Revenue Streams…………………………………………………………………………………………. 32
      1. Cost Structure……………………………………………………………………………………………… 34
   1. Implementation Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………. 35
      1. Detailing of Important Steps to Follow…………………………………………………………….. 36

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………. 37

• Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
  • Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38
  • Limitations………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 38

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44

Interview Transcript………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

Fig 1.1 Income(June – Dec 2017)……………………………………………………………………………… 54

Fig 1.2 Expenses(June – Dec 2017)…………………………………………………………………………… 54

Fig 1.3 Twitter Poll Results………………………………………………………………………………………. 55

Fig 1.4 Twitter Poll………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of what Biblionef Ghana does and what it seeks to achieve as an organization. Along with a company profile and a SWOT analysis, the company’s vision, mission, and values are clearly stated. The aims and objectives of the project are also discussed in this chapter. Finally, to be able to assess the external environment by which Biblionef is affected, a PEST analysis is carried out.

Company profile: Biblionef Ghana

The idea of Biblionef developed when a Dutch ambassador noticed financial poverty, poor sanitation and low basic education all around the world. He realised that there were children who were not aware of the joy of reading. His desire to share this joy with them caused him to set up Biblionef Netherlands twenty-five years later. He then looked to set up different branches in different countries and Ghana became one of the countries he decided to set up in. Biblionef Ghana is a Ghanaian non-governmental organization whose parent company is Biblionef Netherlands. It is managed by an Executive Director and has a five-member board of directors, two project officers and one casual staff. It seeks to provide under-privileged children in Ghana with the opportunity to experience the joy of reading and develop a love for books. Biblionef Ghana does this by providing new storybooks with translations in local dialects and by having workshops to train teachers on reading promotions and library

management. It also holds reading festivals and owns a children’s library. Biblionef Ghana also purchases and distributes books written by Ghanaian authors and books published locally. Biblionef distributes books written by Ghanaian authors mainly because of their understanding of the importance of providing children with reading materials containing elements they can easily relate with.

Vision: To let underprivileged children in Ghana experience the joy of reading and the love for books thereby giving them an opportunity for a brighter future.

Mission: To create access to reading material for underprivileged children in Ghana through the provision of new storybooks and book translations in the local dialects.

Values: We show integrity in our business dealings by being transparent and accountable. We give respect and consideration in our associations with partners, beneficiaries and staff and aspire to a high level of excellence and efficiency in whatever we do.

Aims and Objectives

The objective for this project is to develop an appropriate business model for Biblionef Ghana to help it become income generating, and self-sustaining.

SWOT Analysis of Biblionef Ghana

Table 1: SWOT Analysis of Biblionef Ghana

Strengths	Weaknesses
Good Customer Relationships   Experienced Executive Director   Support from the Netherlands	Poor Online Presence   Understaffed   Insufficient Funds   Underperforming Library
Opportunities	Threats
Available Partnerships   Support from the Government	Financial Instability   High Competition

•             Strengths

• Good customer relationships: Biblionef Ghana has highly cordial relationships with their customers. They always develop relationships where there is mutual respect and healthy rapport between themselves and their customers. Customers are free to express their views and discuss their preferences. As a result of this, certain donors become constant supporters of their cause and even go further to partake in some of their projects. When it comes to the beneficiaries of the cause, Biblionef Ghana does not only develop these relationships but preserves and maintains them by constantly making phone calls to check up on them. Due to this, some of these customers recommend the organisation to others.
  • Experienced Executive Director: Biblionef Ghana has an executive director who is highly skilled in handling children and libraries as she is a professional librarian and has worked as one for about twenty-six years. The organization therefore has an advantage when it comes to the execution of projects like the holding of workshops and reading festivals.
  • Support from the Netherlands: Biblionef Ghana is fortunate to get their support from their parent company, Biblionef Netherlands, in the form of regular supply of free reading and teaching materials. This supply goes a long way in reducing their costs and increasing their quality of service.
  •             Weaknesses

• Poor online presence: Although Biblionef Ghana has a Facebook and Twitter account, they do not yet own a website. This therefore creates a situation where it is difficult to advertise projects in order to obtain funds from donors.

