Developing An Innovative Value Proposition To Replace ...
Transcript of Developing An Innovative Value Proposition To Replace ...
JacobP.BussmannStudentnr.:900105-152-050MSc.MUEUrbanEnvironmentalManagementMasterThesisManagementStudies(MST)September,2016Supervisors:ValentinaMateria(MST),ThomasLans(ECS)
DevelopingAnInnovativeValuePropositionToReplaceParaffinIn
SouthAfricanlow-incomecommunities
BasedonthecaseofSesoloMelloB.V.workingintheKayamanditownship,
WesternCape,SA
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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IherebyagreetotheWageningenUniversity(WUR)plagiarismguidelines.ApartfromWageningenURinternalprocessesforthepurposeofassessingthethesis,the
contentofthisthesismayonlybecopiedordistributedafterreceivingawrittenconfirmationofJacobPaulBussmannand/orSesoloMelloB.V..Moreover,contentrelatedtothebusiness
model,dataandconceptofSesoloMelloB.V.isprotectedbyIPRandstayswithintheownershipofSesoloMelloB.V.andJacobPaulBussmann,eventhoughpublishedbyotherstakeholders.
2016
JacobPaulBussmann
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Tableofcontents
I. ABSTRACT III
II. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV
III. GLOSSARY V
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. IMPACTOFCOOKINGPRACTICES 11.2. VALUEPROPOSITIONSOFEXISTINGSOLUTIONSANDCOMMONPITFALLS 31.3. THESESOLOMELLOB.V.CASEINTHEWESTERNCAPE 61.3.1. CONCEPTIDEA:LIQUIDBIOFUELASPARAFFINREPLACEMENT 71.3.2. SESOLOMELLOINTHECONTEXTOFSOCIALENTREPRENEURSHIP 101.4. RELEVANCE 11
2. THEORETICALFRAMEWORK 12
2.1. COMPOSITEPROJECTSTRUCTURE 122.2. RESEARCHOBJECTIVE 122.3. MAINRESEARCHQUESTION 132.3.1. SUB-QUESTION:CUSTOMERVALIDATION 14
3. METHODOLOGY 15
3.1. DEFINITIONOFTERMS 153.1.1. VALUEPROPOSITIONDESIGN 153.1.2. BUSINESSMODELCANVAS 193.2. INDUCTIVEQUALITATIVERESEARCHDESIGN 213.2.1. RESEARCHPARADIGMSINTHELIGHTOFENTREPRENEURIALVALUEPROPOSITIONDESIGN 213.2.2. THEMOMTEST&IREPA:ASKINGTHERIGHTQUESTIONSINTHEBOPCONTEXT 223.2.3. SAMPLINGSTRATEGYFORINDUCTIVERESEARCH 253.2.4. SEMI-STRUCTUREDINTERVIEWSINTHEBOPCONTEXT 253.2.5. FOCUSGROUPRESEARCHINTHELIGHTOFBOPMARKETS 273.3. DESCRIPTIONOFWORKPERFORMEDINSOUTHAFRICA 29
4. RESULTS 32
4.1. VALUEPROPOSITIONCANVASFORSESOLOMELLOAPPROACH 324.1.1. BUSINESSMODELCANVASFORSESOLOMELLOAPPROACH 384.2. CONCLUSIONVALUEPROPOSITIONDESIGNPROCESSAND“SOCIALFEASIBILITY” 40
5. DISCUSSION 41
5.1. IMPLICATIONSFORTHESISOBJECTIVEANDSESOLOMELLO´SAPPROACH 415.2. RELEVANCEOFRESULTS 44
6. CONCLUSIONS 45
6.1. LIMITATIONS 456.1. RECOMMENDATIONS 46
REFERENCES 48
APPENDIX 51
A. COLLECTEDDATA 51
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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I. AbstractHouseholdairpollutionpresentsamajorsocialandenvironmentalproblem.TheWHO(2014)
states, that3billionpeoplecookandheat theirhomesusingopen firesandsimplestoves,
using impure fuels like paraffin. This results in approximately 4 million people dying
prematurelyfromillnessrelatedtocookingwithsolidfuels.Womenandchildrenaremostly
affected.ParaffinmainlyprevalentintheSouthAfricantownshipcontextisoneoftheworst
pollutants,causingnotonlydiseasethroughhouseholdairpollutionbut,incombinationwith
unsafe stoves, causes large shack fires everyyear.Moreover, residential solid fuelburning
accountsfor25%ofglobalblackcarbonemissions(Taitetal.,2013).
GovernmentsandNGO´s like theGlobalAllianceForCleanCookstoveshavebeen trying to
introducealternativestovesandfuelsfordecades–withlittlesuccess.Reasonsforthisare
amongothers:ForeignDesignwithoutlocal“buy-in”,underestimatedhurdlesofbehavioral
change,unaffordablesolutionsandlimitationsthroughlock-indesigns.
ThisentrepreneurialresearchistargetedatsupportingthesocialenterpriseSesoloMelloB.V.
insurroundingthesepitfallsbydevelopingasustainablevaluepropositiontoreplaceparaffin,
valid for township communities in theWestern Cape, South Africa. The value proposition
canvas,asbasis forSesoloMello´sbusinessmodelwasutilizedtodeductrelevantresearch
questions,andconductapropercustomervalidationprocess in theKayamandi township -
underlinedbyprinciplesoftheIntegratedRenewableEnergyPotentialAssessment(IREPA)
approach.
Theresultsofapplyingthevaluepropositiondesignprocess,showthatthebestwaytoreplace
paraffinandothersolidcookingfuelsinWesternCapeTownshipswouldbetoestablishthe
provision of cheap electricity through centralized or decentralized electricity production.
Since thisdevelopment iscostlyandonlyslowly facilitatedby thegovernment,next to the
incurredcostsforcustomers,tobuyanelectricalcooker-atransitionsolutionisadvised.
Thederivedvaluepropositionresultsintheintroductionofafluidbiofuelalternative,based
onwastevegetableoils,thatcouldreplaceparaffinonebyoneintheexistingcookstoves.Itis
wellperceived,avoidsthecommonpitfalls–basedonthecurrentknowledgebase-andchecks
mostcustomerrequirementsinthevaluepropositioncanvas.Thissolutionwouldbeableto
createsubstantialimpactnotonlyintheWesternCapebutinthewholeSouthAfricancontext,
where 650 million liters of paraffin could be replaced yearly, with a reduction of toxic
householdairpollutionby90%.
This value proposition design does not claim to be complete or be technically and
economicallyfeasible–thiswillstillbeevaluatedbySesoloMello.However,itcanbeseenas
arepresentationofcustomerpainsandthewishtotransitionawayfromparaffin.Moreover,
itaimstopresentadifferentviewonsustainableentrepreneurshipinBOPmarkets.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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II. AcknowledgementsThis thesis does not only represent the six months I spent in South Africa, researching and
workingintownshipcommunitiesofAlexandra,Kayamandi,Khayelitsha.Itrepresentsthestart
ofanentrepreneurialjourneyandapersonaldevelopmentwithalotofstrugglepairedwithalot
ofjoy.ItallstartedduringtheClimate-KICsummerschool2015,whereRoyHendriks,Nicode
Vriendt,MaxBedouétandIwereaskedtofindaglobalproblem,thatwewouldliketoaddress
during the summer school, and the astonishing environmental damage, emissions and health
issuesrelatedtocookingpoppedup.This leadtoawinningbusinessplandraft, thanksto the
support of our coachesAga andPete andwell-connected influencers in ournetwork opening
doorstorelevantinformation.Afterthejourney,thankstothesupportofClimate-KIC(Mobility,
GreenhouseandAccelerator)andWageningenUR,weacquirednecessaryfinancialsupportand
IwasthefirsttogotoSouthAfrica,beingabletocombinemythesisresearchonsitewiththe
validationoffirstideasaroundreplacementofparaffin.
Ofcourse,therehavebeenmanychallengesalongtheway,butIamgratefulforhavingdonethis
journeywithamazingpeople,likeRoy,Nico,Max,Aeneas,JanandJames!OntheSouthAfrican
side,therehasbeensuchagreatsupportbyJuniorAckeemNgwenya,HuubvanZwieten(Clean
CookingRevolution),BerniceRobbertse,BonnyHorbach(ConsulateCapeTown-Kingdomofthe
Netherlands)andamongmanyothers,especiallyGeorgeArrey(HealthPromotersSA),whodoes
amazingworkoneducation,preventionandgeneralsupportaroundhealth-relatedchallengesin
SouthAfricantownshipcommunities.Youdeservemoresupportandfunding, that is forsure!
Moreover,Iwanttothankallthecommunitymembers,mostlywomen,thatwereopenformany
interviews,workshopsandbrainstormingsessions. I learned that listeningcangetyoua long
way,especiallyinfindingmutualunderstandingandjointsolutionswithcompletebuy-in.Thank
youforyourtrust.
I want to thank Valentina Materia, Thomas Lans, Bart Doorneweert, Marjo Lexmond, Nies
SpringerandGarethWakelingmakingthispossibleontheWageningenURandClimate-KICside.
Last but not least Iwant to thank friends likeRoyHendriks, JanRitter andTheoXenakis for
supportingmeintimeswherethisjourneywasfrustrating,Ifeltdeprivedofenergy,orsuffered
frommononucleosisdiseaseduringsummer2017–youkeptmegoingandhadmyback.Same
goestomyfamilywhohavebeenasafehavenalongtheway.
Completing and submitting the thesis now, after officially being done with the research in
September2016andRoy´svalidation,thattechnicalandbusinesscasewisethereisnofeasibility
hasbeenhardtoaccept.SinceJanuary2017,Iamalreadyinvolvedinmynextventure,together
withJanwhomImetinSouthAfrica.Weareprettyconfidentthatwearepartofasustainable
agriculturaltransformation.
Osnabrück,21.10.2017
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III. GlossaryBiofuel FuelmadefromorganicresourcesBottomofthePyramid(BOP)
The3billionpeopleworldwidelivingofflessthan$2dollarsperday
BusinessModel EconomicearningmodelofacompanyBusinessModelCanvas(BMC)
Tooltopresentacompany’sbusinessmodel–in9blocks.
CO2 Carbondioxide.ProminentgreenhousegascontributingtoglobalwarmingCustomerDevelopment LearningprocessgoingalongwithValuePropositionDesign–identifyinganddeveloping
customersegmentsEntrepreneurship Theactofsettingupanenterprise,creatingorharvestinguntappedopportunitiesFormalhousing Government-initiatedsocialhousinglocatedinSouthAfricantownshipswhichinclude
basicamenitiessuchaswaterandelectricityGlobalAllianceForCleanCookstoves(GAGC)
Globalumbrellaorganizationforcleancookinginitiatives.
HealthPromotersSA NGObasedinKayamandiandKhayelitshasupportingthisresearchInformalhousing MakeshiftshacksoftenlackingbasicamenitiesinSouthAfricantownshipsIlluminatingParaffin ParaffincertifiedbytheSouthAfricangovernmentIREPA IntegratedRenewableEnergyPotentialAssessment–Toolsetforeffectiveworkinrural/
low-incomecommunitiesIterative Repetitiveprocessoftheorizing–testing–reflectingtogainknowledgeorimprovea
productKayamandi TownshipinStellenboschhousing26.000people.LocationofresearchKhayelitsha TownshipinCapeTownhousingapproximately1,5millionpeopleParaffinParaffinSafetyAssociationofSA(PASASA)
ReferstoIlluminatingParaffinusedinSouthAfricaforcookingandheating“Non-profitorganizationdedicatedtoensuringthesafeuseofparaffininthedomesticenvironment.”FoundedandfundedbyBP,CALTEX,ENGEN,SASOL,SHELLandTOTAL
PM Particulatematter–pollutingandtoxicparticlesreleasedwhencombustingfossilfuelsSesoloMelloB.V. CasecompanyofthisresearchShack InformalhousingbuiltfromscrapmaterialSpazashop SmallgeneralstoresellingmostbasiccommoditiesinSouthAfricantownshipsStellenbosch MunicipalityintheWesternCape,SouthAfricaSurvivors TermcoinedtodescribethepeoplelivingoffabareminimuminSouthAfricantownship
communitiesTownship Socio-economicallydeprivedurbanareasinSouthAfrica,containingamixofformal
socialhousingandinformalsettlementsorshantytowns/slumsTripleBottomLine(P) TakingintoaccountPeople,PlanetandProfitinabusinessmodel
TripleTopLine Creatingadditionalvalueoneverysocial,environmentalandeconomiclevelaroundthebusinessmodelandleavingthecompleteecosystem betterthanthestatusquo
Tuckshop SeespazashopValueProposition(VP)ValuePropositionCanvas(VPC)
Corevalue/product/service,abusinessaimstodelivertoitscustomer-ElementofBMCAspecificcanvastool,that“feeds”intotheBMC–itentailsallrelevantinformationconcerning“product-customer”fit–jobs,pains,gainsvspainrelievers,gaincreatorsandenvisionedproducts/services
ValuePropositionDesign TheprocessofdevelopingValuePropositionsbasedonacquiredinformation–oftenpresentedinformofaVPC
Xhosa SouthAfricanethnicgroupandlanguageZAR SouthAfricanrand–currencywithanexchangerateof16ZARto€1euroatthetimeof
research
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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1. IntroductionThis thesis researches the opportunities to replace paraffin in South African communities, by
conductingacustomervalidationandvaluepropositiondesignbasedonSesoloMelloB.V.´sideas.
SesoloMelloisasocialenterprisethataimstosubstituteparaffinwithsafer,andcleanercooking
methodsat theBottomof thePyramid (BOP).Theapproach is to jointlydevelopandvalidate
solutionsdirectlywiththeusersintheKayamandiandKhayelitschatownship.SesoloMelloB.V.
isbasedintheKayamanditownship,whichisthemaincaseforthisresearch.
Thefirstchapterwillintroduceallrelevantaspectsthatformthefootingofthisthesis.Firstthe
situationofindoorairpollution,differentfueltypesandfurtherproblemsrelatedtounhealthy
cooking practices are introduced. Followed by existing value propositions to tackle these
challengesandtheircommonpitfalls.Intheend,firstideasandsetrequirementsbySesoloMello
aresummarized,toderivetheapproachforvaluepropositiondesign.
1.1. ImpactofcookingpracticesRoughlyfourbillionpeopleliveintheso-called“BottomofthePyramid”(BOP),whereharmful
cookingpracticesaremostlypredominant(GlobalAllianceForCleanCookstoves,2015).TheBOP
has been developed as a concept to be able to understand the different dynamics and
requirementsofthemarketsofthepoorestofthepoor.Prahaladdevelopedthewordingwhichis
usedinmanagementliteraturetodescribetheuntappedopportunitiesandinnovationpotential
in thosemarkets (Prahalad, 2012). South Africa consists of a society which is partly poverty
strickenandhas anunfortunatehistoryof inequality andpoverty.Despiteof the fact that the
countryhasmanypredominantfeaturesofagroomedeconomy,povertyiswidespreadamongthe
blackcitizensresidinginruralareasofthecountry(Mensah&Benedict,2009).AsinSouthAfrica
governmentistakingstepsforthebettermentofsociety,therearestillfewinitiativestakenwith
regardtothelinkbetweenenergyandhealthintownshipcommunities, leadingtolittlechoice
apartfromusingparaffinforcooking,heatingandlighting.Despitetheincreasingelectrification
in SouthAfrica, theuseof paraffin oil remainspredominant in low-incomehouseholdswhere
electricityisavailableaswellasinthosewhereitisnotavailableduetohighcosts(GlobalAlliance
ForCleanCookstoves,2015).
Choiceofcookingfuelsisoftenconnectedtoculturalcookingtraditionsliketheslow-cookingon
charcoalandwood(Sesan,2012).Butinmanyregions,itisalsodependentonfuelavailability,
whichisvaryinginruralandurbanareas.InSouthAfricantownships,thereisatendencytouse
paraffin,sincebiofuels likewoodcan´tbecollected,arepartlyculturallynotrespectedandare
hardlyavailable,whiletheexistinglogisticsinfrastructureforparaffindistributionisinplacefor
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a long time. Thus, paraffin is themost common fuel in SouthAfrican urbanized areas (Global
AllianceForCleanCookstoves,2015;HESASA,2013).Moreover,itisaneconomicdecision,since
fuel costs for cooking and heating take away a large part of people’s income - up to 25% of
householdincomeintheSouthAfricancontext(UCTUnileverInstitute,2015).Thereishardlyany
local economic value creation due to paraffin distribution. Since in the South African context
Paraffinisthemostprevalentfuel,charcoalorotherharmfulfuelsarenotfurtherexplored(Tait
etal.,2013).
Known by Europeansmostly as kerosene or jet fuel, paraffin fuel is a liquid fossil petroleum
derivate. InEurope, it isoftenutilizedasparaffinwaxinformofcandles.Oftenit ispresent in
industrialusecasesaswellasinBOPhouseholdsforcookingheatingandlighting.Someoutdoor
enthusiasts might also know paraffin heaters and cookers in countries of the Global North.
Particulatematter(PM),highflammabilityandcarcinogenic
compounds among other chemical compounds lead to its
inherentdanger(Taitetal.,2013).
Even though infrequent contact with fumes, does not
necessarilyimposelong-termdamage,exposuretoparaffin
can lead to skin damage, lung cancer and if accidentally
swallowed it can cause damage to lungs and severe
poisoning (Chilcott, 2006). Generally, there is to note, that the
properties of these cooking fuels are implicating health risks
(Schwebel et al., 2009). An additional factor is related to the way
peopleutilizethesefuels.Bothfactorsaretounderstandthescopeof
harmful cooking practices, the World Health Organization (WHO)
summarized in 2010, that three billion people are cooking with
harmful fuelsusingopen fires andunsafe stoves andapproximately
250million liters of paraffin areusedperday (IndexMundi, 2016).
