Tag: Solutions

Signs of Global Sanity? Sharing of Innovative Agricultural Solutions to Help Farmers and Consumers

Agriculture is the direct or indirect livelihood of three quarters of the world’s poor, who live in rural areas.

The 2008 food crisis and the subsequent global financial crisis, showed the extreme vulnerability of developing countries to fluctuations in food prices and supplies.

But the impact was not only on developing world farmers – it affected consumers world-wide in food scarcities, eg rice in Thailand, and higher prices.

In Nov 2008 Egypt – UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) sponsored the first ever international conference on Sharing Innovative Agribusiness Solutions – From Farms to Markets: Providing Know-how and Finance.

If the conference activities can be sustained it’s an initiative that would potentially benefit small farmers in developing world, consumers everywhere and the planet as a whole.

“Our vision is sustainable development”

In his opening speech Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, Founder of SEKEM said that Sustainable development could satisfy our needs and aspirations without decreasing the chances for future generations……but that we need to learn the basic principals of ecology.

“….. Being ecologically literate means understanding the principles of organisations of ecological communities including our educational com¬munities, political and business communities. So that principles of education, management and politics include the principles of ecology.”

A little about SEKEM

In 1977 the economic and social hardship of his countrymen galvanised Social Entrepreneur and medical doctor Dr Abouleish into buying 70 hectares of desert scrubland, 60 km north-east of Cairo and close to the River Nile.

He called the new experimental farm there SEKEM – from Ancient Egyptian: “vitality from the sun”.

SEKEM was able to transform the desert into a showcase example of sustainable agriculture and a healthy ecosystem through biodynamic farming methods.

Its efforts in organic cultivation led to the conversion of the entire Egyptian cotton industry to organic methods.

Starting off with a dairy and crop farm, SEKEM soon began to produce herbal teas and to market its biodynamic produce in Europe. This initiative helped other farms in Egypt to switch to biodynamic farming. A part of its mix of activities the farm uses bio-fertilizers.

The 2008 Cairo conference brought together over 400 agribusiness stakeholders from more than 65 countries, including representatives of private and public institutions (technical and financial), international organizations, donor countries, civil society, universities and research institutions to share innovative agribusiness solutions

Topics covered supply/value chains, market access and linkages, Compliance with standards and conformity assessment, Technology and value addition and Innovative forms of financing

Participants were enthusiastic about working together to achieve change. central to the debate were “Innovation and opportunity”, “partnerships based on trust” and “the need for commitment”, also the need for a holistic approach to agriculture taking into account the needs of specific groups, and avoiding the mistake of thinking that “one size fits all”.

Four key issues were identified:

1. Financial: small producers need finance to bridge the gap between initial costs and eventual benefits to help them enhance their productivity and agricultural product distribution.

2. Up to date information: small farmers and SMEs need access to up-to-date market information to enable them to compete effectively in local, regional and international markets.

One example cited was an Indian project, an e-Choupal (“choupal” means gathering place in Hindi) programme that places computers with internet access in rural farming villages; e-Choupals acted as both a social gathering place for exchange of information and an e-commerce hub.

3. Investment in supply-chain infrastructure: Governments, the food industry, agribusiness and consumer goods retailers need to invesr in supply-chain infrstructures, which have a long economic life.

e-Choupal had a role here too: Out of an initial effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp and other cropping systems in rural India grew a highly profitable distribution and product design channel for the company – an e-commerce platform and also a low-cost fulfilment system focused on the specific needs of rural India

4. Use of technology: using technological know-howfor improving yields, includingbio-fertilizers applied as soil or seed inoculants and foliar spray, reduction of post-harvest losses through better product preservation techniques, quality preservation processes and innovative ingredients to reduce microbial and toxin contamination, increased cost-efficiency related to local production, collective brands and quality criteria enhancement to strengthen small-scale producers, packaging technology and efficient logistics.

A range of follow-up activities was reportedly initiated, including a new project (supported by the Italian Development Cooperation) to extend ETRACE(UNIDO’s Egyptian Traceability Centre for Agro-Industrial Exports) activities and help other developing countries to establish similar centres.

Further follow-up initiatives will focus on promotional and outreach activities such as the development of an interactive networking and matchmaking platform for agribusiness practitioners, which will allow continuous sharing of more innovative solutions and best practices with more participants and thus foster more business and development partnerships

If the momentum from this conference can be sustained the future could be brighter for all of us, consumers and farmers alike.

Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers

Problems Encountered by Nigerian Entrepreneur and Possible Solutions

The success enjoyed by most industrialized countries can be attributed to the role played by technological innovation and entrepreneurship, both of which continue to drive their economies today. These two factors are seen as key components for the industrialization and development of African countries. The Nigerian government has recognized this fact and has taken measures aimed at promoting and cultivating the entrepreneurial culture in our country. Through the Nigerian Investing Commission (NIC), our government has in the past introduced a policy that required university students regardless of their area of study to take courses in entrepreneurship. While our government is putting extra effort in promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria, there are still a number of problems that a Nigerian Entrepreneur faces. Below are some of the problems encountered and possible solutions.

* Diversifying the Economy

Though our country’s economy has over the last couple of decades relied heavily on its oil production, we must find ways to diversify our economy and avoid the over reliance on oil. Like other developing countries, Nigeria is facing an increase in its unemployment rate that is now at 6 % and is on the increase, with many graduates finding it hard to get jobs while most of those who get jobs are underemployed. This coupled with the global financial crisis in which massive numbers of employees are being laid off; entrepreneurship is seen as an essential key if we want our country to achieve its ambition of being an industrialized nation by the year 2020.

* Unfriendly Business Climate

Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria requires great determination as practicing and potential business owners are faced with countless challenges. Nigerian’s business climate should be made welcoming to those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The role played by these MSMEs should not be underestimated since majority of the thriving businesses fall in this category and for us to achieve our goals, adequate attention and support must be directed towards these institutions. To be able to help and protect entrepreneurs, we must first have a clear idea of the challenges facing our entrepreneurs in their pursuit of making Nigeria a prosperous country.

* Lack of Credit Facilities

Potential Nigeria entrepreneurs go through many hardships when trying to access credit for their businesses. Though there is a wide range of financial institutions that offer business loans, they usually charge high interest rates deterring aspiring entrepreneurs. For instance, major banks have pegged their lending rates to as much a 28% deterring potential entrepreneurs who are mostly low income earners. Other obstacles faced by our entrepreneurs include severe collateral conditions set by banks and other lending institutions. Though our government through the Central Bank and the Banker’s Committee came up with guidelines requiring banks to set aside 10% of their profits for funding MSMEs, majority of these banks have been reluctant to do so. This has led to the emergence of micro-finance institutions which though helpful are not sufficient for meeting the financial requirements.

* Multiple Taxation

One other sensitive challenge that is encountered by majority of Nigerian entrepreneurs is multiple taxation. Although we have a responsibility of funding the government through paying taxes, most of the taxes charged on entrepreneurs are not lawful and have the effect of increasing the cost of doing business. Although Nigeria’s Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) has approved only 39 taxes and levies, there are over 500 various levies and taxes that are imposed by state and local government agents. These taxes are questionable and in the case where they are genuine, they are mostly duplicated and this has the effect of increasing the cost of doing business.

* Poor State of the Country’s Infrastructure

The state of our infrastructure can be deemed to be a nightmare to both entrepreneurs and the rest of the country’s population. With the existing infrastructure deteriorating and in some places it is non-existent; the cost of doing business has tremendously gone up. The state of the country’s road network makes it hard for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to transport harvested produce from farms to processing factories. According to a report released by the World Bank, Nigeria’s pace of socioeconomic development and growth is way below what we can achieve. This is mostly because of the erratic supply of electricity which has negatively affected many businesses. The outcome of power problems has prompted entrepreneurs to generate power through expensive ways that have in turn increased their production costs and made their products uncompetitive due to high prices. Our government should put policies in place to perk up Nigeria’s infrastructure so as to promote successful entrepreneurship.

* Failure to Adapt to the Changing Business Environment

Majority of those who venture into MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) do so because of their need to make money and in almost all cases, such entrepreneurs lack relevant and adequate information about the businesses they engage in. In the event where problems arise, most of these business owners lack sufficient problem solving skills and in the end they find it hard to survive. With the telecommunications sector having grown by about 206.5 % between 2002 and 2004 and is continually expanding, Nigeria has become one of the fastest growing ICT market not only in Africa but also worldwide. This presents a challenge to entrepreneurs who have not embraced technology, and who are now finding it hard to remain relevant in the competitive business environment. For existing and potential MSMEs to survive and be relevant, we must adapt to the changing business environment and embrace technology.

