From Sandhya:
The focus of today’s activities revolved around developing
our business plans and pitching our suggestions and research for a panel of
workers from Opportunity International, an international microfinance group
that works with Nicaraguan artisans through its Ojala program. We closed the
evening with a group question-answer session with seasoned Central American
journalist and Boston-native Tim Rogers.
We spent about an hour working with our Universidad
Americana matchups, perfecting our presentations for Opportunity International
. Mildred, a local OI employee was available during this hour to talk to the
groups and answer any of our Nicaragua-specific questions. I had a particularly
nice time talking with her, learning about how different the Caribbean and
Pacific coasts were. I was especially astounded to hear that the fastest way to
access the predominantly tribal and Afro-Caribbean coast was by air or sea,
given the poor condition of the inland roads and the density of the jungle
towards the Caribbean coast.
My group did a general overview of microfinance, covering
the basic types of loans, lending systems, benefits and downfalls of the
systems and need assessment. The need assessment and loan screening process is
the most difficult part of issuing micro loans, in my opinion. The definition
of poverty varies so much from country to country; its seems almost oxymoronic
to try and create a quantifiable system of measuring poverty when true poverty
is not only measured by materiality and infrastructure but by the spirit of a
community and the perception of “need.”
Our second presentation was on how OI could improve its
operation in the US. Amiel, Carmen and Pratik went further and actually
identified a successful business model, Ten Thousand Villages, which had the
same type of supplier and consumer base. One of their suggestions, which
definitely appealed to me as a supply chain major, was a shift in shipping
patterns and inventory management. To mirror Ten Thousand Villages, the group
suggested that OI reduce the number of shipments it makes to its American
retailers and increase the size of its shipments. This would save shipping
costs and reduce the time spent collecting and tallying inventory before it was
shipped abroad. The group also suggested cause-based marketing that would
appeal to consumers’ social consciousness. To implement this strategy, they
suggested featuring one artisan/community on OI’s outlets’ websites every week.
Simultaneously, the group suggested featuring a certain product at a markdown.
By providing a detailed description of where the product had come from and who
has made it, the advertisement campaign would have a more personable and
intimate appeal.
The third presentation to OI was by Dillon, Dipti and
Chelsea. The group talked about creating a solid business plan and identified
forces and considerations OI would have to make as it expanded its network and
Nicaragua. The main take-away points from this business plan were to create a
3-5 year outlook into the future in which the artisans could factor in the
effects of their investments and project cash flows. I also thought their
application of the four main forces of marketing (product, price, place,
distribution)to the artisans’ business structure was important; a nuance of
these individually operated small businesses is that they can
price-discriminate so easily and a mark-up or a mark-down can be applied within
seconds of meeting a customer. The group also touched on defining success
through timelines, measurable goals, strategic alliances and sales forecasts.
Some of the risks that should be factored into any business plan are the
political, legal, environmental and demographic forces of a region.
The final group presentation for Opportunity International
was by Stephanie and Nikita. The girls talked about a client growth assessment
tool to identify current and future growth opportunities. The questionnaire for
current growth opportunities would consider the history of the business, the
time period and timeline for production, the creativity capacity of the artisan
and how open the business is to change. Mildred from OI found the questionnaire
for the business expansion in the future especially important because it would
give OI a good picture of what kind of prospects the business owner had for
his/her business, beyond what OI thought it could do to help the business.
Time Rogers, a foreign correspondent from the Miami Herald, came
in around five to speak to us about his impressions on Daniel Ortega’s
inauguration, which he had covered the previous day. I thought it was strange
that the prince of Spain should attend the inauguration of a country that is
trying to revive its leftist anti-colonial past, especially in the company of
Hugo Chavez who is infamous for having publically insulted the former prime
minister of Spain. It was funny to hear that Ortega insulted Ahmedinejad,
perhaps his most high-profile guest, by suggesting that Israel should give up
its nuclear weapons in exchange for Iran ending its nuclear programs and
changing its stance towards Israel. Mr. Rogers then accompanied us to dinner at
the Garden Cafe. I ended the night exploring the main square of Granada a bit,
and managed to bargain 75 Córdobas off of a bracelet and a pair of earrings.