Harmful cooking practices result in 4 million humans dying
prematurelyeveryyear(WHO,2014).Moreover80,000childrendiein
SouthAfricaaloneduetopoisoningbyingestionofparaffin-whichiscolorlessandoftenstored
inoldbeveragebottles (Tait etal.2013,HESASA,2012).More than50%ofprematuredeaths
among children under 5, due to pneumonia are related to inhalation of particulatematter in
households (WHO,2014). Township fires,where thousandsof livesandhomesaredestroyed
everyyearareanotherbigchallengeintheWesternCapecontext(Murray,2009).Theseareoften
relatedtoparaffinwickstoves(seefigure2),fallingoverwhileunobserved.Thesestovesareoften
low-qualityproductsimportedfromChinaandwithouttherelevantsafetyequipment.Duetothe
natureofparaffinaparaffin fireusually cannotbe stopped,60 secondsafter ignition (Smiedt,
Figure2:Paraffinwickstove(imagebySesoloMello)
Figure1:ShackfireHoutbay(ImagebyTheSouthAfrican)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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2016;seefigure1).Nexttotheaforementionedsocio-economic,healthandenvironmentalimpact
ofparaffinuse,thescaleofCO2emissionsemittedbythisfossilfuelcombustionisaround3kgCO2
perliterofparaffinconsumed(Bedouet,2015),whichthusamountstoapproximately750million
kilogramsofCO2perdayglobally.
OneoftheassociationsaddressingtheseissuesisPASASA(ParaffinsafetyassociationofSouthern
Africa), founded and funded by the petroleum industry since 1996. The first steps taken, are
encouragingas theyhave focusedon tackling the issuebysafepackaging, safeappliancesand
safety education (Global
Alliance For Clean
Cookstoves, 2015). These
measures are mostly
targeted at safer handling
of paraffin - not
replacement. In figure 3,
the paraffin value chain is
portrayed. There is little
value generated on
township level, just for a
few middle men (Arrey,
2016).
Figure3:Paraffinvaluechain(http://supplychainn.blogspot.de/2012/09/oil-refinery-distribution.html)
There are alsomisconceptions among the decision-making bodies that the use of paraffin is
decreasingwiththeincreaseinelectrification.Althoughthetrendofusingotherfuelsalongwith
paraffinforendusehasbeenobservedinsomehouseholds,theusageofparaffinforspecificend
usesparticularlyforspaceheating,waterheatingandcookinghavebeenpre-dominant(Truran,
2004).Thisisduetothereasonthatthealternativestoparaffinprovidedareeithernotaffordable
ornotconsideredaffordablebytheusersbelongingtolowincomegroups.
1.2. ValuePropositionsofexistingsolutionsandcommonpitfalls
TheGlobalAllianceForCleanCookstoves,foundedin2010hasthemissiontomitigatethecooking
situation globally. It is funded by large foundations and is an umbrella organization for clean
cookinginitiativesworldwide,providingknowledgeexchangeandnetwork.Afterthechallenge
hasbeentakenupbyinternationalorganizationsinthepastdecades,themainfocushasbeenon
developingcheap,cleancookstovesthatensurecomplete,cleancombustionofsolidfuelsandso
called solar cookers (Global Alliance For Clean Cookstoves, 2015; Osinga, 2015). There is an
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internationalstandardrankingforstoves,rankingemissions,safetyandefficiency(IWA,2012).
Solarcookers,whicharearoundforoverthirtyyearshaveproventobehardtoimplementand
scale-achallengethatalloftheyoungerinitiativesarefacingaswell(Sesan,2012).Reasonsmight
berelatedtoforeigndesignworkandlessbuy-inoflocalusers.Moreover,thereisoftenhighinitial
costofchangeandrelateddifficultytoconvincecustomersofthehigherlong-termutility.Mimi
Moto, Philipps as well as many other entrepreneurs like Huub van Zwieten (Clean Cooking
Revolution)areworkingtowardsmitigatingtheaforementionedchallengesintheSouthAfrican
context. This often goes in the direction of implementing new appliance designs for cooking,
heatingandlightingconnectedtoavarietyofdifferentfuels-amongotherswoodpellets,lpgand
solarthermal.MimiMoto,Philipps,andtheCleanCookingRevolutionallfocusonthewoodpellet
cleancookstoves,thatprovidearelativelycleancombustionwithlowemissions,butrequirenew
distributionchannelsandadependencyonwoodpellets-thusriskinglockinginusersonusing
woodpelletsthatmightnotalwaysbecheaporavailable(CleanCookingRevolution,2016).
Nexttothecleancookstoveinitiatives,thatarealwaysreliantonavailabilityofspecificfuelneeds,
electrificationposesabiglong-termopportunityinreplacingparaffinstoves.Electrificationcan
be done through grid connection and/or decentralized off-grid solar systems that have been
provensuccessfulinmanyAfricancountriesduringthepastdecade.Mobisol,M-Kopa,Solar17
andothersareestablishedplayers(Bloomberg,2016).Thus,SesoloMelloregardsexistingclean
cookinginitiativesaswellastheirownideasasintermediatesolutionsonthewaytoelectrical
cooking.Unfortunately,manyexistingplayerstrytojumponglobalsubsidyschemesbytheGlobal
AllianceForCleanCookstovesandgovernments,producinglargequantitiesof"cleancookstoves",
producingtheminChinaanddistributedatdumpingprices inAfrica(e.g.MimiMoto -Osinga,
2015).ThisresemblesthepatternofdumpingcheapproductsinAfrica-e.g.meatindustryby-
products,thusdestroyinglocalfarmers.Inanycasethesesolutionsarebarelycoordinatedwith
local customersandusersof these cook stoveproducts and repeat commonmistakesof "give
away"developmentworkapproaches,imposingsolutionsonlocalsystemsandseldomgenerating
acceptance.This is leadingSesoloMello(2015) todescribe thechallengesof thecurrentclean
cooking initiatives as commonpitfalls, that shouldbe avoided in the valuepropositiondesign
duringthisresearch:
Thethreemostrelevantcommonpitfallsare(SesoloMello,2015):
I.Assumptionthatinducingbehavioralchangeiseasy:
Heritage and culture related to hygiene, energy sources and food preparation is very much
integratedincurrentcookingbehavior-notonlyinBOPmarkets.Theperceptionofengineersand
companiesthatareoftenalientoBOPcommunities,thatcheap,innovativeandefficientsolutions
shouldbeeasytoimplementhasbeenprovenwronginmanyexamples-mostprominently,the
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solarcookerexample.Eventhoughinprincipleitisagreat,healthierandcheapersolution,itdid
nottakeintoaccounttraditionalslow-cookingpractices(Sesan,2012).Newtechnologyalways
requiresbehavioralchangeandthe“buy-in”ofusersisnoteasilyreachedwithoutintegratingthe
communitiesinanearlyproductdevelopmentstage.Often,peopleinBOPmarketsevenstrive
for"luxury"technology,ownedby"rich"people,likefridges,televisionandelectricalcookers,and
don´t accept intermediate compromises. According to Health Promoters South Africa (2016),
thereislittleawarenessofdirecthealthimplicationsrelatedtoparaffincooking-apartfromshack
burns.Inducingvoluntarybehavioralchange,whilemarketingforhealthbenefitshasthustobe
considered. It might be worth testing, whether, marketing a product as high-tech solution is
perceivedwelllocally.
II.OftennewproductsaretooexpensiveforBOPmarkets:
Thishasbeenshowninmanycaseswherethebarriertoadoptnewtechnologyhasbeentoohigh.
However,paraffinstovesareexchangedevery1-2years (Arrey,2016),even though thewicks
couldbeexchanged.Theproductischeaplyavailableanddoesnotrequireanychangeofbehavior.
Onehastofillinparaffinandisabletoexperiencethecommoncookingexperience.
Thetechnologydrivendevelopmentofcleancookstoves,thataimtoberankedcleanestisacostly
processandwhenimplemented,pricesareoftentoohigh.Thisleadstotheconflictofdaytoday
survivalratherthanadecisionforlong-termutility–wherethecleancookstoveactuallyearns
backitshighinitialcostthroughcheaperfuels.Approaches,wherestovesaredonatedthrough
subsidiesormonetarydonationshavenotgainedtractionyeteither(GlobalAllianceForClean
Cookstoves,2010;Sesanetal.,2013).Thismightberelatedtothefollowingpitfall.
III.Someapproachesarebasedona“lockin”nature:
Whenlookingatsubsidiesforstovesordonatedstoves,toavoidthesecondpitfall,onemustask
how a sustainable business model might look like. Some initiatives have thus developed an
approachtocreaterevenuesviaconstantfuelsupply. Justtomentionafew,theCleanCooking
Revolutionaims toprovidewoodpellet based clean cook stoves cheaply andprovide suitable
woodpellets in different packaging sizes to generate revenues. Thesewoodpellets are rarely
available in Khayelitsha and Kayamandi, so there is an opportunity to establish an own
distribution infrastructure, using local entrepreneurs asmultiplicators. On the other side this
createsdependencyonfuelreliabilityandavailabilitywhichmightbeabused.Moreover,itdoes
not appear to be a long-termmodel, since other players can easily enter this "low-tech" fuel
marketaswell.Otherinitiativestakeitonewayfurtherandprovidestovesthatsolelyworkwith
theirbio-basedfuelgel,and/orbioethanolfuels(Emmett,2014).Theycreatea"lock-in"through
specialstove-packagingconnections.
Theseinitiative´sproductsarehardtofindinKhayelitshaandKayamandi,andhavedifficultiesin
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getting traction in BOP markets generally. Biello (2014) and Sesan (2012) state, that this is
connectedtounwillingnesstoenterintothesedependenciesandnotbeabletoswitchfuelseasily.
Moreover, there is experienceor fear of failing fuel supply.Donated stoves are thusoften left
unusedafterafewweeks(CleanCookingRevolution,Interview,2016).
Summarized, these pitfalls often are results of foreign designs, that do not understand BOP
dynamicsanddonot take intoaccount local culture, consumerbehaviorandstructures in the
designprocess.
Basedon theaforementionedexistingexperiencesandpitfallsofcleancooking initiatives, this
researchaimstoexploreSesoloMello´svaluepropositionideas,integratinglocalneedsandlocal
knowledge.That´swhySesoloMelloB.V.isbasedintheKayamandi1township,workingtogether
withlocalstakeholdersfollowingIREPA2principles(SesoloMello,2015).
1.3. TheSesoloMelloB.V.caseintheWesternCapeSesolo Mello B.V. is a European start-up founded in 2016 and
composedofaDutch,Belgian,BritishandGermanteamsupportedby
manymentorsandadvisorsinSouthAfricaandglobally.Thestart-up
originated in theEITClimate-KICsummerschool2015andhas the
mission statement to replace harmful paraffin in countries of the
Global South with sustainable alternatives. This research aims to
validate ideas in the South African Western Cape context and
integrate local community members and other relevant stakeholders in an early product
developmentstage.Themain focuswillbeon ideasaround liquidbiofuelproductsasparaffin
replacement.Opposedtoothercleancookinginitiatives,SesoloMellodoesnotwanttoreplacethe
paraffinwickstoves,butsolelythefuel.Theadvisedvaluepropositiondesignwillbebasedon
localcustomervalidationandalreadyexistingbusinessmodelideas,thatwillbeextendedwith
locallycollectedinformation.Theadvicewillbecompiledinavaluepropositioncanvasandan
extendedbusinessmodelcanvas.
1Kayamandiishomeforaround25.000peoplewhereofaccordingtoHealthPromotersSA(2016),onethirdisusingparaffinonadailybasis.ThereismostlyXhosalivinginthecommunityandthereisarelativelylowunemploymentrate.2IREPA(Winkleretal.2017):IntegratedRenewableEnergyPotentialAssessment-Includeshighprinciplesofparticipatorystakeholderprocessesinmarginalizedcommunities.
Figure4:SesoloMello´slogo
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1.3.1. Conceptidea:LiquidbiofuelasparaffinreplacementComparedtotheaforementionedinitiativeschallengedbythecommonpitfalls,SesoloMelloaims
toavoid thosebyworkingwith the localpopulationandbyaimingatamoredirectapproach.
Replacingparaffindirectlywithanalternativeliquidfuel-functionalinexistingstovetechnology.
SesoloMelloandthisresearchfocusonavoidingthecommonpitfallsandfouradditionalfactors
thatcanleadtopublicoppositionandlossoflocalsupport-"Thedevelopmentisinvoluntarily
imposedonthepublic´slocality,thetechnologyisunfamiliar,thepublichasnodecision-making
power, the development is for corporate profit rather than for local benefit." (Amigun et al.,
2011b, p. 2503). Moreover, Sesolo Mello aims to create positive environmental impact, not
creatingafuelvs.foodconflict,commoninbiofuelprojects(Winkleretal.2017).Thisisforming
thenecessarycriteriatovalidatewhetherSesoloMello´svaluepropositionisfeasiblefromasocio-
ecological-economicperspective:
CriteriaI.Embracelocalcommunityandvalidatewillingnesstochange
CriteriaII.Avoidhighpriceofproducts/opportunitycosts
CriteriaIII.Avoidlock-innature
CriteriaIV.Offerparticipatoryopportunities
CriteriaV.Utilizefamiliartechnology
CriteriaVI.Makesurethereislocalvaluecreation
Criteria VII. Make sure there is no negative environmental impact derived from bio-fuel
production,supplyandconsumption
CriteriaVIII.Makesurethehealthrisksofconsumingthebio-fuelalternativeareatleast75%
reducedwhencomparingtoparaffin3
Sincethesolutionshouldbebeneficialcomparedtothecurrentsituation,otherfossilfuelswill
not be considereddue to environmental andhealth implications.Thus, a biofuelwill bemore
beneficial,morespecificallyabiofuelmadefromwastecookingoilssinceaproductionofenergy
cropswouldbeindirectcompetitiontofoodproductioninSouthAfrica.
Biofuelshavealonghistory.Inthe19thcentury,whenthefirstdieselenginewasintroducedby
RudolfDiesel,itcouldusepeanutoiltorun.Useofvegetableoilsinengineshavelostimportance
comparedtofossilfuelsoveralongerperiodoftimetilltheworldfacedproblemsoffuelshortages
and environmental impact. Biofuels are fuels which are generated from biomass and/or
biodegradablewasteindifferentprocesses.
3Inregardtoshackfires,ingestionandindoorairpollution
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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SesoloMelloB.V.(2015)aimstoimplementanenzymaticproductionprocess,toconvertwaste
oils from the food-processing industry into a higher value biofuel. This process is more
environmentally friendly and reduces the production costs of biodiesel when compared to
methanolbasedproduction. It is important tonote, that thebiofuelcannotbeproduced from
staplecrops, sinceotherwise therewillbeaconflict to foodproduction(Winkleretal.,2017).
Thus,SesoloMellofocusesonwastestreamsonly.Aslastproductionstep,10%paraffinwillbe
addedasanignitionenhancer.
In theprocess,anotherby-product isproduced -Glycerol,whichcanbeutilized foradditional
valuecreationthroughlocalizedsoapproduction.
The productwill be healthier, due to up to
90%reducedtoxiccompoundsandresulting
reducedindoorairpollution.Moreover,itis
saferduetothereducedflammabilityofthe
fuel (e.g. when a stove is falling over). In
Additiontothis, ingestionofbiofuelsisless
likelydue to itssmellandcolor - incaseof
ingestionitislessharmful.Lastbutnotleast
itcansaveupto5.22kgCO2perliterparaffin
replaced (Figure 6; Bedouet, 2015). This is
duetousingarenewablewasteresourcefor
ahighervalueproduct.Thiswouldcreatea
substantialenvironmentalimpact,lookingat
250millionlitersofparaffinconsumedperday.InSouthAfrica,fortypercentofthepopulationis
usingparaffinforheating, lightingandcooking.Ofcourse,thereisanenergymixthat includes
wood, charcoal, electricity and sometimes gas. In the township context, paraffin is the most
prevalentfuel(HESASA,2013).Eventhoughthegovernmentregulatesthepricesofparaffinoil,it
hasbeenobservedthatparaffinissoldatahigherpriceandespeciallyduringthetimeswhenthe
demandforparaffinishighitspricesusuallyshiftupwardandevensometimesdoublecompared
totheaveragepriceofparaffinoil–especiallyduringwintermonths.Theuseofbiofuelswould
alsoreducethedependencyuponparaffin.Finally,thebiofuelwillbecheaperbasedoncurrent
paraffinpricesof10-15ZAR/liter4.Thegoalistoestablishalocalizeddecentralizedproduction
system (e.g. in shipping container format), that can tap into existing distribution channels to
ensurefuelavailabilityandwherelocalcommunitymemberscanbeeducatedandemployedto
createvalue.Anadditional featureof this approach is apossible franchisemodel to scale this
4Arrey(2016)
Figure5:Biofuelvaluechain(SesoloMello,2015)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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approachacrossSouthAfrica.Infigure5thepotentialbiofuelvaluechainisportrayed,thatshows
howmany industrial stakeholders can be
reduced compared to figure 3. Compared
to the traditional paraffin value chain,
SesoloMelloaddsmostvaluefrommoving
the production to the townships.
Moreover,othervaluechainsaroundsoap
productionandbio-fueldistributioncan
be developed together with local
entrepreneurs.Generally,thisapproachleadstomoreopportunitiesforlocalvaluecreationwhen
comparedtoparaffinfuel(Corner&Ho,2010).
Figure 6: LCA of Paraffin and Sesolo Mello (Sesolo Mello, 2015)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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1.3.2. SesoloMellointhecontextofSocialEntrepreneurship
AproposedDefinitionofSocialEntrepreneurship
Santos(2012)describesthatsocialentrepreneurship,involves“addressingproblemswithpositive
externalitieswithadominantgoalofvaluecreation”ratherthanvaluecaptureforthe
entrepreneur.Andthatmanysocialentrepreneurstargetdisadvantagedpopulations,sincethe
“mostneglectedproblemswithpositiveexternalitiesaffectdisadvantagedpopulations”.These
disadvantagedpopulationsandrelatedmarketsareoftenreferredtoastheBottomofthePyramid.
SesoloMello’sMissionisdefinedinitsmissionstatement(2015):toeradicatetheneedofbillions
ofpeopleintheBottomofthePyramidtorelyontoxic,dangerousandpollutingfossilfuelsfor
dailyhouseholduse.
SesoloMelloB.V.hasset forth tocreateapositive impactwitheveryactiontaken.Opposedto
manyexistingbusinessmodels,thatmeanstoincludeallrelevantexternalities.Environmental,
SocialandEconomicfactorsthatareweavedintoasuccessful,sustainablebusinessmodel.That´s
whySesoloMelloaimsnotonlytoworkaftertriplebottomlinecriteria,buttripletoplinecriteria
–creatingadditionalvalueoneverysocial,environmentalandeconomiclevelaroundthebusiness
modelandleavingthecompleteecosystem5betterthanthestatusquo(McDonough&Braungart,
2002).
This explains the intrinsic motivation to serve BOP markets and tackle large international
challenges – starting on a local level. That´s why Sesolo Mello understands itself as a social
enterprise.