* Addressing the Challenges

Solving the problems encountered requires a combined effort by both the entrepreneur and all concerned stakeholders. As Small and medium business owners, we need to increase our knowledge and skills of the market by acquiring relevant and up to date education particularly in your area of business. Our entrepreneurs need to collect information about their target market by seeking help from consultants and professionals who have experience in the particular market.

One strategy that can be used by our small and medium entrepreneurs to remain relevant and competitive in today’s market is to come up with fresh and creative ideas of doing business. Due to the increase in technology, business is fast changing, thus our MSMEs need to constantly re-invent the way they do business.

There is a great need of creating a strong link between MSMEs and supporting institutions if Nigeria is to fully benefit from such businesses. Though some financial institutions are still reluctant to provide financial assistance to MSMEs, there are some that give out loans at reasonable rates provided the business sounds viable. The key challenge is for our entrepreneurs to prepare sound business proposals. For our country to achieve its goals and stop relying on oil alone, we need to focus much attention needs on the private sector and our government must create a conducive atmosphere for such businesses to thrive and drive the country towards economic prosperity.

Cartesis Business Performance Management Solutions

Most financial executives use some form of rolling forecast to guide their financial planning and budgeting efforts, but do so in rudimentary fashion, employing mostly manual business performance management processes and spreadsheets that inevitably fail to deliver the accuracy and manageability they are seeking.

A recent survey of more than 320 senior finance executives in North America and Europe showed that over 68% of companies have developed and deployed rolling forecasts. However, most of these executives still feel they need to improve the accuracy of their financial forecasts as well as the time it takes them to produce these forecasts.

The study, conducted in September 2006 by CFO Research Services (Boston, MA) and Cartesis also showed that:

  • Companies need better forecasting methods, which solutions such as Cartesis Business Performance Management software can provide. These solutions allow the expanded use of operational drivers, better what-if scenario creation and increased collaboration throughout the forecasting process
  • Finance executives — hampered by a shortage of time and resources — endorse an incremental approach to changes in their forecasting technology and business processes

Forecasting With a Moving Horizon

The manner in which a company forecasts its financial and operational activities is a key factor in how efficiently and effectively that company can allocate its resources, make investments, guide shareholders and achieve and measure results. Finance executives in the survey agreed that better forecasting would lead to tangible benefits, such as reduced risk and increased profitability.

The survey also showed that two-thirds of respondents who use rolling forecasts utilize a basic 12-month time horizon, when 15 months or more is actually preferred. And nearly one-half of respondents use only spreadsheets for financial forecasting, while an additional 21 percent use custom applications built around spreadsheets. Less than one-fourth use a dedicated financial planning, budgeting and forecasting application, such as Cartesis Planning, or a fully integrated business performance management software solution, such as Cartesis 10.Steps to Better Budgeting and Rolling Forecasts

In order to help companies address the financial forecasting and budgeting challenges discussed above, Cartesis recommends a pragmatic approach. The approach ensures that early wins will save time and money, which can be later “spent” on additional improvements that create long-term value.

Quick wins through automation — The use of planning and forecasting applications, such as Cartesis Planning, enables companies to automate processes and reduce reliance on spreadsheets for immediate benefits.

Ease of use as a priority — Rolling forecasts are simple to create, even for multi-year horizons; forecast templates adjust to each business unit; and benchmarking and what-if analysis are easy, enabling managers to better predict and measure business performance.

Collaboration with flexibility and control — Collaboration, made easier with workflow management, results in forecasts that are more accurate and aligned with the corporate strategy.

Adaptive financial planning for continuous change — Adaptive planning involves continuously improving the planning process to capitalize on previous gains.

Planning To Start New Online Business – E-Commerce Web Solutions!

Planning, We Don’t Need No Stinking Planning!

Business planning is another step in the process of developing your business that many people would rather skip all together.

“Planning? We don’t need no stinking planning!”

If you’re not familiar with the line then you’ve been deprived of a comedic masterpiece, but I digress. The point is that many of us prefer to “do” vs. “plan.” Nevertheless, it is sometimes necessary to bite the bullet and do some planning. This is one of those times.

A business plan serves as the roadmap for your business and as its primary sales tool for financing. Even if you have no intention of going to a bank to get startup funds for your e-commerce business, you should still develop a business plan.