• Understaffed: Biblionef Ghana has a very small number of employees. Biblionef Ghana has 2 employees and one casual staff who doubles as a library assistant. This brings about a situation where there is heavy workload on each employee.
  • Insufficient funds: Biblionef Ghana does not have enough funds to fully operate and complete projects. Its lack of funds has caused it to halt important operations and also render it incapable of hiring extra staff to lessen workload.
  • Underperforming Library: The library is not managed to its full potential and is not operating the way it should because the organisation is understaffed. There is also little publicity about the library and so very few children visit it and patronize it.
  •             Opportunities

• Available Partnerships: There are many other NGOs all over the world which focus on education and are more likely to support Biblionef Ghana with their projects. ‘EduKans’ and ‘Lions Club International’ are examples of such NGO’s Biblionef Ghana can partner with. These organizations have already partnered with Biblionef Ghana before. The opportunity to partner with these organizations allows for Biblionef Ghana to receive volunteers and obtain additional resources to help them execute projects.
  • Support from Government: The government of Ghana also supports NGO’s to some extent. In the 2018 budget, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced there would be an establishment of a Voluntary Education Fund to gather funds from Ghanaians who want to support the education sector (Myjoyonline.com, 2017). This announcement signifies that there is an opportunity for an existence of an increase in the amount of funds available to the education sector in which Biblionef Ghana is in.

•             Threats

• Financial Instability: There is currently a threat to Ghana’s financial stability since its debt to equity ratio has risen (Focus Economics, 2018). This might affect the spending of Biblionef Ghana.
  • High Competition: There are several non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations working in Ghana’s education sector (Nexus Partnerships Limited, 2018). Some examples of these NGO’s are ‘The Ghanaian National Association of Teachers’ (GNAT), ‘The Educational Workers Union’(TEWU) and ‘Free Education and Reading Group’(FREG). This means that profits are being competed away and this can therefore pose as a threat to Biblionef Ghana.

Industry Analysis

To be able to analyse the external environment of Biblionef Ghana, a PEST analysis tool will be utilised. This tool considers the political, economic, social, and technological factors that affects the organization.

•             Political Factors

When it comes to political stability, “Ghana has been a stable democracy since the introduction of constitutional democracy in 1992. Changes of government between the two dominant parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party have generally been smooth” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 2018). The current President of Ghana, his excellency, Nana Akuffo Addo is aiming to reduce the level of corruption as it does occur, especially with the police and judiciary system (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 2018).

Organizations, such as NGO’s need to operate in a country with political stability because the government forms a part of their stakeholders. NGO’s “need the cooperation of the

government to facilitate work because of strikes and other protests and this impacts profits of the businesses negatively” (Management Study Guide, 2018). Also, the existence of political instability causes bureaucratic delays when it comes to gaining approvals that the organization might need from government. The unity of a country is very vital to a company like Biblionef Ghana because Biblionef Ghana donates books to different regions in Ghana and has reading festivals in different regions in Ghana. For these particular projects to be executed successfully, there must be unity in the country as a whole.

•             Economic Factors

Ghana’s economy, which in 2016 experienced stifled growth begun to recover in 2017. Ghana’s economic growth has been the highest since 2014 mainly due to a percentage increase in the oil and gas sector (Tradingeconomics.com, 2017). Interest rates are currently at 20.00% and the inflation rate is at 11.80%. Both the inflation rates and interest rates have however been forecasted to have reduced by the year, 2020 (Tradingeconomics.com, 2018). There is however a threat to Ghana’s financial stability because of the increase in its debt to equity ratio (Focus Economics, 2018). A fall in the inflation rate might affect Biblionef in a positive way when it comes to donor funding and the expenditure of Biblionef Ghana. This is due to the increase in purchasing power that the reduction in inflation would bring about on the part of the donors.

•             Social Factors

Ghana is a country consisting of about 27,499,924 people and has a population growth rate of 2.17%. Ghana generally has a young age structure with the median ages of 21.1 years for males and 20.6 years for females. Total fertility rate is 4 children born per woman and contraceptive prevalence rate is 30.6%. Poverty rates in Ghana have declined but the Northern region still has poverty being pervasive because of the floods and droughts it experiences. There is also the existence of lower school enrolment and lower illiteracy rates

in the Northern region (IndexMundi, 2018). This can explain why Biblionef Ghana gets a lot of requests for books from the North and Volta region of Ghana and not as many requests from the Central and Greater Accra Regions.

•             Technological Factors

Technology in the world provides teaching methods which facilitate the ability of students to grasp concepts quickly. This can be noticed in schools where videos are used to help students visualize teaching content and social media which allows for interaction between students.

Although most Ghanaians share the view that technology is expensive, it is rapidly gaining acceptance in Ghana and individuals and organizations in the private and public sector are benefiting from it (DreamOval, 2016). Biblionef uses power point presentations for their training programs and sends application and evaluation forms via email to schools who require the donation of books. Schools are also required to email or send messages through WhatsApp, some pictures and letters depicting children using the books that were donated to them.

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