Eventhoughthesustainabilityassessmentisnotinthecoreofthisthesis,ashortsummaryofthe
mainbenefitsonapracticallevelisdeemednecessarytocomparewiththe8proposedfeasibility
criteria(see1.3.1).
Theproposedbusinessconceptasdescribedinchapter1.3.offersthepotentialtocreatepositive
impactonallsustainabilitylayers.
Environmental Factors: there will be a reduction in GHG emissions and other polluting
emissions,whilethroughtheuseofwasteresourcesbasedonrenewableresources,thereisaGHG
positive effect per liter paraffin replaced (Bedouet, 2015). Through Sesolo Mello´s proposed
enzymaticproductionprocesstherearenotoxicchemicalsinvolvedandnopollutiongenerated
on local level. Through localized production, there is a minimum in logistic emissions, and
vegetableoilpoweredcarscancreateapositiveimpactonthissideaswell.Thisdevelopmentcan
5Heredefinedassocial,environmentalandeconomicsurroundingonlocalandinternationallevel.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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even be attractive from an economic perspective, since resource costsmight come down and
carbontradingschemesofferpotentialalternativeincomestreams.
Socio-EconomicFactors:Therewillbemanyopportunitiesforlocalvaluecreation.Thesecanbe
groupedindirectimpactandindirectimpact.Thedirectproductrelatedimpactislinkedtothe
reductionof fires,householdemissions,poisoningdueto ingestionandfuelcosts.Theindirect
product related impact is associated with local job creation, local education facilitation,
empoweringexisting local entrepreneurs and supportingnewentrepreneurs in e.g. buildinga
localsoapbusinessfromaproductionby-product.
Inthebestcase,allthesefactorsleadtoapositivesocio-economicdevelopmentintheaddressed
BOPmarkets.
1.4. RelevanceEventhoughtherearemanyreasonsfortherelevanceofthisthesis.Themoststrikingoneisthe
globally “hidden” but significant issue of paraffin related environmental and socio-economic
damagedonebyeachliterofparaffinconsumed.Matinga(2010)weighsthattherelatedissuesin
SouthAfricaareuniqueintheirintensity–globally.Thisalsoshowstherelevancefortheproject
location and research sample in theWestern Cape context, where there is a hotspot of large
townshipstructuresandinformalsettlements,thatarehighlydependentonparaffin.Thechoice
ofKayamandiasoneofthesmallestandsafesttownshipsintheWesternCape,hasbeenmadeby
SesoloMellosincetheyfoundalocalpartnerintheHealthPromotersSAontheoneside-this
providesa“safe”frameworktoworkfromandtopotentiallyset-upafirstpilotproduction.And
ontheotherside,therepresentativebalanceofinformalandformalsettlementswhencomparing
toKhayelitsha.
Apart from the relevantproject locality, thedemand to finda solution to theunder chapter1
describedchallengesrelatedtoparaffinandcleancooking,isandwillbeamajorcontributionfor
a sustainable development of these BOP communities. This also serves the current progress
regardingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).
This research aims to do a first socio-economic feasibility study on a holistic approach to
implementliquidbiofuelsasaparaffinreplacementinOmarkets,avoidingtheaforementioned
“state-of-the-art” common pitfalls. Even though targeted to be an intermediate solution, the
potentialTripleTopLineimpactissurprisingandcouldpresentabreakthroughinnovationworth
exploring.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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2. TheoreticalFramework
2.1. CompositeprojectstructureRegardingthethesisfromabroaderperspective,itispartofacompositeprojectbetweenSesolo
MelloB.V.,RoyHendriksandmyself.Asportrayedinfigure7,thefocusofmyresearchanddata
collectionisonsharpeningtheviewonthevalueproposition,andassessingthesocio-economic
feasibilityoftheproject ideathroughcustomerdevelopment.All inthelightofweatherSesolo
Mellowillbeabletoavoidthecommonpitfallsofothercleancookinginitiatives.RoyHendriks
thenevaluatesthetechnicalfeasibilityandeconomicfeasibilityfromaproductionpointofview.
SesoloMelloB.V.expectstoreceiveagoodbasisfordecisionmakingthroughthesefourresearch
factors.SesoloMelloagreedonprovidingallinformationandnetworknecessarytoconductthe
researchinthebestpossibleway.
Figure7:ThesisstructureandconnectionbetweenresearchofBussmannandHendriks
2.2. ResearchobjectiveThethesisobjective is todeterminewhetherSesoloMello´ssocialentrepreneurialsolution for
paraffinreplacement,isabletoavoidthecommonpitfallsofthecurrentcleancookinginitiatives.
Thethreemainpitfallsdescribedinchapter1,arethatsolutionsareoftentooexpensive,arebased
ona lock-innature linkedwith foreigndesignandrequire toomuchbehavioraladaptation. In
ordertoprovethatthesepitfallscanbecircumvented,thefirstpartoftheassessmentwillfocus
onvaluepropositiondesign,basedonanalyzingSesoloMello´s valueproposition concept and
runningcustomervalidationtovalidateassumptionsandfindaproduct–userfit,indicatingthe
suitabilityfortheWesternCapeBOPmarkets.Thiswillbefollowedbythetechnicalandeconomic
assessmentofRoyHendriks.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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2.3. MainresearchquestionIn order to complete the composite project successfully and answer the defined research
objective, a research question that covers all aspects of social feasibility related to the value
propositiondesignisrequired.Thescopeoftheresearchquestionstillhastobeclearenoughto
avoidvagueness(Suddabyetal.,2015).Moreover,duetotheinductivenatureofthisresearchand
theentrepreneurialapproachofSesoloMello,theresearchscopemustbesufficientlyrobustto
allowunexpectedadaptationsandstilldelivervalidresults.
Basedonthethesisobjectiveandthefactorthatwillberesearched,aswellastheaforementioned
basis-themainresearchquestionisformulatedaccordingly:
“Whatisthesocial6feasibilityofintroducingabiofuel7alternativetoparaffinintownships
oftheWesternCape?”
This research question permits to answer the thesis objective based on conducting a value
proposition design process. Whether the common pitfalls can be avoided in Sesolo Mellos
approach,willthusbedeterminedonthebasisofsocialfeasibility.Iftheresultsofthisresearch
arepositive, thiswill indicate a commitmentof potential customers to the approach and thus
Sesolo Mello can go ahead on assessing technical and economic feasibility in the light of a
successful avoidance of common pitfalls. If the results are negative, it is establishedwhether
SesoloMelloentersthesamepitfallsorwhether it isduetoother factors, thatmightbesetas
additionalcommonpitfallsfornewinitiativesinthefuture.Thethesisobjectivecanbefulfilledin
anycase.ThisthesisresearchisconductedundertheassumptionthatSesoloMello´sapproachis
technicallyandeconomically feasible,whilenotaddressingthescalabilityof themodel.This is
necessarytotesttheassumptionsandgoalsofSesoloMello´sbusinessmodelduringthecustomer
validation.Itrequiresthough,thatthetechnicalandeconomicfeasibilityofthebusinessmodel
willbeassessedbyRoyHendriksand/orSesoloMelloB.V. since it isbeyond thescopeof this
research.
Thisresearchquestionisbasedonamorespecificsub-question.Thissub-questionwillleadthe
author toanswerrelevantquestions for customervalidation.Culminating in thedefinedvalue
propositionadviceforSesoloMelloB.V.Finally,thiswillanswerthemainresearchquestion.
6Basedoncriteriadefinedinchapter1.3.1..7DefinedinaccordancetoSesoloMello´sliquidwastevegetablebiofuel(seechapter1).
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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2.3.1. Sub-question:Customervalidation“DoesSesoloMello´sbiofuelsolvethecustomersjobs,painsandgains?8”
Thisquestioncoversallrelevantfactorsforcustomervalidationandvaluepropositiondesign.If
answeredpositively,themainresearchquestionisnotnecessarilypositive,butitshowsthat
SesoloMello´sapproachcanworkfromacustomerperspective.ThisispresentedinaValue
PropositionCanvas(VPC)andrenewedBusinessModelCanvas(BMC).Ifanswerednegativelyor
partlynegatively,itisestablishedthatSesoloMello´sapproachorpartsofitareperceived
negativelybythecustomersandthereismostlikelynomarketforSesoloMelloB.V.inWestern
Capetownships.
Inordertoanswerthisquestion,thereismultiplesmallersub-questions,thatleadtorelevant
questionsintheinterviewdesign:
Ø WhichcustomersuseparaffinintheWesternCape?Howdothepersonaslooklike?
Ø Howdotownshipinhabitantssource/buyanduseparaffinduringtheyear?
Ø Whatarethejobs,townshipinhabitantshaveforfuelsandforcooking,heating,lightingin
general?
Ø Howdoesparaffinuseaffecttownshipinhabitants?Andwhatfactorsaremostimportant
tothem?
Ø Whatalternativetechnologiesorproductsforcookingheatingandlightingaretownship
inhabitantsusing?Aretheysatisfiedwithit?
Ø Howaretownshipinhabitantsreactingtoalternativeapproaches,morespecificallywhen
confrontedwithSesoloMello´sdirectbiofuelalternativetoparaffin?
Ø Wouldtuck-/spazashopownersadapt/sourceandsellanewalternativeproduct?
Ø Howwouldsuchaproductneedtobemarketed(includingpackaging)?
Ø DoalternativesolutionssucceedalreadyintheWesternCapecontext?Ifnot,whatdoes
themstopfromsucceedingcurrently?
8BasedonValuePropositionDesign(Osterwalder,A.etal.,2013)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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3. MethodologyTheresearchquestionswillbeaddressedthroughqualitativeresearch,namelysemi-structured
interviewsand focusgroupresearch.Thesearestructured inorder tobepresented inavalue
propositioncanvasandbusinessmodelcanvasformat.Theformatforinterviewsandfocusgroup
research are based onmixedmethods from the IREPA approach, theMOM test and standard
customer development methodology. As described in chapter 2, the inductive nature of the
researchand theentrepreneurial approach require themethodology to support thenecessary
flexibility. Thus, themethodologywill bedivided in threeparts.Definitionof terms, including
descriptionsandprinciplesofValuePropositionDesignandBusinessModelCanvas.Thesecond
partdescribesthequalitativeresearchdesign,namelythechoiceofsemi-structuredinterviews
andfocusgroupresearch,includingcondensedprinciplesoftheMOMtestandIREPA9.Thethird
partdescribestheworkperformed,inordertopresentanoverviewthatenablesthereaderto
betterfollowtheapproachconductedtogeneratetheresearchresultsintheBOPcontext.
3.1. DefinitionofTerms3.1.1. ValuePropositionDesign
Avalueproposition(VP)isabusinessormarketingstatementthatacompanyusestosummarize
why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. This statement convinces a potential
consumerthatoneparticularproductorservicewilladdmorevalueorbettersolveaproblem
thanothersimilarofferings.Companiesusethisstatementtotargetcustomerswhowillbenefit
mostfromusingthecompany'sproducts.TheVPincludesinformationfromstepslikeidentifying
therelevantcustomergroup/personaandthetestingofdifferentassumptionsinthecustomer
validation. One tool to develop and display a VP is the Value Proposition Canvas by Alex
Osterwalderetal.(2013).Basically,itisatooltomatch“jobs”/tasksthatacustomerneedstohave
solvedwitha“product”and/or“service”thatsolvesall“gains”and“pains”acustomercurrently
experiencesrelatedtothosejobs.Itisaboutreallyunderstandingapotentialcustomersegment/
”persona”. Moreover, it aims to really understand how a customer is currently solving the
challenge/jobs, andwhat competitionproducts are currentlyout there.This job-solution fit is
thencalledValueProposition(seefigure8).
Onapracticallevelandintheframeworkofthisthesisthereissomebasicinformationandbasic
order that should be entered into the fields of the VPC – following a short explanation
(Osterwalder,2016),dividedintothe“rightcustomerside”:10
9ThisincludestheunderlyingresearchparadigmsforBOPmarkets.10Alltheseinformationperbox,thenshouldberankedaccordingtotherelevancetothespecificcustomergroup. The overviewdoes not expect to be complete, since there are alwaysmore questions, or betterquestionstoask–itprovidesagoodstartthough.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Ø “CustomerJob(s)”:Descriptionofwhataspecificcustomersegmentwantstogetdone–
whenandwhere.Thisincludes,taskstheymightwanttotackleorproblemstheywantto
solve.What are the specific functional tasksor specific functionalproblems theyhave.
Whatarethespecificsocialjobs,likee.g.gainofstatus,theywanttogetdone?Whatare
theemotionaljobs,likee.g.security,theywanttogetdone?Whatbasicneeds11dothey
wanttogetdone?
Moreover,thereismultiplesmalljobsacustomerperformstogetthemainjob(s)done–
theseshouldberesearchedasgoodaspossible.
Ø “Gains”: Description of benefits a customer expects, wants orwould be surprised by.
Includingsocialgains,costsavings,goodemotionsandsocialgains.Morespecificallyone
has toassesswhichsavingswouldmake thecustomerhappy,what resultsa customer
expectsandwhatwouldbeacherry-add-on,howcurrentsolutionssatisfythecustomer
in terms e.g. of quality,what solutionwouldmake the customers life easier andwhat
positivesocialoutcomedoeshe/shedesire.Whatarecustomerslookingforanddream
about,ormeasuresuccessandfailure?Thisiscrucialtounderstandwhatwouldincrease
thelikelihoodtoadoptyoursolution.
Ø “Pains”: Description of undesired costs, situations, risks and negative emotions a
“customerexperiencesorcouldexperiencebefore,during,andaftergettingthejobdone”.
Thisincludesquestionsaroundwhatistoocostly,makesthecustomerfeelbadorhow
currentsolutionsunder-deliverforthecustomer.Moreover,thereneedstobeinformation
around the main challenges and difficulties, customer experiences, as well as what
negativesocialoutcomesorriskshe/shefears–whatiskeepingthecustomerawakeat
night?Whatarethecommonmistakeshe/shemakesandwhatarethecommonbarriers
preventingthecustomerfromadoptingsolutions(whichisstronglyrelatedtotheunder
chapter1describedcommonpitfalls).
11(McLeod, 2007): Maslow´s hierarchy of needs
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Figure8:ValuePropositionCanvas(Osterwalderetal.,2016)
…andthe“leftproduct/serviceproviderside”(Osterwalder,2016;seefigure8):
Ø “Products& Services”:Description of services and products,which the holistic value
proposition is formed around. Basically, it defines what value you offer that help the
customertogetthepriordescribedfunctional,socialandemotionaljobdone–orsatisfy
the basic needs. Questions around which secondary products and services help the
customer to be the “buyer” (e.g. compare, decide, buy), “co-creator” (individualize, co-
design)or“transferrer”(e.g.productdisposal,transfer).Theseproductsandservicesmay
be tangible, like for example SesoloMello´s liquid biofuel, digital/virtual like e-books,
intangibleasforexampleinsurancesandcopyrightsorfinancialasforexamplefinancing
services.
Ø “PainRelievers”:Descriptionof howproducts and services solve customerpains and
eliminatenegativeemotions,undesiredcostsandsituations,aswellasrisksthecustomer
experiences,orcouldexperiencerelatedtogettingthejobdone.Dothesolutionsproduce
savings,makethecustomerfeelbetter, fixunder-satisfyingsolutions,solvesdifficulties
andchallengesheexperiencesordiminishsocial consequencesandrisks thecustomer
fears.Doesthesolutionhelpthecustomersleepbetteratnightandsupportshimeradicate
mistakeshecommonlymakesandfinally,doesitreduceanderadicatethebarriersthat
preventsthecustomerfromadoptingthesolution(s)?
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Ø “GainCreators”:Descriptionofhowtheproducts/servicesareabletocreategainsforthe
customersegment.Howareexpectedbenefits,desiresincludingfunctionalutility,social
gains,positiveemotionsandcostsavingsgeneratedbythesolutions.Relatedquestions
shouldfindout,whetherthesolutiongeneratessavingsthatsatisfythecustomer,produce
outcomesthat fulfillsexpectationsorover-deliversonexpectations.Moreover, itmight
copysuccessfulcurrentsolutions,makethecustomersjob/lifeeasierandcreatepositive
social consequences for his desires. Does the solutionmatch the things customers are
dreamingabout,orlookingforwhilematchingcustomerssuccessandfailurecriteria?And
finally,dotheymaketheadoptioneasierforthepersona?
TheValuePropositionCanvascanbeunderstoodascoreofandaplugintotheBusinessModel
Canvas(BMC),asportrayedinfigure9wherethecustomerisatthecenterofasuccessfulbusiness
case.That´swhy inthenextchapter, theBusinessModelCanvas isexplained inmoredetail to
understandtheholisticframework.
Figure9:ConnectionbetweenBMCandVPC(Osterwalder,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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3.1.2. BusinessModelCanvasDirectlyconnectedto,andpartlybasedontheVPC,theBMCisdescribedinthischapter.Inorder
to develop the term businessmodel, the definition of Kaplan (2012, p.18): “A businessmodel
describestherationaleofhowanorganizationcreates,delivers,andcapturesvalue”isadapted.This
definitionistakenonestepfurtherbyOsterwalder&Pigneur(2013)whoproposeninespecific
buildingblocksforbusinessmodelcreation.Theseblocksarethefollowing:CustomerSegments,
Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key
Activities,KeyPartnershipsandCostStructure.
Theseblocksarealsovisuallyrepresentedintheformofacanvas,called“BusinessModelCanvas”
(BMC),asseeninfigure9&10.Thewayandthesequencethatthe“BusinessModelCanvas”is
workedwith,istobedecidedbyeachuser.Therefore,thereisnospecificmethodregardingthe
waytheCanvasisdeveloped(Doorneweert,B.&Lans,T.,2015).
Eventhoughthecanvasseemsasacompletetool,eachblockhasitsownseparatefunctionand
purpose.TheirdefinitionisgivenbyOsterwalder&Pigneur(2013):
Ø CustomerSegments:“thedifferentgroupsofpeopleororganizationsanenterpriseaims
toreachandserve”.
Ø ValuePropositions:“thebundleofproductsandservicesthatcreatevalueforaspecific
CustomerSegment”.
Ø Channels: “how a company communicateswith and reaches its Customer Segments to
deliveraValueProposition”.
Ø CustomerRelationships:“thetypesofrelationshipsacompanyestablisheswithspecific
CustomerSegments”.