A business plan will help you to develop a real course of action to get your business off the ground. Most business plans contain the following:

Executive Summary – discusses the high level goals, mission statement and keys to success for the business.

Startup Costs – a list of the initial costs to open the business.

Product Overview – what are you selling and why will it work?

Market Analysis – find out who are your target customers and how will you attract them?

Competitive (SWOT) Analysis – determine your competitors and how will you beat them?

Sales Strategy – how will you sell your products?

Sales Projections – how much do you expect to sell in the next 3 years?

Website Development Plan – how will you get online? Who will make it happen?

Operational Plans – Who will run the business? How will it operate?

Financial Plan – When will you break even? What’s the projected profit/loss for 3 years? Cash flow? Balance sheet?

Seems like a lot, right? Sure the concept can be overwhelming, but you don’t need to start from scratch either. What if I told you there was a place to go and find over 500 different sample business plans you could use to model for your own business? Okay, so there is and I’m telling you.

I know you’re ready to skip ahead to the next chapter and avoid this important but intimidating step in the launch of your business. Don’t do it. Even if you’re not planning on seeking financing from traditional sources like a bank, this is a valuable process that will help you understand more about running a business.

If you are going to seek financing from a bank or even mom and dad, having a solid business plan will make you more confident. Would you invest in a business that didn’t even have a plan?

Innovative Internet Marketing Solutions: 5 SEO Tricks to Rank Highly On Google

Within the last few decade the web and the incredible amount of online money making chances took the globe as we know it by surprise. You will discover individuals making 6 and even 7 figure earnings because of running their own online businesses.

The world wide web shows a serious possibility to profit if you are ready to work hard and wise. In addition, a lot of buyers now use Google as their number one resource for pre-purchase study and as a result ranking high on the search engines like Google is becoming a bigger factor than ever.

On this edition of my impressive online marketing remedies series I have to discuss along with you 5 tips that have helped me to rank my websites high on the search engines like google.

Content is king: In 1996 Bill Gates posted an article called “Content is King”. In this article Mr. Gates points out precisely how in the future decade the companies who have the best and the most content could be the ones to reign over the online markets.

I’ve come across sites which have amazing design, structure, or owners and they fail to capture the readers attention simply because they lack related good quality articles. While is true which online visitors browse the web to find products and services for their problems, they also love to find out more on how a selected services or products may help them.

Larger low quality traffic normally means much less sales: I know cases of web sites that have over 10,000 visitors per month and still rarely make any money. Why does this happen? As the traffic these types of internet sites are getting is what is called junk traffic or untargeted traffic.

What’s the point of owning a store in the heart of Time’s Square if your target audience never goes there? You’ll definitely get a lot of individuals walking by but your revenue can be really poor.

Review your competitors’ SEO campaigns: You need to remember to always maintain it ethical but business is business and to get an edge you need to understand your competitors’ marketing plans. The fact is that if your competitors are much better and convincing customers that their products and services are wonderful, you won’t get any business even if your merchandise is more preferable.

That is why I would recommend to always evaluate your competitors’ keywords and research their marketing plan. Every marketing plan has flaws and if you can locate those weaknesses in your competitors’ promotional efforts you may be able to have an edge.

Have desired goals and a plan to get to those targets: Goal setting is supremely essential for marketing success. Promoting your business without a clear list of goals is like soaring a plane without a destination. You must know exactly where you would like to go and how you will get there.

Each and every successful online marketer has defined his/her goals and then implemented a well thought marketing plan to allow them to achieve those goals. SEO is not a “one size fits all” solution and what works for other websites may not work for you.

Figure out how to find keywords that can be monetized: There are several keywords that generate higher conversion rates. Many of these keywords are long tail keywords, keywords which are specific to product types (or even names), and keywords that show that the consumer is comparing product.

Bear in mind, search engine optimization doesn’t occur overnight and to reach the first page of Google you need to be consistent, work hard, and above all work smart. I hope you liked my innovative internet marketing solutions series.

To your achievement,

Marcello Ducille

Professional Online Entrepreneur/Senior Forex Trader

Top Mobile App Development Solutions Platform

The inception of mobile devices and the subsequent exponential growth in the field of mobility has led to an immense opportunity and challenge both at the same time for companies, organizations and institutions. The mobile world brings with it a huge opportunity in terms of the increased reach that you can have for your products and services. The biggest challenge is to be able to provide a great user experience while being able to sell your product or service efficiently.