Ø Revenue Streams: “the cash a company generates fromeachCustomer Segment (costs
mustbesubtractedfromrevenuestocreateearnings)”.
Ø KeyResources:“themostimportantassetsrequiredtomakeabusinessmodelwork”.
Ø KeyActivities:“themostimportantthingsacompanymustdotomakeitsbusinessmodel
work”.
Ø Key Partnerships/ Strategic partnerships: “the network of suppliers and partners that
makethebusinessmodelwork”.
Ø CostStructure:“allcostsincurredtooperateabusinessmodel”.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Figure10:BusinessModelCanvas(Strategyzer,2015)
Thegatheringofinformation,describedinthepreviouschapter,necessaryfordevelopingasolid
VPCandBMCandthusunderstandingapotentialbusinesscaseineveryrelevantdetail,isoften
challenging,sinceforexamplefoundersareoftenbiasedandadapttheirquestionstotheanswers
theywanttohear–ontheotherhandcustomersoftendon´tliketogivehonestanswersincase
thewrongquestionsareasked(Fitzpatrick,R.(2013).Topreventthis,duringtheresearchprocess
thefollowingchapterdealswithprinciplesofentrepreneurialqualitativeresearchanddescribes
theapproachtakeninthisthesis.
Fromasustainabilityperspective,thebusinessmodelcanvas,doesnotnecessaryincludeexternal
factorsasenvironmental,orsocialimplications,neitherdoesitpresentvisionandmission.That´s
why Alexandre Joyce developed the “triple layered businessmodel canvas”,which presents a
socialandanenvironmentallayerofthebusinesscase(Joyce,2016).AndLibes(2016)created
the “business presentation pyramid”, adding purpose, opportunity, financial plan, immediate
needsandcompetitiontoobtainamoreholisticviewofthebusiness.SincetheBMCisstillthe
mostestablishedandwidelyspreadtool,andtheinformationnecessarytoanswerallboxesof
triplelayeredbusinessmodelcanvasorbusinesspresentationpyramidareoutofthescopeofthis
research, the BMC will serve the purpose of presenting the results obtained of the value
propositioncanvas.
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3.2. InductiveQualitativeResearchDesign
3.2.1. ResearchparadigmsinthelightofentrepreneurialValuePropositionDesign
Researchparadigmsconsistofbasicbeliefsthatdealwiththerealityandrepresenttheworldview
thatexplains thenatureof theworld.Thereare recently twodominating researchparadigms:
positivism and interpretivism (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Klassen et. al, 2012). The positivism
approachisexternal,independentandobjectivefromthesocialreality.Theroleoftheresearcher
isneutralandheshouldnotbeallowedto introducehis/herbias intotheresearch(McNeill&
Chapman,2005).AccordingtoKlassen(2012),deductivelogicalinquiryisusedtogatherdata.To
generalize the findings to a whole population, data will be collected on large sample size in
quantitative methods. Due to this reason, the quantitative approach is more reliable when
repeatedandquantifiable(McNeill&Chapman,2005).Overall,themainfocusofpositivismison
facts,numbers,validityandgeneralizabilityusingquantitativesurveysandstatisticaltechniques
(Easterby-Smithetal.,2008).Incontrast,aninductive,interpretive,qualitativeresearchstance
accepts that social reality is driven by human interests and it seeks to understand human
experiencesinductivelyandasawhole(Erikksson&Kovalainen,2008).Thebasicassumptionof
interpretiveresearchisthatthereisnosinglereality;insteadmultiplerealitiesexist(Lincoln&
Denzin,2003).Itassumesthathumanbehaviorcannotbeunderstoodobjectively,butthatpeople
are rather subject to many influences such as feelings, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors
(Crossan & Sorenti, 2002). Consequently, interpretive research helps to gain insight into
individuallivesintermsoftheirlife-longexperiences.InthewordsofLeedyandOrmrod(2005:
133):“thistypeofresearchfocusesonthephenomenonwhichoccursinthenaturalsettingand
will also involve phenomena in all their complexities”. In sum, positivism is based on realism
ontologywhich assumes that observations are theory neutral and that generalizations of the
observedcanbemade.Whereas,interpretivismisbasedonlife-worldontologywhichassumes
thatthesocialworldcannotbeunderstoodwithoutsubjectivemeaningsofsocialreality(Lincoln
&Denzin,2003).Thesetwophilosophicalschoolsareattachedtotwodifferenttypesofresearch
approaches:positivisttoquantitativeandinterpretivetoqualitative(Bryman,2012).
AccordingtoDenzinandLincoln(2011:30):“theresearcherapproachestheworldwithawebof
ideasandaframework(theoryandontology)thatspecifyasetofquestions(epistemology)that
he or she examines in specific ways (methodology and analysis)”. However, the choice of a
particular stance regarding nature and knowledge of the world is based upon the research
questionsthataretobeexplored,themethodofinvestigationandthenatureandinterpretation
ofthedatagathered.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Theontologicalpositionarguesthatreality isnotanobjectivephenomenonandthatthereare
multiple realities (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). Especially, when a researcher aims to study
individuals’behaviorandthesocialworldinwhichtheylive,theassumptionofcriticalrealism
(subjectivity) is that knowledge of the social world and individual behaviors are inevitably
interpretive innatureratherthanforthrightlyrepresentative(FrazerandLacey,1993).This is
whythisstudyisbasedontheontologicalstanceofrealism,tobestrepresenttheinductivesocial
entrepreneurial approach in the BOPmarket context. Thus, the intent to claim any objective
observationortopresentanobjectivepredictionisoutofthescopeofmystudy.Butsincethis
researchaimstoprovideanentrepreneurialadviceonspecificcustomergroups,toSesoloMello
B.V.basedonlocalcircumstances,interpretiveobservationsarerelevantandimportanttoanswer
theresearchquestionsandtheVPCdesignquestionsposedinchapter3.1.1.
My epistemological stance lies in social constructionism, which states that all knowledge
producedislocal,provisionalandsituationspecific(BrymanandBell,2015).Groundedintothe
critical realism perspective, the findings of this research study may differ depending on the
contextualfactorsunderwhichdataiscollectedandanalyzed(Madilletal.,2000).Inparticular,
whenaresearcherisengagedinsocialconstructionism,itbecomesinevitabletoexcludepersonal
andculturalviewsabouttheresearchanditsimpactondatacollectionandanalysis.Thiscanbe
achanceaswell,sinceinthecontextofthetownshipsoftheWesternCape,theresearchercan
connect views from his European context and possible solution approaches with the local
knowledge obtained. However, as explained in chapter 1, this presents another reason, why
havingtheHealthPromotersSouthAfricaaslocalpartner,andbeingsupportedbynative(female)
translatorsissocrucialtogetalessbiasedviewontheactualsituation.
Inaccordancetotheresearchquestionsposedandtheinductiveentrepreneurialapproach,the
adoptionofaqualitativeapproachisbestsuitedtoobtainacontextualunderstandingoftheissues
under investigation. Due to experience of prior entrepreneurial projects, and an academic
consultancy trainingatWageningenUniversity, thecombinationofsemi-structured interviews
andafocusgroupworkshopdesignischosen.Thesectionbelowdiscussestheproceduresand
criteriaadoptedininterviewandworkshopdesign–followedbythecriteriaforrecruitmentof
thesample.
3.2.2. TheMomTest&IREPA:AskingtherightquestionsintheBOPcontext
Asalreadydescribedinthepreviouschapters,entrepreneurialresearchposesabigthreatinthe
formofconfirmationbias.Oftenanentrepreneurorresearcherisaskingquestionsinthewrong
way,leadingtofalseanswers–amajorfactoriscustomersgivingdishonestanswers,sincethey
do not want to disappoint the interviewer (Fitzpatrick, 2013). However, there is criteria for
information acquisition and question design, that has proven quite successful in practical
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
23
entrepreneurialresearch:TheMomTest.CondensedinabookbyFitzpatrick,itestablishessome
relevantprinciplesforthisresearch:
The qualitative research focuses onmultiple focal points consisting ofwhat people say (their
knowledgeandunderstanding),whatpeopledo(theirmeaningfulbehavior),whatpeoplemean,
needordesire(emotionaldrivers)andtheculturewithinwhichpeoplelive(normsandcodes).
Inorder to establish a sufficientdata-basis andbe able to interpret the information, the right
questionsarekey(Winkleretal.,2017).
According to Fitzpatrick (2013), questions should be asked about current or past behaviors/
actionsinaqualitativeway–thisleadstomoreelaboratedescriptionsandthelikelihoodofan
honestanswer ishigh. Moreover, theresearcher isable toobtainadditional information, that
mightnothavebeenintendedtobeobtainedinthefirstplace.Alwaysavoid“wouldyouandI
formulations” as well as future assumptions. Some example questions (and their example
effects;Fitzpatrick,2013)are:
Ø How do you solve challenge now? (identify potential competitors or missing
services/products)
Ø Whydoyoubother?(understandthecustomer´svalues)
Ø Whataretheimplications?(understandpotentialfearsorrisks)
Ø Talkmethroughthelasttimethathappened.(identifycurrentbehaviorandpotential
commonmistakesinproductusage)
Ø Talkmethroughyourworkflow.(identifypotentialforprocessimprovement)
Ø What else have you tried? (identify potential competitors or missing
services/products)
Ø Wheredoesthemoneycomefrom?(whatisthecustomerabletopay)
Ø WhoelseshouldItalkto?(expansionofcustomergroups)
Ø IsthereanythingelseIshouldhaveasked?(knowledgeexpansion)
Ø Whydo youwant that?Howare you currently copingwith theproblem? (identify
painsandgains)
Next to the quality of questions, it is important to assess the level of commitment,which is
another indicator for honesty and real interest. This can be done through following example
factors:
Ø time–clearnextmeeting,trialagreement
Ø reputationrisk–intropeerstoentrepreneur
Ø publictestimonial
Ø cash–letterofintent
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
24
Ø pre-order
Ø deposit
Inordertoimprovetheconversationsfromtimetotime,thisprocessshouldbeunderstoodasan
iterativelearningprocess.Itincludesprepping,researchingquestionswellenough,doingadue-
diligenceandwritingdownassumptionsaboutapersonandvalidatethemlater;askingyourself
whatcommitmentyouwanttoachieve,howoneshouldshowupinthemeetingandhowtowrite
it down – or should one record it? - the focus is on emotions, problems, goals,workarounds,
obstacles,ideas,requests,budgets,follow-uptasksandreferencedpersons.Intheendthenotes
shouldbe reviewed, the assumptionsupdated and the researcherhas to askoneself –how to
improveandlearnbetternexttime(Fitzpatrick,2013)?
Moregenerallyspeakingthefollowing7pointsofadvicearecrucialtounderstandyourcustomer
segment(Doorneweert,B.&Lans,T.,2015):
1. focusoncustomers'issues,notyourproduct
2. don'tfishforcompliments,askhardquestions
3. iftheysayit'saproblembuttheyhaven'tattemptedtosolveit,it'snotaproblem
4. aftereachandeverymeetingpotentialcustomersshouldcommittothenextsteps
5. segmentationofwhoyouwanttoreachwhereandhow
6. youshouldbeterrifiedofatleastonequestionyouareasking!
7. theonlythingpeoplelovetalkingaboutmorethanthemselvesistheirproblems
Intheory,youshouldthenchoosethesegmentthatscoreswellforprofitability,easytoreachand
rewardingforyoutobuildabusinessaround.12
In case, you obtain too many new answers after a few meetings, it is time to redefine your
customergroupandnarrowitdown.Ifyoudon´t, this isasignofagoodunderstandingofthe
customersegments jobs,painsandgainsandnormally this isagoodpoint to (re-)defineyour
valueproposition.
Summingitup,thebestresultsaregeneratedinaconversation,ratherthananinterview.That´s
whyeventhoughinqualitativeresearchterms,ithasbeenlabeledsemi-structuredinterviewsin
this research – in practice the interviews have rather been conversations, leading to new
conversations.Thesamecharacterappliestothefocusgroupworkshop.
12Sincethisisasocialentrepreneurialresearchproject,thesecriteriaaddtothepre-definedsocialandenvironmentalfactors.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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3.2.3. SamplingstrategyforinductiveresearchThisleadsintothesamplingstrategyforrelevantcustomersegmentsandintervieweesandhow
to find out about them. In this research, the semi-structured interviewswill lead through an
explorativeprogresstowardsthesuitablefocus-groupsample.Inentrepreneurialresearch,the
researcher/entrepreneurisoftentrustingkeyinformants,toleadtootherrelevantinformants.
Theaimistogetasdeepofaninsightintothelocalcontextaspossiblebeforeconductingafocus
group workshop, through literature research, followed-by semi-structured interviews
(conversations)withrelevantstakeholders.Relevantstakeholdershavebeenidentifiedthrough
a purposive sampling (Bryman, 2012) approach, in order to select for example local spaza-/
tuckshop owners to investigate the current trade structures and proposition of customers´
behavior regarding purchase amounts, labelling and packaging. It is a strategy to select those
casesdeliberatelywhocanprovideimportantinformation(Bryman,2012).AccordingtoPatton
(2002:230)“thelogicandpowerofpurposefulsamplingliesinselectinginformation-richcases,
fromwhom one can learn a great deal about issues central important to the purpose of the
inquiry”.Purposivesamplingwasusedinaplannedmannertoselecttheinformation-richsample
cases/participantswhocouldproviderelevantinformationabouttheresearchquestionsraised
inthisstudy(Bryman,2012).Thisisreflectedinthepresentsampleofshopkeepers(interviews:
5); socialworkers, ngo´s, entrepreneurs, government related informants (interviews:13); and
especiallylocalfemaletownshipinhabitants(focusgroup:22).Theinterviewsamplesizeisbased
on the prior described “Mom Test”-criteria. In the inductive process, the information started
repeatingitself,untilasufficientlyclearpictureofthelocalcontexthasbeenestablishedtoanswer
theresearchobjectiveandprepareforthefocusgroupworkshop.Approachingtheresearchfrom
aninterpretiveperspective(Denzin&Lincoln,2011),Iwasawareofthefactthatthequalitative
approach uses small sampleswith the aim to produce thick and rich descriptions (Miles and
Huberman,1994),insteadoflargesamplesthataimtogeneralizethefindings(Bryman,2012),
whichwasnottheintentofthestudy.
3.2.4. Semi-structuredinterviewsintheBOPcontextBasedonIREPA(Winkleretal.,2017)andthedescribedcriteriaandpre-requisites,thefollowing
factorsareimportantforsemi-structuredinterviewdesignintheBOPcontext:
Ø dialogshouldbefreetoflowandkeepspaceforindividualknowledgeandinput
Ø information always should be cross-checked during the interview and between
differentinterviewpartners
Ø the researcher needs to decide by his own what type of information source and
methodofdatacollectionshouldbechosenataspecificlocation
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
26
Concerningthelocalityofconductingtheseconversations,thereisagoodoptionforthespecific
township context, there is the possibility of so-called transect-walkswith key-informants and
observations,which has been donewith e.g. GeorgeArrey in theKayamandi township. These
walkscangivegoodinformationwithouttheneedforhouseholdmemberstospendalotoftime
togiveinformationduringinterviews.Thequestionsduringthewalkareaskedtoakeyinformant
whoknowsthelocalsituationwellenoughtotelldifferencesbetweendifferenthouseholdsand
localities(Winkleretal.,2017).Inthiscasethisknowledgeshouldberelatedtohealth,cooking,
heating,lightingandtownshiplogistics.Itisimportanttonote,thatthepersonchosenshouldbe
respected by the community in order not to disturb social hierarchies when these social
interactionstakeplacewithanon-respectedperson(Bondreauetal.2008).Duetosafetyreasons
ofcarryinghigh-techequipmentinthetownship,onlyfewinterviewshavebeenrecordedwithan
audiorecorder(Arrey,2016).Thus,theinterviewsarenotfullysubscribed-theinformationis
ratherprocessedonthebasisofthebullet-pointsummaries.
Nexttothepriormentionedquestions,thesemistructuredinterviewsandfocusgroupworkshop
aimtoestablishinformationabout:
Ø whichcustomersegmentsuseparaffinintheWesternCape;
Ø whereandhowcustomerssource/buyanduseparaffinduringtheyear;
Ø howparaffinaffectstownshipinhabitants,andwhatismostimportanttothem;
Ø what alternative technologies or products for cooking heating and lighting, township
inhabitantsareusingandweathertheyaresatisfiedwithit;
Ø whatcurrentlyinhibitsadoptionofalternativestoparaffin;
Ø howtuck-andspazashopownerssourceandsellparaffinandalternativefuels;
Ø howparaffiniscurrentlypackaged-includingproductmarketingandlabelling;
Ø howpotentialcustomersanddistributorsreacttoandhowtheycommittoSesoloMello´salternativebiofuelapproach;
Based on the above described criteria and prerequisites, the interview guides for the semi-
structuredinterviewscanbefoundinAppendixA.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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3.2.5. FocusgroupresearchinthelightofBOPmarketsIREPA(Winkleretal.,2017),definesgroupdiscussionsandbrainstormingasamethod,thatcan
beusedbyresearcherstogetherwithhomogenousandheterogeneousgroupsinBOPmarkets,
todiscusslocalproblemsandconstraintsinordertoimplementbottom-upsolutions.
AccordingtoIREPA,focusgroupdiscussionsaroundafocalquestion-“HowCookingactivitiesare
currently performed in Kayamandi?” – can lead to a dynamic creative process, with many
interactions.Oftenthissavestime,combiningvaluableinputandevengeneratesdeeperinsights
andknowledge thansemi-structured interviews–whichare innaturenot thatdifferentapart
from the sample size. A main potential pitfall is the quality of workshop moderation, which
requiresathoroughpreparation.Duetolimitedlocalstaffavailable,limitedtimetojointlyprepare
aworkshop,andmypriorexperienceinmoderation,thisresearchaimstoconductthefocusgroup
researchfromtheperspectiveofaparticipativeobserver.Sinceasparticipativeobserverthereis
little to no time to take relevant notes. Thus, the workshop will be recorded with an audio
recorder.
Besidescreatinginnovativeideas,thisworkshopformatalsoresultsinspecificstepsthatshould
be executed in order to realize a SesoloMello´s pilot project in Kayamandi. Ideally, after this
workshopthestakeholdersshowcommitmentandsignuponalist13aspilotcustomerstofurther
participateinthefeedbackloopduringSesoloMello´sproductdevelopment.
Thegeneral conceptof thisworkshop is to takeall the stakeholdersona journey through the
currentcooking,heatingandlightingsituationintheWesternCape,alongpotentialalternatives
approachesleadingtoabrainstormingonabottom-updesignproduct.Duringthefirsthalfofthe
workshoptheparticipantsbrainstormoutloudontheircurrentcookingbehaviors.Duringthis
process,wheremostlikelymanyjobs,painsandgainsaroundcookingemerge,theresearcherwill
feedsomeinformationaroundhealthycookingintothebrainstorming.Thisisduetothefact,that
theHealthPromotersSouthAfricadoestimate,thatmanycommunitymembersarenotawareof
thehealthimplicationsofparaffin(Arrey,2016),eventhoughtheyareexperiencingotherpains
or describe the health implications in other words. The detail of information, and wording
depends on the pains being described during the first half – and the perceived readiness to
brainstormonalternativeapproachesinthesecondhalf.Duringthesecondhalf,thestakeholders
willnotbeconstrainedby toomany factors, suchas time,money, resourcesetcetera,andwill
brainstormonpotentialalternativeapproaches.Thiswillenhancethecreativityoftheideasthat
willbeproduced.Thesecondhalfofthisworkshoprequiresthestakeholderstoconverttheirjobs,
painsandgainsintorealityandpotentialpainrelievers,gaincreatorsandproducts/servicesto
letthemdecideuponthestepsthatneedtobetakeninordertoachieveanalternativetoparaffin
–incasethisiswantedbytheparticipatingcommunitymembers.Following,thescientificvalue
13SeeFigure17(SesoloMello,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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offocusgroupresearchandthegeneralapproachisshortlyportrayed.14
According to Street (1997) workshops are one of the most useful tools that can be used for
enhancementofstakeholder involvement.Theirvalueandprovenapplicationonasustainable
local–andurban-scalehasbeenhighlightedbyseveralstudies(Andersen&Jaeger,1999;Street
1997),whileWeaveretal(2000)describetheuseofstakeholderworkshopsforapplicationsof
sustainabletechnologydevelopment.However,itisessentialtobementionedthatonlyonesingle
workshop isnotenough toengagean in-depthcollaborativeprocess; aworkshopneeds tobe
includedinabiggercontextofaparticipatoryprocessandbecombinedwithmorestimuli,like
interviews,asstatedbyMayer(1997)-dependingonthecomplexityoftheresearchquestion.
ThisiswhytheKayamandiworkshopneedstobecarefullyplannedandcombinedbySesoloMello
B.V.withotherfollow-upactivitiestoestablishasuccessfulpilotproject.
Dueto(dr.ir.)AnnemarievanPaassen–communicationandworkshopexpertinthesubdivision
KnowledgeTechnologyandInnovationofWageningenUniversity-onhowtoeffectivelyengage
potential participants, I decided that the approach of the workshop should be based on the
concept of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). According to Holman and Devane (1999), AI is “the
cooperative search for the best in people, […] and thewholeworld around them”. The same
authorspresenta four-dimensional (4-D)modelof theAI cycle (seeFigure11)which isnota
“formula”butmoreofaconceptualapproachinthecontextoforganization-changeefforts.
Figure11:TheAppreciativeInquiry4-DCycle(Holman&Devane,1999)
14 Based on E-ACT (Bussmann et al., 2014): “Towards a new business model for reintegration incombinationwithlocalfoodproductioninZwolle,NL”
Discovery"Whatgiveslife?"(thebestofwhatis)
APPRECIATING
Dream"Whatmightbe?"(whattheworldis
callingfor)ENVISIONING
IMPACT
Design"Whatshouldbe-
theideal?"CO-CONSTRUCTING
Destiny"Howtoempower,
learnandadjust/improvise?"
SUSTAINING Affirmative Topic Choice
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
29
ThisworkshopdesignapproachistransferredintotheBOPsetting,basedontheMomTestand
IREPAprinciples,e.g.aroundaskingtherightquestions,describedinthepriorchapters.
The theory is applied in the so-called AI Organization Summit where most members of an
organization(herecommunity)aretakingpartinastrategicandcollaborativeprocessthataims
inreachingconsensusoverachallenge.TheSummithasbeenproventobeeffectiveanditusually
requires4daystocomplete-onedayisdevotedforeachcomponentofcycle-foranumberfrom
50to2000participants(Holman&Devane,1999).However,afour-dayworkshopwouldnotbe
arealisticoptioninKayamandiandinthescopeofthisresearch,thereforethefourcomponents
arepresented inavery concisemannerandbe covered relativelyquicklywithina three-hour
workshop.ThegeneralaspectsofanAISummit(Holman&Devane,1999),arethusintegrated.
Basedontheabovedescribedcriteriaandprerequisites, theworkshopdesigncanbe found in
AppendixA.
3.3. DescriptionofworkperformedinSouthAfricaAfterthoroughpreparationandgainingaccesstorelevantnetworks,whilestillatWageningen
UniversityintheNetherlands,thischapterpresentsabasicsummaryoftheactivitiesperformed
andtheresultsachievedduringthe6-monthtimeperiodinSouthAfrica.
After arrival in Johannesburg, the first stepswere related to re-activating and expanding the
network in South Africa. This entailed visiting local townships and organizations which are
working in townships, likeAwethu,VulaVula andThebeVentures.There I conducted the first
interviews and got first “real life” impressions apart from the
informationavailableinliteratureandinputreceivedupfrontviaSkype
callswith local entrepreneurs and theHealthPromoters SouthAfrica.
FromthereItravelledtoCapeTown,sincethedecisionhasbeenmade
toconducttheprojectandmainresearchhintheWesternCape.ThiswasduetoagoodsupportnetworkinCapeTown,manylargetownshipsand
links to Stellenbosch University – where the
Kayamanditownshipislocated.AfterthebigSouth
AfricansummerholidayinDecember,wherebarelyanypeopleareinoffices
andmanytownshipinhabitantsmovebacktothe“homelands”,thetaskwas
to activate and expand the network in Cape Town and Stellenbosch as
quickly as possible, meeting the Sustainability Institute in Stellenbosch,
Dutch embassy in Cape Town, ECN, Lions Club and local/ international
entrepreneurs, like Lumkani – local fire sensors for shacks, Green Diesel – Upcycling waste
cookingoilstobiodiesel,orAckeemNgwenya–SocialEntrepreneur.Moreover,therehasbeen
contactwithsocialentrepreneurshiphubslikeOPENandthePhilippiVillagearoundCapeTown.
Figure12:Awethulogo(Awethu,2016)
Figure13:PhilippiVillagelogo(PhilippiVillage,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
30
Here I could conduct further semi-structured interviews and found additional possible entry
pointstothetownships.Especially,findingandgainingtrustofalocalpartnerorganizationina
townshiphasbeenimportant.Thenetworkexpansionappearedtobea
natural process, where one contact lead to the next one and the
information obtained from the conversations, narrowed down and
repeateditselfmoreandmore.Luckily,IgottoknowtheCleanCooking
RevolutionandtheHealthPromotersSouthAfricawhoareactiveinthe
Stellenbosch township “Kayamandi” and “Khayelitsha”. Kayamandi has approximately 30.000
inhabitantswithalargeformalpartandinformalpart15.Itisarelativelyyoungtownshipanddue
to its size, it presents a relatively safe work environment than e.g.
KhayelitshaorMitchellsPlain.TheHealthPromoterCEOGeorgeArreyisan
experienced “social worker” and is well linked across townships around
Cape Town. His guidance and mentorship has been a great help to get
interviews done safely, understand the local environment better and
prepare and co-organize the local focus group workshop. At this point
George committed to do a focus group research with approximately 30
womeninthecommunitycenteroncookingpracticesandparaffinuse,
consumerbehaviorandwillingnesstotestanewproduct.Moreover,he
agreedonfindingagroupof100committedwomenwhowillextensively
test Sesolo Mello´s product in the pilot
phase. This potential long-term
partnership with an established
organization appeared to be a great
opportunityforthestart-uptogetaccessto
local townships. Furthermore, I started
seeingGeorgeassenioradvisoronparaffin
distribution networks, since he ran a
spazashophimselfandhasavastnetwork
ofotherfriendsandentrepreneurslivingin
otherWestern Cape townships. This gave
merelevant insiderknowledgeon theexistingstructuresandconsumerneeds (Patton,2002).
15 Informal settlemens: Currently not accepted by local government – thus no infrastructuredevelopment
Figure16:HealthPromoterSAheadquartersandLegacycenter(SesoloMello,2016)
Figure14:CleanCookingRevolutionlogo(CCR,2016)
Figure15:DutchConsulateGeneralCapeTownlogo(NLConsulateGeneral,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
31
Thus, the main focus of
research was on Kayamandi
township - inagreementwith
SesoloMello,whomanagedto
touch base in Stellenbosch/
Kayamandi. This allowed to
narrowdownandfindagood
scope to solve the research
objective. At the Health
Promotershub,Icouldspenda
lotoftimeandworkinthelocalcontext.ThisiswhereIconductedthefocusgroupresearchonparaffinusageandhealthawarenesswith22localwomen(sincewomenaremostlyresponsible
for household decisions and cooking).Moreover, I interviewed five tuckshop- and spazashop-
owners in Kayamandi,who purchase and sell paraffin on a regular basis andwho could give
valuableinsightsonthemarketstructures.Whilevisitingthetownshipregularlyandobtaining
more andmore detailed information, I started towork out amore detailed value proposition
aroundSesoloMello´sapproachofusingwastecookingoilsasfuelalternativeforcooking,heating
and lighting.During the time inSouthAfrica Imanaged toobtainmy thesis researchdataand
validateassumptionsforasolidvaluepropositiondesign.Following,theresultsoftheperformed
activitiesarepresented.
Figure17:Excerptofpilotcustomerlist(Bussmann,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
32
4. ResultsThis chapter has the objective of answering the sub-question of this thesis: “Does Sesolo
Mello´sbiofuelsolvethecustomersjobs,painsandgains?”andthemainresearchquestion:
“Whatisthesocialfeasibilityofintroducingabiofuelalternativetoparaffinintownships
of theWesternCape?”. It is thus divided into three parts: Thequalitative research results16
condensed in the Value Proposition Canvas. Followed by the integration of the VPC in the
BusinessModelCanvasandexplanationofthecustomersegmentimplicationsforthebusiness
model.
4.1. ValuePropositionCanvasforSesoloMelloapproachInorder tokeepagoodoverview, the relevant research results (jobs [j], pains [p], gains [g]; gain
creators[gc],painrelievers[pr]andproduct/servicepropositions[ps])utilizedintheVPCaremarked
withthelettersandnumbers,thatcorrelatewiththenumbersinfigure19.Thenumbersarenotto
beunderstoodasranking.
Throughthesemi-structuredinterviewsandfocusgroupresearchitcould
be validated, that paraffin users in the Kayamandi township are using
paraffinonaregularbasis.Moreover,thedemandisdependingonseasonal
effects. Theyneedhigher quantities duringwinter,mainly due to heating
relatedtobadinsulationofshacks.Eventhough,pricesshouldintheorybe
governmentregulated,thedemandpeakshaveimmediateeffectsonprices
ofavailableparaffininthetownships.Insummer,theshopownersdescribe
thattheysellparaffinaround9-10ZARperliter,inwinterpricesmaysoar
to around 15-16 ZAR17 per liter. The so called “survivor” (Arrey, 2016)
communitywomendescribe,thatthisresultsincooking,heatingandlighting
being even less affordable. Thus, increasing the barriers of changing to
alternativesolutionsevenmore.However, thepricechangesarebetteror
16ThemoredetailedsummariescanbefoundinAppendixB.1716ZARequalsapprox.1Euro(currencyrate:January2015)
Figure18:WorkshopstartintheHealthPromoterHeadquarter(SesoloMello,2016)
Figure19:PromotionalbannerofHealtherPromotersSA(SesoloMello,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
33
worsedependingonthelocationwhereparaffinispurchased.AccordingtotheHealthPromoters,
theworstconditionsapplyatsuppliersthatdrivearoundthetownshipsandsupplysmallamounts
forrelativelyhighprice–“thefuelisevenoftenofabad,impurequalitystandard”(Bussmann,
2016).Thefuelpurchasedinlocaltuck-/spazashopsisunderlyinglittlelesspricefluctuations,but
atleastthefuelqualityisquiteconstant,since“customerswilldefinitelycomeback,returnbad
qualityproductsanddemandrefund”(Tuckshopowner#1,2016).Thelowestandmorestable
pricesapplywhendrivingtothenextbiggerstoresoutsideorattheouterboundariesoftheformal
settlements – best is to buy paraffin in larger quantities. This is done by somewomen, who
collectivelygotothesestores,orcollectivelyplaceordersthatareoftenrealizedtogetherwith
localmen/taxibusinesses.Theproductsarethenoftenpurchasedinlargerquantitiesanddivided
between the customers. From a single community member perspective, products, especially
paraffinareoftenpurchasedonaweeklyorevendailybasisinsmallerquantities,sincethepay-
checksareoftenpaidweekly,andthesurvivorsstruggleeverydaytofundtheirfoodandenergy
supply. Paraffin quantities consumed in a standard household of three to four community
membersisaround0,75-1literperdayinsummerand1,5-2literinwinter(seefigure1).Inthe
formal settlements of Kayamandi around 1500 households utilize electricity for cooking, and
lightingandusenon-orlittleparaffininsummer.Inwinter,theystillusearound0,75-1literper
day.Theapproximately4500households, thatusenoelectricityoronly for lighting, consume
around 0,75-1liter of paraffin a day. And 1,5-2 liters in winter respectively. This shows that
cookingandheatingarethemainfactorsforparaffinconsumption,especiallysinceelectricityis
tooexpensive–cookinginsummer–andcookingandheatinginwinter.GeorgeArrayexplained,
thatthedemandinwintercanbeasmuchasthreetimeshigherthaninsummer.Thisissupported
byotherstudiesaswell(Lametal.,2012).Manywomendescribe,thattheyarecookingonlyevery
threedaysinordertosaveonfuel–sometimeseventogether–thisismostlyacostquestion,but
cookingtogetherdoesrepresentcookingtraditionfromthehomelandsaswell.Table1:StateofelectricityusageinKayamandi(Healthpromoters,2016;CleanCookingRevolution,2016)
ElectricityusageinKayamandi(formalpart)
Sum ofhouseholds
SummerParaffin[Liters]/hh/day
Winter Paraffin[Liters]/hh/day
¼ is on fullelectricity
1500 noneorlittle ~0,75-1l(heating)
½electricityonlyforlight
3000 ~0,75-1l ~1,5-2l
¼ has uses noelectricity
1500 ~0,75-1l ~1,5-2l
Thehouseholdswithoutdirectincomeoftenhavearound300ZARpermonthfromgovernment
allowance.Thisallowsthemtospendaround10ZARperdayonenergyandfood.Anewparaffin
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
34
stove,onaveragereplacedeverysecondyear,costsaround120-200ZAR.Buyingnewalternative
stovesthateasilycostdoublethepricearethusoftennotaffordable–eventhoughthefuelmight
becheaperinthelong-run.Eveninformalsettlements,electricityisnotalwaysavailable,orthe
voltageisjustnotsufficient.Intheinformalparts,electricityisoftenobtainedfromformalpartby
connectingwireswithoutpermission.Sometimesthereareagreementsbetweenneighbors,that
distribute the electricity in an informal matter (Horbach, 2016). The difference between the
poorestcommunitymembers-“survivors”–andaveragecommunitymembersinKayamandiis,
that the latter live in e.g. brick houses, take care of health and show interest in the Health
Promoters.Cookingistreatedashealthyaspossiblebutcheap.Thesurvivorsontheotherside,
liveininformalsettlements,inthecheapestshackswithnoinsulationandlittleprotectioninthe
event of heavy rain events. For them everything depends on price – not about health or
environment.Traditionally,womenaremostlyresponsibleforhouseholdandcookingdecisions,
sotheyneedtoinstigatethebuyofaproduct(Arrey,2016).
Onapracticallevel,whenexplainingtheprocessofcooking,womendescribethatparaffinemits
blacksmoke(“blackpots”)andchildrenaswellasadultshavetocough.Manyofthewomenare
not aware of long-termhealth implications, and have been very interested in the information
provided during the workshop – the education factor is something that is wished to be
strengthenedtogetherwiththeHealthPromoters.
Thebiggestproblem,thewomendescribeareshackfiresduetostovestippingoverandrelated
burninjuries.Moreover,ithasbeendescribedquitedetailedonhowtostoreparaffinsafely,so
childrendonotdrinkit–however,transparentsoftdrinkbottlesarestilloftenusedaspackaging
material.Theavailability(wintershortages)andthehighcostfluctuationsofparaffin(number
onecomplaintaboutparaffin–moreimportantthanhealthissues)werefurtherissuesdescribed.
During theworkshop,manywomenwerekeenon findinganaffordable,healthyalternative to
paraffinandengagedwithalltheirknowledgeandimagination.Thisleadto20womensigningup,
and committing tobe further involved in the education andpilot customerphasewith Sesolo
Mello–howmanykeepthecommitmenttotestthefuelwilldependonSesoloMello´squalitiesin
avoiding the common pitfalls. This shows the relevance of health, social and environmental
challengesrelatedtocurrentcookingpracticesintheKayamandicontext.Basedonallqualitative
datacollected,thefollowingvaluepropositioncanvas18iscompleted.Basedontheinterviewsand
focusgroupattendees,thecustomersegmentisnarroweddowntofollowingpersona:Kayamandi
Xhosacommunitywomanbetweenapproximately20and60years,motherofatleastonechild,
livingassingleorinapartnership.Thedifferentiationbetweenformalandinformalsettlements
is currently not required, since responses on behavior did not differ significantly among the
18Duetoreasonsofpresentability,itissplitintotwopartsontheverticalaxis.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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connected customers – however, this has to be considered when applying results on other
townshipsintheWesternCape.
Followingthemainselectedaspectsforthevaluepropositioncanvasarelistedandelaborated
on(seefigure19&20).
Figure20:VPC–Jobs,Pains,Gains(modifiedbyauthor,Osterwalderetal.,2014)
Jobs(j)
Ø 1:Desiredbyend-user-inthelong-runmodernstoves,poweredbycheapelectricityor
gas.Themainrelevanceisoncookingandheating,sincetheyrequiremostenergy.
Ø 2:Theuserwantsasafeproduct,thatdoesnotendangertheirfamilies,especiallychildren
anymore.
Ø 3:Theuserdoesnotcareabouttheenvironmentorhealththatmuch,butincreaseinsocial
statuswithinthecommunityisanimportantfactor.
Ø 4:Theuserwants tobemore flexiblewhen itcomestohouseholdactivities,especially
cooking.
Pains(p)
Ø 1:Costsofenergymatchoneofthelargestexpendituresandisbarelyaffordableinwinter
time.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Ø 2:Theuserfearsfires,poisoning,coughing, lossofproperty,notaffordableenergyand
food.
Ø 3:Adirtyhouse,blackwallsandpotsareperceivedasnegative.
Ø 4:Theuserfeelsunder-servedthroughbadqualityfuels,thatareassociatedwithpoverty.
Manycommunitymemberslook-uptoelectricitybasedtechnicandgas-powereddevices.
Ø 5:Unpredictable,unfairtreatmentinthesupplyoffuel,ameanstofulfillbasicneedsisa
bigservicegap
Gains(g)
Ø 1:Everythingrevolvesaroundafairpricingstrategyandfuelefficiency,thatenablesmore
degreesoffreedom.
Ø 2:Havingacleanhome,isassociatedwithagoodfeeling.
Ø 3:Securityaroundfuelsupplyandquality,relievesday-to-dayfears.
Ø 4:Securityforthefamily,createsmorefreedomandreducesday-to-dayfearsassociated
withcooking,heatingandlighting.
Ø 5: Suitable container sizes, safe containers, and well branded containers improve the
customerexperienceonmultiplelayers.Theycreatemoreflexibility,securityandwhen
marketedright(fuelbottlesaswell-knownase.g.cokeinthetownshipcontext)increase
thestatusinthecommunity.
Figure21:VPC–Products&Services,PainRelievers,GainCreators(modifiedbyauthor,Osterwalderetal.,2014)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Asseeninfigure19,themainpains,gainsandcustomerjobsareexplained.Thepain
relievers,gaincreatorsaroundtheproducts/servicestrytomatchthesecustomer
expectationsasgoodaspossible,forSesoloMellotocreateatripletoplayervalue
proposition.
Painrelievers(pr)
Ø 1:Thefuelhastobecheaper,andmorepricestable.
Ø 2:Thesupplyhastobeconstantinqualityandreliableevenduringdemandpeaks.
Ø 3:Airpollution,riskoffireandriskofpoisoninghastobereducedtoaminimum–even
thoughitwon´tbeasperfectasagas-orelectricity-poweredsolution.
Ø 4:Thefuelcan´temitblacksmoke,thatcreatesadirtyhome,blackwallsorpots.
Ø 5: It is crucial toprovideaneasy toadopt, cheapsolution,usingexistingchannelsand
utilitiestoavoidreluctancetoadoptandcommonpitfalls.
Ø 6:Packagingcansolve,safety,flexibilityandstatusissues.
Ø 7:Asanindirectfactor,localvaluecreationwillcreatemorejobsandopportunitieswithin
thetownship.
Gaincreators(gs)
Ø 1:Educationprovidesanadditionalvaluetothecommunity,thatisperceivedaspositive
andstatusincreasing.
Ø 2:Goodairqualitywill increaseuser’shappinessandhealth (e.g. lesscoughing) in the
longerrun.
Ø 3: Job creation and opportunity creation plays a crucial role for socio-economic
empowerment.Theend-userwilllikelyassignapositivevaluetothis.
Ø 4:Eventhoughnotperceivedrelevantcurrently–itmayportrayawaytoincreasestatus
whenmarketedasinnovative“western”andqualityproduct.
Ø 5:Increasingstatusthroughbranding,isabiggaincreatoraddressingthecurrentunder-
servingandexperienceddependenceonabadproduct.
Ø 6: Experience shows, that involving the users in the product design, will createmore
ownershipandacceptanceofaproduct.
Products/Services(ps)
Ø 1:Thisisthesetgoal,targetingalljobs,painsandgainsofthepersona.SesoloMelloaims
toaddressclean,affordableandsafelightingaswell,eventhoughthisdoesnotappearto
beamajorpain.
Ø 2:Throughtheexplainedpainrelievers,andgaincreatorsSesoloMelloaimstoimprove
theperceptionandstatusofthecustomersegmentwithinthetownshipcommunity.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Ø 3:SafetyandhealthisatthecoreofSesoloMello´sactivities.Thiswillbedeliveredthrough
thedescribedmechanismsaswell.
Ø 4:Moreflexibilityinpracticaltermsandeconomictermsisagreatchallengetosolvefor
thecustomer.
Tosummarizetheresultsfromthevaluepropositiondesignprocess,thebestpossibleproduct–
userfitasintermediatesolution,istocreateabiofuelmadefromwastevegetableoilasaoneto
onereplacementtoparaffin.Especiallyimportantis,thatthefuelhastoworkinthesamecooking
stoveandlampsasparaffin,inordertoallowcooking,heatingandlightingwiththesameenergy
source.Moreover,existingsupplychainscanbeutilizedtoestablishreliablesupply–aregulation
onend-consumerpriceshastobe installed.Eventhoughhealthier,andmoreefficientper liter
consumed,thefuelpriceperlitershouldstillbecheaperthanparaffinatalltimesoftheyear,and
belessfluctuatingovertheseasons–thisisacrucialpointforvalidatingtheeconomicfeasibility
oftheapproach.DefinedbySesoloMello,thefuelhastoemitlessharmfulcompounds,reducing
healthimplications.Fromacustomerpointofview,itismoreimportanttonotexperience“black
smoke and pots”, as well as coughing anymore. Moreover, a branded child-safe “container”
packagingisdesirabletoreducepoisoningincidentsandtopreventfuelmix-upalongthesupply
chainwhilecreatingbrandawareness.Aspecificallydesignedmulti-usecontainerisperceivedto
evencreateapositivesocialstatusforcustomersinthecommunity.Thevaluepropositiondesign
processappearstosupportthesocialfeasibilityofSesoloMello´sapproachandpositivelyanswers
thesub-researchquestion.
4.1.1. BusinessModelCanvasforSesoloMelloapproachThefollowingbusinessmodelcanvas,designedbySesoloMello(2015)andmodifiedbasedonthe
value proposition canvas input, that influences not only the “Customer Segments” and “Value
Propositions”,“CustomerRelationships”boxes,butallotherboxesaswell.Theaimtoestablish
and maintain “Customer Relationships” through co-creation of the product with end-users.
Additionally, a personal relationshipwith the retailers has to be developed and incentives to
guaranteeastablepriceandgoodmarketingcanbeachievedthrougharewardsystem.ThisBMC
represents the current status and approach of Sesolo Mello. The validation, elaboration and
analysisoftheother“6boxes”isoutofthescopeofthisresearchandwillbemostlyconductedby
Mr.Hendriks.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
39
Figure22:BMCofSesoloMello´sapproach(modifiedbyauthor,SesoloMello,2015)
SesoloMellodefinestheir“keyresources”asintellectualproperty,theequipmentandmaterials
to produce the fuel, and a committed on-site team, including employees and a local support
network.
“Key Activities”, are currently identified as production, distribution, scaling and marketing –
including empowerment projects (e.g. education). Sesolo Mello needs “Key Partners”: its
suppliers,supportiveNGO’s,aboardofadvisors,andprovidersofseedfundingforthestart-up
phase. “RevenueStreams”willbegeneratedbyselling fueland theby-productglycerol. In the
start-up phase, grants can be considered a “Revenue Stream” as well. The “Cost Structure”
comprises of labor costs,material, cost of equipment and resources,marketing and transport
costs.
Eventhough,inthebeginningSesoloMellowillprobablyselldirectlytothepilotend-consumers,
these are not themain customers. SesoloMello set the goal to utilize asmuch of the existing
distributionchannelsaspossible,todecreaseentrancebarriers.Thus,thepayingdirectcustomer
isthelocaldistributor.However,sincethejobs,painsandgainsarerelatedtothepriormarket
segment and described persona - the end-user – the scope of the research is limited to this
persona.Moreover,onlywhenthesolutionappealstotheuser,thedistributorwillshowinterest
inpurchasingtheproduct.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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4.2. ConclusionValuePropositionDesignprocessand“socialfeasibility”
Thechapterhadtheobjectivetoanswerthesub-question:“DoesSesoloMello´sbiofuelsolvethe
customersjobs,painsandgains?”andthemainresearchquestion:“Whatisthesocialfeasibilityof
introducingabiofuelalternativetoparaffinintownshipsoftheWesternCape?”.
Inordertodothis,thechapterhasbeendividedinthreeparts.Firstthemostimportantqualitative
researchresultshavebeencondensedintothevaluepropositioncanvas,groupingcustomersjobs,
pains and gains – andmatching pain relievers, gain creators into suitable services/ products.
FollowedbytheintegrationandupdateofSesoloMello´sbusinessmodelcanvas,thatnowleaves
the other 7 boxes around technical feasibility and economic feasibility open to be assessed.
ConcludingitcanbesaidthatSesoloMello´svaluepropositionhasbeensuccessfullydeveloped
aroundaddressingallrelevantpains,gainsandcustomerjobsinthiscustomersegment.Thus,it
canbeconcludedthatthebusinessmodelisfeasiblefromasocio-economicperspective.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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5. DiscussionThischapterwilldiscusstheconsequencesofthepresentedresultsfortheresearchobjective
andSesoloMello´sapproach;aswellastherelevancefortheoryandpracticeofotherclean
cookinginitiatives.
5.1. ImplicationsforthesisobjectiveandSesoloMello´sapproachTheresultsofassessingthesocialfeasibilityofSesoloMello’sapproachwereclear:Thecustomer
jobs,painsandgainscanbematchedwithadoptedpainrelievers,gaincreatorsandaccording
products/services.TheestablishedValuePropositionCanvasandBusinessModelCanvasisbased
onthefollowingproductandrelatedservices:
“Abiofuelmadefromwastevegetableoilasaonetooneliquidfuelreplacementtoparaffin.”
Thepresentedresultshave implicationsontheobjectivesof thisresearchaswellasonSesolo
Mello´sapproach.Theobjectivewas”…todeterminewhetherSesoloMello´ssocialentrepreneurial
solutionforparaffinreplacement,isabletoavoidthecommonpitfallsofthecurrentcleancooking
initiatives.”.
Theresultsandanswerstothemain-andsub-researchquestionimpliesthatSesoloMellomight
beabletoavoidthecommonpitfalls,iftechnicalandeconomicfeasibilityisvalidatedsuccessfully.
Followingtheimplicationsofthesocialfeasibilityonthemainthreepitfallsisdiscussed:
Ø Solutionsareoftentooexpensive
Asshownintheresults,customersmainlywantthreethingswhenitcomestofuelsources.Alow
energypriceingeneral,supplysecurityandpricestability(Taitetal.,2013).WithSesoloMello´s
sustainabilityapproachtobusiness,thesetopicswillbeacoreperspectiveinthebusinessmodel
andbeguaranteed.Thismeans,thepriceneedstobethesameasthelowestparaffinprices,orif
feasible–cheaper.Thiscanonlybeguaranteedif local feedstockanddistributionpartnersare
reliableandcommitted. If this isnot thecase, SesoloMellowouldbe forced to introduceown
distribution channels. However, introducing competitive elements in township structures has
provendifficult, according toNeves&duToit (2012)whodescribeeventsof violenceagainst
Somalitradersthattriedtotakeamarketshareintuck-andspazashops.
BasedonafirstinterviewwithGreenDieselintheCapeTownarea,potentialrisksforfluctuating
wastevegetableoilpricesarose:
“Ithasbecomemoreexpensiveforustogetwastecookingoil.Becauseoftheweakrand(ZAR)
muchisexportedtoGermanyandothercountries.Thentheymakebiodieselfromitoverthere.”
(Watermann,2016).
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
42
Thisshouldbefurtherevaluated.SesoloMellostillneedstoStill,ifSesoloMello´sapproachdoes
worktechnically,therewillverylikelybeawaytopartnerwithlocalwastevegetableproducers,
toensureeconomicfeasibilityandpricestability.
Thus, it can be concluded, that if these questions of technical and economic feasibility are
answered, fromacustomerperspectivethesolution iscompetitivetoparaffinandmoreeasily
accepted,thenalternativecookstoves.
Ø Solutionsareoftenbasedonalock-innaturelinkedwithforeigndesign
Opposedtoothercleancookinginitiatives,whereoftenstoveandfuelisexchanged.Customers
canalwaysswitchback toparaffin,withouthaving lost the initial investment foranexpensive
stove.Thus, incaseSesoloMellodoesnotmanagetodeliverthedefinedvaluepropositionsor
customershaveotherreasonsforswitchingback,theycanutilizethesamestove.Again,underthe
assumption,thatthetechnicalfeasibilityisratedpositively.
Ø Solutionsrequiretoomuchbehavioraladaptation
Customersdonotneedtochangetheirstoves;thus,theydonotneedtoadapttoanewstove.The
onlythingtheyhavetoadoptto,isamoreefficientandlesshotfuelcombustion(Bedouet,2015).
Thefocusgroupworkshopshowed,thatslowcookingisacommonpractice,whichissupported
bythefuelproperties(Bussmann,2016).Moreover,theadoptionwillingnessissupportedbya
competitivefuelpricingaswellasaccesstothefuelviathesamedistributionchannelscustomers
areusedto(SesoloMello,2015).Thismeansthatcustomersdonothavetochangetheirhabitsto
obtaintheproduct–norinvestinthechange.However,customersmightevenbeinterestedin
changing their behavior related to adopting to new, safer packaging materials. This is an
opportunityforaco-creatingprocessbetweenSesoloMelloandthelocalcommunity.
Based on research of Tait et al. (2013) and the obtained results from Kayamandi, the little
adaptationrequired,mightbeoneofthemostconvincingargumentsofSesoloMello´sapproach.
Thus,supportinganotheravoidedpitfallofothercleancookinginitiatives.
Concluding,basedontheKayamandisituation,SesoloMellowillmostlikelybeabletoconvince
theircustomersandavoidthecommonpitfallsofcleancookinginitiatives.Aslongastheykeep
uptotheirpromisesanddeliverthedescribedvalueproposition.
Comparingtheresultsofthestudytothe8pre-definedcriteria,onecansaythat:
“CriteriaI.Embracelocalcommunityandvalidatewillingnesstochange”-canberatedpositive,
basedontheacceptanceofSesoloMellofounders,supporterandapproachinKayamandi.
“CriteriaII.Avoidhighpriceofproducts/opportunitycosts”-hastobeprovenfromatechnical
andeconomicperspective.Avoidanceofhighopportunitycoststopurchaseastove-canberated
positive.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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“CriteriaIII.Avoidlock-innature”-canberatedpositive.
“Criteria IV. Offer participatory opportunities” – canbe ratedpositive, through SesoloMellos
bottom-upapproachandopportunitiesinco-creationonforexamplepackagingdesign.
“CriteriaV.Utilize familiar technology”–canberatedpositivedue to littlerequiredchange in
behavior.
“CriteriaVI.Make sure there is local value creation” – can be rated positive based on Sesolo
Mello´sdecentralized,localproductionapproachandopportunitiesinlocalSpin-Off´s.
“Criteria VII. Make sure there is no negative environmental impact derived from bio-fuel
production,supplyandconsumption”–canberatedpositivebasedonBedouet(2015),buthasto
bevalidatedfurtherafterthetechnicalfeasibilityhasbeenproven.
“CriteriaVIII.Makesurethehealthrisksofconsumingthebio-fuelalternativeareatleast75%
reducedwhencomparingtoparaffin19-canberatedpositivebasedonBedouet(2015),atleast
relatedtohouseholdemissions.Thepositivelyinfluencedfire(higherignitiontemperatures)and
poisoningrisk(newpackaging)hastobeassessedbyanexternalorganization.
Concluding,eightoutofeightpre-definedcriteriacanbematchedbySesoloMello´sapproach,as
longastechnicalandeconomicfeasibilityisguaranteed.Basedonthecurrentknowledgebase,six
out of eight criteria can be rated fully positive and two out of eight require additional
measurementandvalidation.
Basedontheresearchobjective,itcanbeestablishedthatthesocialfeasibilityforSesolo
Mello´sapproachisgive,andthecommonpitfallscanbeavoided.Atleastinthecontextof
theKayamanditownshipintheWesternCape,SouthAfrica.
19Inregardtoshackfires,ingestionandindoorairpollution
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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5.2. RelevanceofresultsChapter5.2,addressestherelevanceoftheresultsforthequalitativeresearchandValueProposition
DesignintheBOPmarketcontext.Moreover,fortheoryandpraxisofothercleancookinginitiatives.
This research and Sesolo Mello, show that there is keen interest of BOP communities to
collaborateandco-createtodevelopsolutionsfortheparaffinproblematic.Thismightbeasign,
thatthereispotentialforother,notcookingrelated,challengesaswell.Thecommunitiesshould
be taken seriously andaproduct-user fit shouldbe created together, rather thanaggressively
marketing solutions, that somebody “foreign” thinks are necessary and might not offer the
requesteduserexperience(ExampleofMimiMotoopposedtoCleanCookingRevolution;Arrey
2016).
Thisshowstheimportanceofemotionalandqualitativeinquiryaswell,ratherthanquantitative
measurements(ofcoursethisisnotmutuallyexclusive)(Winkler,2017).
Moreover, there appears tobe a lackof understanding and/or interest of the importance and
potentialimpactofadaptedpackagingsolutions.Notonlyfromtheperspectiveofpackagingsafety
(Taitetal.,2013),butfromacustomerexperiencepointofview.Thisdoesapplyforalternative
fuels, butwill be transferrable to other consumables aswell. Customers at the Bottom of the
Pyramid,atleastintheWesternCapecontext,oftenpurchasetheirconsumablesonadaytoday
basis – in smaller quanitities (Health Promoters SA, 2016). This offers opportunities for co-
creationandnewbusinessmodelsandshouldbefurtherexploredbySesoloMelloand/orother
stakeholders.Moreover,SesoloMello´sapproachoffersanewperspectiveontheimportanceto,
sometimes,developbluntandsimplesolutions–ratherthanovercomplicatedones.
Fromaqualitativeresearchperspective,theresultsofthestudycannotbegeneralized,butthe
mixedmethodsapplied,cancreateanewpointofviewforotherinitiativesaimingtoworkinBOP
markets.ForactorstargetingBOPmarkets,thecustomerfocusshouldbeasimportantasitisin
entrepreneurialventuresine.g.Europe–Userexperienceappearstobekeytoacceptanceand
success. Even though,many large corporates likeUnilever are doing in depths studies on the
hiddenpotentialofBOPmarkets;servingcustomersjobs,painsandgainsshouldbeevenmoreat
the core (UCT Unilever Institute, 2015). However, social, environmental and economic
sustainabilityshouldbeconsideredinanynewventure,beitintheBOPcontextornot–thatis
whatvalueaddstandsfor,andwhatposesimmensechallengestosocialentrepreneurscompeting
withmoreconservativeparadigms(McDonough&Braungart,2002).
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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6. ConclusionsThissectionaimstoconcluderesultsofthediscussion,byaddinglimitationsandfinallydeliver
recommendationsforresearchingeneralandSesoloMello´snextstepsspecifically.
6.1. LimitationsThe scope of this research is focused on the South African context, more specifically on the
KayamanditownshipintheWesternCape.Thus,thereisageographicallimitation,whenaiming
to transfer the developedmodel to other settings (e.g. other cultural background).Moreover,
thereisalimitationinregardtotheresearchmethodology.Sincetheresearcherandtheteamof
SesoloMelloarewhiteEuropeans inapredominantlyblackSouthAfricansetting,partsof the
resultsmightbebiased.Ithasbeentriedtoavoidthisthroughcooperationwithlocallyaccepted
peopletotranslateandconnect.However,itisunlikely,thatmypresencedidnothaveaneffect
on answers given. Thus, this research can be seen as a basis to decide on a good research
methodologyapproachandtrytoavoid,notonlythecommonpitfalls,butthelimitationpitfallsin
thisresearchapproach.
Duetothelimitationsinphysicalmobilitywithinthetownship, ithasbeendifficulttoconduct
many interviews. Even though, the specific amount of customer contacts, required to validate
assumptions is discussed controversially (Doorneweert& Lans, 2015.; Fitzpatrick, 2013). The
sample of 22 workshop participants, 13 other relevant stakeholders and 5 tuck-/spazashop
owners might be too small – especially when aiming to conclude for other Western Cape
townships, thereneeds to be additional interviews and focus groupworkshops.However, the
densityofrepeatinganswershasshown,thatthenarrowviewonthemarketsegmenthasbeen
correct.Moreover,manyofthecollectedresultshavebeenmatchedwithexistingliterature,e.g.
donebyTait et al. (2013),whoconductedextensive researchonparaffin in theSouthAfrican
context.Still, thedataobtainedfromthestudydesign-qualitativeinductiveresearch–willbe
hardtoreplicate;apartfromspeakingwiththesamepeople.Andeventhen,duetothepersonal
influenceontheinterview/conversationsituationanotherresearcherwillmostlikelynotbeable
toobtainthesameresults.Thisposesanimportantquestionforentrepreneurialresearchandthe
inherentconflictofinductive,intuitivedataprocessing-andasystematicandreproducibleway.
The inherent nature of this entrepreneurial research together with Sesolo Mello and Roy
Hendriks;andtherealisticscopeofthismasterthesis;limitedthedatacollectionandconclusion
tocustomervalidationandVPdesignaroundoneidentifiedcustomersegment.Itwouldhavebeen
beneficial to test the biofuel assumptions on a broader level; with more and other potential
customers (e.g. like industry,usingparaffin for industrialheatingprocesses).Moreover, it has
proveddifficult,toassesssocialfeasibility,withoutdoingownvalidationontechnicalfeasibility,
and only being able to do limited validation froman economic perspective.Nevertheless, this
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
46
mighthavebeenapositiveopportunity,toco-createwithusers–withoutbeingbiasedbyalarger
knowledgebaseonwhatispossibleandwhatisnot.
6.1. RecommendationsAkeytake-away,ofthisclosecollaborationworkbetweenasocialentrepreneurialventurelike
SesoloMelloB.V.andtheresearchproject,showsthepotentialandmaybetheresponsibilityof
researchandbusinesstocollaboratetogetherwithlocalcommunitiestosolvelocalchallenges.
This supports the conclusions drawn in this thesis, evenmore. Goal should be to respect and
understandtheBOPcommunitiesaseye-level-partner,indevelopingnewsolutionsandbusiness
models to solve socio-economic and environmental challenges. The same goes for other clean
cookinginitiatives,thatstilloftenfallintothecommonpitfalls.Andwhoknows,whenlistening
closely, theremight be solutions, products andmind-setsworth transferrin to the “developed
world”. Moreover, from a Western European perspective, I can’t perceive how the living
conditionsintheformalandinformaltownshipscanstillbe
thatbad;whileacrosstheroadthereisvineyards,luxury
hotels and art exhibitions on a Western European level.
There isastrongnecessity tochallengetheSouthAfrican
government to work on solutions, especially related to
sanitation, electricity and poverty relief/ economic
empowerment. My impression was, that through
gentrification,theinformalsettlementsarerathergrowing
then shrinking. This should be something to consider as
well,fromtheviewpointofacleancookinginitiative–and
this does require to integrate an approach of local
empowerment,asSesoloMellodoes(Klemzetal.2006).
ItcouldbeestablishedthatSesoloMello´svalueproposition
willnotrequiretoomuchbehavioralchange,willnotbetoo
expensiveanddoesnotestablishalock-in.However,thescopeofthisresearchhasnotbeenon
technical and economic feasibility and scalability, it is required to test the assumptions and
businessmodelinthislight.Thisentailsre-validatingtheavoidanceofthecommonpitfallsand
pre-definedcriteria.
Furtherresearchisrequired,especiallyinabroaderWesternCapecontext–incasetheexpansion
oftheconcepttotheseareasisplanned.Concreteresearchquestionscouldbe:
Ø Inhowfarcanthestatebemobilizedinordertotacklethecleancookingissues?
Ø Ifparaffincan´tbereplaced,whatcanbedonetomitigaterisksintheshort-term?
Ø Realizationofhealthimplicationsandsenseofurgency–versuscostsofchange?
Figure23:JacobandNonzameattheendoftheworkshop(Bussmann,2016)
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
47
Ø IncludeHaddon´sMatrixoninjuryprevention,whencomparingalternativefuelsources
&cookingappliancesinqualitativeresearch,inordertocomparepotentialinterventions
withexistingrisksandpotentialpitfalls(Deljavanet.Al.,2012).
Ø Howtoavoidconfirmationbiasasforeigninitiativeinalocalcontext?
A second direction of research, not only related to paraffin appears to be intriguing as well.
Questionsarisingduringtheresearchprocessare:
Ø Whatistheimpactofcultureandtraditionsonproductdesign,howcanitbeutilizedfrom
alocalentrepreneurialperspective.
Ø Howwould the facilitation of local think-tanks and entrepreneurship centers to drive
bottom-upinnovationbeperceivedindevelopingcountries?Istherearequiredorder–
povertyreliefbeforeinnovation?
Ø Qualitativevsquantitativeresearchincustomerdevelopmentandmarketresearch?
InSesoloMello´scase,notonlythetechnical,economicandenvironmentalfeasibilityshouldbe
furtherpursued,butotherpersonasinabroaderWesternCapecontext.Thepotentialfor“cash-
cow”marketopportunities,likeinindustrialsectors,shouldbeexplored,tobemorefinancially
independentonfeedstockpartnersincreatingrealvalueonatownshiplevel.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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AppendixA. CollectedData
1.1. Interview&FocusGroupDesign
Thisappendixincludesallinterview20andfocusgroupformatsthatwereappliedtoobtaindata.The
tuck-/spazashop interviews and the focus group research have been conducted together with
GeorgeArreyandAmendaMfenyana(HealthPromotersSouthAfrica)inordertranslatequestions
intoXhlosaandreducelanguagebarriers.Interviewcontenthasbeenwrittendowninbulletpoints
andpartlybeenrecorded21.
1.1.1. A semi-structured interview format for philantrophical/social workers, (social)
entrepreneursanddiplomats
Interviewtime:approximately20-30minutes
Ø WhatdoyoulikeaboutSouthAfricaandwhatdon’tyoulike?
Ø Howlongareyou/haveyoubeenlivinghere?
Ø HowdoyourexperienceswithBOPmarkets/SouthAfricantownships/townshipsinthe
WesternCapelooklike?
Ø Whatarethechallengesrelatedtotownships-youexperienced/gottoknowoffinthe
past?
Ø Whatdoyouknowaboutcleancooking/paraffin?
Ø Whatotherinitiativesdoyouknowthatareworkingonpovertyalleviation,sanitation,
energyandcleancooking?Howdidyouexperiencetheirwork?
Ø Whatchallengesofworkingintownshipsdidyouexperienceinthepastandwhatshould
onedo/notdo?
Ø HowdoyouperceivethetownshiphandlingbytheSAgovernment?
Ø Whowouldbeapersongoodtotalktoaboutthistopic?
20InterviewquestionshavebeendesignedinaccordancewithtoTheMomTest(Fitzpatrick,2013)21Recording,aswellas takingpictureshasnotalwaysbeenpossible,since it isnotalwayssafe to takevaluableequipmentintothetownship.
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1.1.2. Asemi-structuredinterviewformatforspaza-/tuckshopowners
Interview time: approximately 15-20 minutes
Ø Whataretheproductssoldmostinyourshop?
Ø Howdoesyourrelationshipwiththecustomerslooklike?
Ø Howdoesyourcontactwithothershopownersandretailerslooklike?
Ø WhatarechallengesyouexperiencedandexperienceinKayamandi/Khayelitsha?
Ø Howdoesyourexperiencewithparaffinlooklike?
Ø Howdoyougetyourparaffin?
Ø Howoftendoyougetnewparaffin?
Ø In the last year,whatwas the lowest, highest and average price you paid per liter of
paraffin?Andsolditfor?
Ø Whatisyourbusiestmonthandcalmestforparaffinsales?
Ø Howmanylitersofparaffindoyousellinyourshopperweek?
Ø Whatistheaverageamountofparaffinthatyourcustomersbuyperpurchase?
Ø Whatisthemale/femaleratioofyourcustomersbuyingparaffin?
Ø Did you ever have someone steal paraffin from you? If so, howmany times has this
happened?
Ø Areyouobligatedtopurchaseparaffinfromspecifictraders,orareyoufreetochoose?
Ø Whowouldbeagoodpersontotalktoaboutparaffinsales?
1.1.3. AfocusgroupformatforcommunitymembersinKayamandi
Workshoptime:max.4hoursParticipants:approx.20stakeholders
Facilitators:3(GeorgeandAmandaofHealthPromotersSA&JacobforSesoloMello)
Generalworkshopstructure:
Firsthalf:
Ø Introductionand“get-to-know”,whichmakesthestructureandexpectationsveryclear
Ø Openbrainstormingoncurrentcookingbehaviors
Ø Discussionaroundchallenges(withjobs,painsandgainsinmind)
Ø Researcher feeds some missing information around healthy cooking into the
brainstorming(informationdensity,dependingonpreviousdiscussion)
15-minute break with informal chat and some beverages and snacks provided.
Second half (during the second half the group will be split in two for more effective idea
development – George and Amanda will respectively supervise the groups and take relevant
notes additional to Jacobs notes and the recording):
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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Ø Brainstormingonpotentialalternativeapproaches(convertingjobs,painsandgainsinto
reality and potential pain relievers, gain creators and products/services to let them
decideuponthestepsthatneedtobetakeninordertoachieveanalternativetoparaffin)
Ø SummarizingtheresultsandpresentingSesoloMello´sapproach
Ø Doafeedbackroundonthecompletediscussionandopenopportunitytoparticipatein
co-creatingtheproductandtestingit(includingasubscriptionlist,withalldatarequired
togetintouch–thisisfacilitatedbyHealthPromotersSAaswell)
Materialsrequired:
Purpose Materials
General -4tablesforstakeholders
-23chairs
Introductorypresentationonsuccesscases - Powerpoint presentation/ flipchart
presentation
Assignmentsstakeholdersgroups -Flipchartoutlining thegeneralstructure
oftheworkshop
-Markers
-Pencils
-Sketchpaper
-Awardforthegroupwiththebestidea
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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1.2. Summariesofinterviews&focusgroup
Thisappendixpresentsthesummariesofdataobtainedduringinterviewsandfocusgroupresearch.
1.2.1. Summariesofsemi-structured interviewsphilantrophical/socialworkers, (social)
entrepreneurs,diplomats
InterviewSummaryOwenMuzambi-Awethu(Johannesburg,3rdDecember15)
AwethuisaSouthAfricanorganizationbasedinJohannesburgwhichincubateslocalentrepreneurs
amongotherstownshipbasedventures.OwenMuzambilivesintheAlexandratownshiphimselfand
hasaleadingroleintheAwethuSchoolsEntrepreneursproject.OwenMuzambisuggestedtotalkto
VulaVuladuringmystayinJohannesburg.
Muzambi describes the recent positive developments towards more entrepreneurs and
especiallyyoungerentrepreneurialmindsbornintownships.Heconnectsthisdevelopmenttoa
mind-setshiftofyoungtownshipinhabitantsandthegrowingmentoringandfinancialsupport
throughorganizationslikeAwethu.Moreover,hementionsthatthebetteraccesstoinformation
via the internet plays an important role in this development. Concerning paraffin use and
awareness of health implications he describes that his family used a paraffin cook stove for
cookingandheatingforalongtimeuntilhisyouth,untiltheyswitchedtoelectricitybasedcooking
duetoavailabilityandbetterfamilyincomethroughhisowngrowingcontribution.Hedescribes
thathismotherhasalwaysbeenresponsibleforpurchasingparaffinandcookingfood.Hismother
stillsometimesusesparaffinforheatingduringwintermonths.Moreover,hedescribesthatthe
familydidnottalkabouthealthimplications,butthatduetotheindoorcookingandalotofblack
smokehehadtocoughsometimesandthepotsandwallswereblack.
InterviewTonyMalgas–VulaVula(Johannesburg,5thDecember15)
VulaVulaisacompanybasedinJohannesburgsuburb“Braamfontain”.Theyprovideindepthmarket
researchfortheircustomersandarespecializedonperformingfocusgroupresearchandin-depth-
interviewsintownshipsettings,sincemostoftheiremployeesdolivethemselvesinthoseareas.
TonyMalgas
- Stressesimportanceoflocalemployeesforfocusgroupresearchduetolanguagebarriers,
“blackandwhiteprejudices”resultingintrustissues
- describesparaffinasanissueaffectingmanyinhabitants
- describesthatthereisnotreallyanaffordablealternative
- describesthathepersonallyisusingelectricitycooking
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InterviewHuubvanZwieten–Cleancookingrevolution(CapeTown,10thJanuary16)
Thecleancookingrevolutionisastart-upfoundedendof2015bythedutchentrepreneurHuubvan
Zwieten.TheyfocusonreplacingparaffinstovesbywoodpelletstovesstartingintheWesternCape.
Aftertheinterview,heconnectedmetoPhilippiVillage,WesternCape.
- Believesthatachangeawayfromparaffinisnecessaryandthatpeoplearereadyforit.
- Employslocalwomenasindependententrepreneurs(socalled“Cleancookingangels”)in
ordertospreadthewordandsellthewoodpelletstoves.
- Describes social entrepreneurship as value creation through empowering people and
describesitasabetterdevelopmenttoolthanclassicalgiveawayapproaches.
- Runsacrowd-fundingcampaigninEuropetosubsidizenewstoves.
- Aimstogenerateprofitsonsellingwoodpelletsasfuelforthestoves.
- Workswithmanylocalstakeholders,likerestaurantsandwinefarmersintheregionto
sponsorstovesfortheiremployees.
- TheAlliance for Clean Cook stoves is apparently going to give awaymany clean cook
stovesduring2016/17buthedoesnotknowdetailsofwhatstoves,whereandwhen.
InterviewGeorgeArrey–CEOHealthPromoters(Stellenbosch,21stJanuary2016)
Health Promotion South Africa Trust is a non-profit organization providing information and
training inhealthandhygiene toprevent illness in the townshipsofSouthernAfrica.Thehealth
promotersarehostingworkshopsindifferentWesternCapetownships,especiallytheKayamandi
township, where their headquarters are located.
GeorgeinthefunctionasCEOofHealthPromoterscommittedtohostmyfocusgroupresearchwith
approximately 30 women in the community center on the 14th February on paraffin, consumer
behavior andwillingness to test alternatives. I am seeing George as an expert on local paraffin
channels, since he ran a spazashop himself and has a vast network of other friends and
entrepreneurslivingintownships.Hebelievesthataonebyonereplacementisabetterapproach
thanchangingstoves.IntheverybeginningGeorgeofferedsafetyconcernsandinsisted,thatIshould
onlywalkinthetownshiparetogetherwithhim.Moreover,Iwasadvisedtonotcarryanyvaluable
materials.
- Townships have never been meant to be a place for proper settlement, during the
apartheiditwasmeantformenwhowouldcomeforfiveyearcontractsfromtheeastern
capetoworkinthewesterncape.Womanhaven’tbeenallowedtolivethere,butstayed
intheeasterncapetodofarmingetcetera.Municipalitiespartlystillseeitintheoldway,
thusnotadaptingthesettlementsforfamily’sneeds.
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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- At the same time the townships are growing, these growing parts are the informal
settlementswhicharenotdesignatedbythemunicipalities/government.Thustherewill
benoinfrastructureuntilthereisanewlawinplace.
- Ingeneral,olderpartsintownshipsaremoredeveloped.InKhayelitschayoucanseethe
roll-overeffect(gentrification)ofgrowingcapetown.
- Newlybuilt,designatedtownshipareasarewelldevelopedfromthebeginningincluding
infrastructuresolargeysersetcetera.
- Atthesametimeinthedevelopedparts,peoplestartedusingelectricityorsometimegas
forcookingandlighting,whiletheyarestillusingparaffininthewinterforheating(inthe
normalparaffinstoves),becauseelectricityistooexpensive.
- Moreover,electricityisnotavailableinunlimitedamounts,manypeoplejustsimplydon’t
have thevoltageorwhatever to runa fridge,washingmachineetceteraPLUS it is too
expensive
- Electricitypriceswentupby15%lately!
- Sothesepeopleusingelectricityforcookingstillneedparaffinforheatinginthewinter...
- ComingtotheamountspeopleuseinKayamandi(formalpart)
o 24000people
o 6-7khouseholds
Electricitystatus Sum
households
Summer Paraffin
[Liters]/hh/day
Winter Paraffin
[Liters]/hh/day
¼ is on full
electricity
1500 Noneorlittle ~0,75-1l
(heating)
½ electricity for
light
3000 ~0,75-1l ~1,5-2l
Noelectricity 1500 ~0,75-1l ~1,5-2l
o Summernoheatingbutcooking–winterhighheatingcost
o Poorestpeople= informalsettlements+cheapestshacks:everythingdepending
onprice
o Avg.people=e.g.brickhouses:careofhealth,cooking+healthy+cheap
o Womendecideoncookingtoolandistheonecookingbecauseofculture
§ Theyneedtoinstigatethebuy
o Money available for electricity/ energy: 3-4 people = 1 household = 300
Rands/month=10R/day–Summerlower–Winterhigher
o Paraffinstove120-200Rands
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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o 1lParaffincurrentlyaround10Rands(heardof1,5lfor13,50Raswell)
§ 1,5l=13,50Rfor3propermeals-2daysofcookinginSummer
§ Inthewintertheycutoncookingtoheatandnotincreasethecost–they
cook one time for 3 days… - in winter 13,50R for one day
(cooking+heating)
o 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost12-14Rands
§ Sometimestheyrunoutofparaffinsupplyinwinter
o Paraffinissubsidizedbythegovernmentbutsoldmoreexpensivethanallowed
- Salarystructures
o Peoplegetpaidmonthlyandpartyweekly
o Somecitizensreceivegovernmentgrants300R/month/person
- Paraffindistribution
o Spazashops(Tuck-shops)makeowndecisionwheretobuy
§ Acentralwholesaler/distributionpoint(majorityinKaymandi)
§ Supplierswhodrivethroughthetownshipsandsellitfromthetruck(sell
itmoreexpensive)
o End-consumersbuyitatSpazashopsforconvenience
§ Theyaremoreexpensive,sothemaingroceriesareoftendoneatbigger
stores/shopsinthecity
o Kayamandi
§ 500tuckshops
§ 14 years ago, Somalians chased away the SA´s entrepreneurs/ owners,
partly through underbidding their prices in response there have been
someSAshopownersretaliating
o Khayelitscha
§ Similarstructuresbutmuchbigger
- Otherinitiatives
o Oftenlackunderstandingoflocalcircumstancesandrequirements
o Areoftennotwillingto listen.Hementionstheexampleofmimimoto,adutch
cleancookinginitiativeaimingtosellwoodpelletstovesintheWesterncape,but
tryingtoconvincecustomersoftheproductasitis,ratherthaninvolvingthemin
thedesignprocess.OpposedtotheCleanCookingRevolution,thatworksclosely
togetherwiththecommunitytodevelopalocalizedapproach
- Feedstock
o Georgedescribesthatwastecooking-oilcanbedirectlysourcedfromsmalltake
awayshopsandhouseholdsinsidethetownships
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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o he believes it would be easy to test alternative products in the Kayamandi
communityandcreateamore“circulareconomy”insidethetownship
Interview Philipp Freiherr von Bodenhausen – HSH Global Software, Rotary Club Cape
Town(25thJanuary2016,CapeTown)
VonBodenhausenhasbeen interviewedmainlydue tohisactivitiesat theRotaryCluband their
involvementintownshipprojects.
- Describesshockingpovertyintownships
- Describesshockingparaffinshackfiresinwintermonthswhere100-1000sofpeopleare
suddenlyhomelessandlosealltheirbelongings
- DescribesthattheRotaryClubisdonatingclothesandrequiredconsumableseveryyear
- MentionstheHealthPromotersSA,aswellasDeepakChopra
InterviewDavidGluckman–DirectorLumkani(21stJanuary2016,CapeTown)
Lumkani is a social entrepreneurial business which has developed an early-warning system to
reduce the damageanddestruction caused by the spread of shack/slum fires in urban informal
settlements.
- Stressesimportanceoflocalsupportandlocalemployeesifyouwanttobesuccessful
asentrepreneurintownships–trustissues
- DescribeshowLumkaniimplementedalotoflocalknowledgeandfeedbackintheir
productdevelopment–veryimportantfortakingownershipandacceptanceofnew
products
- Describesshockingparaffinfiresinwintermonthsandblacksmokeonshackwalls
- Describes that he sees a lot malnurtured children and that some of them have
respiratoryissues
InterviewJuniorAckeemNgwenya–SocialEntrepreneur“Roadless”(26thJanuary2016,
CapeTown)
Ackeem Ngwenya is a South African Entrepreneur and designer who is working on upcycling
resourcesandsimplifyinglifeforlow-incomecitizensinSouthAfricawithhisdesigns.
- Describes that local knowledge and feedback in product development is very
importantfortakingownershipandacceptanceofnewproducts
- DescribesthatheisawareoftheParaffinissuesbutthatmostpeoplejustcareabout
financialimplicationsofcooking
- Womenareresponsiblefortakingcareofthehouseholdandtheirchildren
JacobP.Bussmann ValuePropositionDesign“SesoloMello” September2016
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- Describes that there are many resource flows in the townships which could be
recycled/upcycledlocally,likeplastics,wasteoils,water
- MentionsbaddesignandlowqualityproductionofthePanda-Paraffinstoves–often
madeinChinaeventhoughthereisalocalcompanyproducingparaffinstoves
- Apparently, many illegal fake panda stoves which do not match the government
legislation
- Townshipsaretheuntapped1trillion$market
InterviewLeslieSmiedt–US/InternationalEntrepreneurandProductDesigner/Patenting
expert(2ndFebruary2016,CapeTown)
LeslieSmiedtisaserialentrepreneurandproductdesignerspecializedindesigningandpatenting
products.Sometimeshebuildsyoungteamstotakeononeofhisconcepts.Iinterviewedhimbecause
of his “All-Out”-projectwhichaimsat providing theft-secured fire extinguishers in townships for
immediateresponsetofires.
- Paraffinfiresareabigissue
- Apparently, many illegal fake panda stoves which do not match the government
legislationaresold
- Productdesignshouldbedoneinclosecontactwithlocalcustomersbecausecustomers
are picky and return products that are not working (even though products are not
workingduetousermistake/error)
- Townshipsaretheuntapped1trillion$market
Interview Bonnie Horbach&Thessa Bos - Consul General Cape Town& Deputy Consul
General,KingdomoftheNetherlands(CapeTown,15thFebruary2016)
After the interview, Thessa connected me to Robert Thijssen of the African Center of Frugal
Innovation.
- KnowtheHealthpromotersandthinktheyaretrustworthy
- Describetheparaffinissuesashighontheconsulatesagenda,thussupportinginitiatives
likethecleancookingrevolution
- Describethattheythinkasolutionaimingatjustreplacingafuelonebyonecouldbemore
easily implemented,more beneficial to customers and better accepted than replacing
stoves–comparedtootherinitiativestheyhaveseeninthepast
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InterviewBettinaWaterman–COOGreenDieselCapeTown(CapeTown,10thMarch2016)
Green Diesel is one of South Africa´s first producers of biodiesel from waste cooking oils and
bioethanol. They are predominantly active in the Western Cape and collect waste oils from
restaurantchainslikeKFC.
- Wastecookingoilscanbesourcedaround3-4Randsperliter
- DescribesthatGreenDieselsellsBiodieselat9-10RaliterandBioethanolat25Ra
liter.
- Therearepeoplefromtownshipscomingtobuytheirbiodieselforgenerators.
- Biodieselhasahire flamepoint(>200-degreeC insteadof40),which issafer than
paraffin
- Wastecookingoilsaresourcefromrestaurantsandrestaurantchains,thinkingabout
sourcingitfromtownships
- There are waste cooking oil collection companies who sell the waste oil at
approximately6Rands
- Due to globalization, many collectors sell the waste cooking oils to Europe, e.g.
GermanytomeetEuropesBio-dieselpercentage–thisdrivesupcostsoflocalsupply
InterviewRobert Thijssen of the African Centre of Frugal Innovation (Cape Town, 15th
April2016)
The CFIA is a multidisciplinary research center that studies all facets of Frugal Innovation, a
relatively new concept of innovation focused on the development of high-quality, affordable
products for emerging markets. Herein we cooperate with African, multi-national and
Dutchpartnersfromthefieldsofbusiness,researchandgovernment.
- TryingtoimplementtheIshackwithStellenboschuniversity,asolarshacktoprovide
electricityinthehousehold–problemofstealingintownships
- Paraffinissuesareabigtopiconthegovernmentagenda,butnotreallypursued
- Describesthattheythinkasolutionaimingatjustreplacingafuelonebyonecouldbe
more easily implemented, more beneficial to customers and better accepted than
replacingstoves
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InterviewAmendaMfenyana–HealthPromotersSA(Stellenbosch,20thFebruary2016)
Health Promotion South Africa Trust is a non-profit organization providing information and
training inhealthandhygiene toprevent illness in the townshipsofSouthernAfrica.Thehealth
promotersarehostingworkshopsindifferentWesternCapetownships,especiallytheKayamandi
townshipwheretheirheadquartersarelocated.
- SameasGeorgeInterview
- Electricitystatussymbol–fridgeasluxury–electriccookingasluxury
- Heatingstillwithparaffininmanycases
- Baddiseasesduetoparaffin
Interview Amor Strauss - General Manager Philippi Village (Cape Town area, 22th
February2016)
PhilippiVillageisanentrepreneurialdevelopmentwithinthelow-incomePhilippisuburbofCape
Town,providingaspacewhereentrepreneursandbusinessescangrow;whereresidentscandevelop
skills,andincreasetheiremployability.
- Sinceelectricityismoreandmoredeveloping,theinformal(nottobedeveloped)partsof
thetownshipsmightbemoreinterestingforalternativecookingenergycarriers.
- Insidetownshipstherearedesignatedhousingareaswhichareactivelydevelopedinto
brickhouses,withsanitationandelectricity.
- Khayelitscha
§ 50%ofinhabitantsuseelectricity–sinceitisquiteanoldanddeveloped
township
§ Butthereareareasaswellwhichdon’thaveaccesstoelectricityandmight
nothaveinthenextyearsbecauseofdevelopmentplans
§ Theremightbe5-6peoplelivinginashack
- Local Entrepreneurship is developing in a positive direction. More and more young
townshipinhabitantsaskforworkspaceatPhilippiVillage.
- Oftentopicsaroundrecycling/upcyclingmaterialsfromthetownshiparetreatedbylocal
entrepreneurs.
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1.2.2. Summariesofsemi-structuredinterviewsspaza-/tuckshopowners
InterviewSpazashopOwner#1(Stellenbosch,17thFebruary2016)
OwnsspazashopinKayamanditownship.
- Sothesepeopleusingelectricityforcookingstillneedparaffinforheatinginthewinter...
o Money available for electricity/ energy: 3-4 people = 1 household = 300
Rands/month=10R/day–Summerlower–Winterhigher
o Paraffinstove100-200Rands
o 1lParaffincurrentlyaround10Rands(heardof1,5lfor13,50Raswell)
§ 1,5l=13,50Rfor3propermeals-2daysofcookinginSummer
§ Inthewintertheycutoncookingtoheatandnotincreasethecost–they
cook one time for 3 days… - in winter 13,50R for one day
(cooking+heating)
o 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost12-14Rands
§ Sometimestheyrunoutofparaffinsupplyinwinter
- Customersbuyparaffinperdayratherthaninhigherquantities
- Insummerhesellsparaffinfor11R/l
- Hebuysparaffinfor8.5R/l
InterviewSpazashopOwner#2(Stellenbosch,5thMarch2016)
OwnsspazashopinKayamanditownship.
- 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost14-16Rands
§ Sometimestheyrunoutofparaffinsupplyinwinter
- Hebuysparaffinfromadistributor
- Customersaremainlywomen
- Insummerhesellsparaffinfor10R/l
- Hebuysparaffinfor7.5R/l
- 80%womenbuyathisstore
- Womenbuyaroundaliterinsummerand2iterinwinter–perday
- Themarketisquitecompetitiveandhedoesnotlikeallofhiscolleagues
InterviewTuckshopOwner#1(Stellenbosch,17thFebruary2016)
OwnstuckshopinKayamanditownship.
- 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost12-14Rands
- Hebuysparaffininabiggerstore
- Sometimesherunsoutofparaffinsupplyinwinter
- Customersbuyparaffinperdayratherthaninhigherquantities
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- Thinksparaffinisbadandthereshouldbeanalternative
- Insummerhesellsparaffinfor11R/l
- Hebuysparaffinfor9R/l
- Womenbuyaround2literfor3daysinsummerandnearlydoubleinwinter
- “customerswilldefinitelycomeback,returnbadqualityproductsanddemandrefund”
- mainlywomenpurchaseparaffin
InterviewTuckshopOwner#2(Stellenbosch,5thMarch2016)
OwnstuckshopinKayamanditownship.
- 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost14-16Rands
§ Sometimestheyrunoutofparaffinsupplyinwinter
- Customersaremainlywomen
- Hebuysparaffininabiggerstoreoutsidethetownship
- Doesnotlikeparaffininprivate–preferselectricity
- Insummer,hesellsparaffinfor10R/l
- Hebuysparaffinfor8R/l
InterviewTuckshopOwner#3(Stellenbosch,5thMarch2016)
OwnstuckshopinKayamanditownship.
- 1lParaffininwintermighteasilycost14Rands
- Customersbuyparaffinperdayratherthaninhigherquantities
- Customersaremainlywomen
- Womenbuyaroundaliterperday
- Thinksparaffinisunhealthy,becauseofthecoughing
- Insummer,hesellsparaffinfor10.5R/l
- Hebuysparaffinfor8R/l
- Hedoesnotwanttodisappointhiscustomerswithmissingsupply
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1.2.3. SummaryoffocusgroupresearchinKayamandi
Focusgroupsession(Stellenbosch14thFebruary2016)
(mainextractsfromrecordingandnotes)
Participants:22Women,allmothers,Xhosa
Facilitators:AmandaMfenya,GeorgeArrey,JacobP.Bussmann
FirstHalf:
• Warmwelcomeandopennessfortheexchange
• Cookingbehavior:12Paraffin–5Electricity–5lpg(2platestove9forcooking-allofthem
heatwithparaffininWinter
• Womenagreeonpreferringslow-cookingduetoculture
• Theydescribethecookingprocessasinconvenient,sinceduetotheexpensivefuel,they
oftenhavetocooktogether,cookforafewdaysinadvanceorpartlycannotcookincase
there is no fuel or they don´t have money. Some of them complain about the high
electricitycostsandthehighinitialcostsforlpgandelectricitystoves.
• Theydescribetheproblemofsafetyrelatedtofuelingestionbytheirchildrenandshack
burnsandthebadparaffinsmell.Moreover,theycomplainaboutblackpotsandwalls.
• Somesay,thattheybuyaround10-15literspermonth(insummer)=150-190Rands–
manycalculateinZARratherthaninlitersorsomeofthemdonotreallycalculatetheir
fuelconsumption.
• Somebuyitatspaza-/tuckshopsbutarenothappywiththequality.So,someofthemgo
outsidethetownshiptobuyitinwholesalestores.Itispackagedin1,5and10literbottles
andcanisters.Theysplititupaccordingly.
• Paraffinperception.
o Smokeinthefood
o Blacksmokeinthehouse
o Havetobepresenttocook,becausestovecouldfalloverandcan´tbesaved
o Childrengetsick–arecoughing
o Childrenmightdrinkit–mostofthemstoreincoldbeveragebottles
o Paraffincreateslungpain
o Fearofexplodingstoves
• Mostofthemagree,thatthereisnootheroption–electricityistooexpensiveortheyare
notabletoconnecttothegrid(informalsettlements).Thosewhohavelpgorelectricity,
stillseeparaffinasagoodoptionandnecessaryforthewinterheating.
• Thewomendescribeparaffinqualityasabigissue–thereis2typesofparaffin.
o Guysdrivingaround(worst)andtuck-/spazashops(better):badsmell
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o Wholesale/shoppingcenter(best):lesssmell(perceptionis:“goodparaffin”)
§ Theydon’tknowwherethedifferencebetweenthetwois.Thepriceisthe
same.
§ Onaveragepricesareexplainedataround10R/literinsummer
§ And15R/literinwinter
• Womendon’thaveabudget,buythingswhentheyhavemoney
• Cookingistooexpensive!
• Traditionalfoodcookingtakeslong-time->toomuchfuel
• Heatingisexpensiveinwinter–thus,sometimesnoheating
• Sometimesnosupplyavailable–onereason iselectricityand lpgheatersswitching to
paraffinforheatinginwinter
§
SecondHalf:
• Collaborativeideastoimprovethesituation:
o Havecheaperfuelandsteadysupply–oracheaperenergysourceingeneral
o Electricitywouldbegreatforcooking,butthereisnoimaginationforheatingyet
o Locktheparaffinbottletight,sochildrencannotopenit
o Clearlylabelbottlesorcontainersthatcontainparaffin
o Donotre-useeverydayhouseholdbottles,suchasmilkorjuicebottles,tostore
paraffin–perhapscreateanewbottle
o Makeagood,safe,reusablebottlefor1to5litersofparaffin(diverseopinions)
o Storeitawayfromthereachofchildren
o Havealongerlastingfuel–moreefficientfuel,“lesssmelly”fuel
o Retrofittheexistingstovestomakethemcleaner
o Distributealternativestovesforfreeormakethemcheaper–butstillopposition
forwoodpellets–toocomplicatedanddifferentcookingstyle
o Useafunnelwhendealingwithparaffin,awayfromopenfiresorstoves
o Preferablycookanddealwithparaffininanareawherethereisafreeflowofair
–ventilationinshacks?
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o Usesand,toputoutfires
• SesoloMelloiswellperceivedandrelatedquestionsareansweredbyJacob.20outof22
womensigneduptoparticipateinco-creatingtheproductandtestingitinthefuture
• Theyexpressedgratefulnessfortheopportunitytodescribetheirdailychallenges
• Statements:
o BikaneNulovuyo(Kayamandi):“Ialwaystrytostoreparaffinawayfrommychild.
Ialwaysstoreitonashelf,butIuseanoldcolddrinkbottle“
o Dobtien Dadis (Kayamandi): “I don´t like the black smoke in my house while
cooking.TheWallsandpotsareblack”.
• Follow-upideasofHealthPromotersSA:
o Doanexperimentwithmonitoringavailablebudget, sinceresultsappear tobe
quitevague.
o Doregularhealthworkshopsoncookingorevencreatecookingworkshopswith
livecookingonalternativestoves–withalternativefuels,inordertoprovethe
effectsandeducatepeopleonrighttreatmentoffuelsetcetera