The mobile app for your company or organization will become your best tool to market your products or services. Depending on the domain your organization works in, your app can be either the first touch-point between you and your potential customer or can be a platform where your customers can purchase your products or services. Whatever the case, you as an organization need to make a transition towards a mobile mindset to keep your business relevant in today’s era.

There can be various factors that come into play when deciding the way forward:

1. Which mobile platform should we get our Mobile App development done?

The answer to this question will depend on who your target audience is. It is best to get some background work done to understand the device preferences (and thereby the platform) of your existing & potential customers. Based on this you can decide if you need your app to be on a single platform (say Android) or multiple platforms (say Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry).

2. Should we go for native app development or use a cross platform development?

Native apps are usually preferred if you have sufficient budget allocated for your mobile app development solution. Some of the reasons for this choice are –

  • The taste in terms of UI/UX of an Android user is different than an iPhone user. Also, the designing standards vary from one platform to another.
  • It is easier to implement hardware related functionality efficiently. E.g. gestures or geo-location.
  • Performance is better due to faster execution of code.

On the other hand, if you have limited budget but would like to target users of multiple platforms and are OK to trade-off slightly between performance and cost, cross platform application development is the way to go. With improved tools like PhoneGap & Ionic, the overall performance of these apps have also enhanced over time.

3. What should be the UI/UX for the app be?

This will depend on the nature of your business and what you want to achieve through the mobile app. As a thumb rule though, your app should be easy to use, engaging and have a clean design.

4. How do we publicize our app so that we can have maximum outreach?

You can send out e-mailers, publicize on your social media pages or send messages to your existing customers. There are professionals who can help you with marketing of your app, especially to reach out to potential customers.

5. Who should we hire for the Mobile App Development Solution?

There are many companies who provide custom mobile application development solutions. It is best to hire a company that has got enough experience and expertise in developing mobile apps, preferably in your domain of work. It is also recommended to go for a company that also provides other related services like web design and development, digital marketing, app marketing and so on. This ensures that you can have all your work done through one company and don’t have to deal with separate vendors.

Online Business App Solutions: Microsoft Office 365 Vs Google Docs

2011 was a good year for web-based “software as a service” suites. Although these aren’t new technologies, now more than ever people seem interested in using and taking advantage of the cloud and of the cloud computing document-sharing services. If in January 2011, Google has announced that it will offers its users free data storage of files up to 1GB for Google Docs, on June the same year, Microsoft released to the public its “commercial software plus services” called Microsoft Office 3665.

Both services include a suite of desktop apps which can be accessed and delivered over the Internet, and provide users with mobility and immediate access to their documents no matter where they, as long as they have a compatible device and an Internet connection.

Such tools address mainly businesses, but also users who work in a team and for whom collaboration tools are an essential part of their work. In order to have an optimal communication between users, such a communication tool needs to be compatible with all the hardware and software components of all members. So it’s essential to know what devices (PC, smartphones, tablets, etc.) your colleagues use and what software products. The best approach would be that the entire team uses the same web-based software service and avoid working across multiple hardware and software platforms.

In terms of familiarity and wider compatibility, Microsoft Office 365 is the best solution, but if your team prefers online ease of use, Google Docs offers a cheaper alternative. Regarding the user’s experience, Microsoft solution relies on locally installed copies of Office (instead of web apps), while Google moves the entire action into browsers. So let’s see what these web-based office suites have to offer:

• Microsoft Office 365 comes with: email, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Lync and calendars. On the other hand Google Docs provides users with: email, Word processor, Drawing app, Presentations, Online spreadsheet

• In terms of price, Google Docs is free (including Gmail, Google Talk, and other Google products), however for $5 per user, per month ($50 per year) you can get Google Apps which comes with Google Docs + support + extra storage + SLA (service level agreement). Microsoft comes with a more intricate license plan which includes various options, such as Plan E4: for $27 a month you get full Microsoft Office license + enterprise voice capability, etc.

• Docs suite is quite easy to install, and all the information you need is on the Google site. We cannot say the same thing about Office 365, as you need to install a browser plug-in, as well as Microsoft Lync.

• Docs is compatible with most important browser, while Office 365 doesn’t support Google Chrome.

• Both tools have an easy to use UI, however Office 365 offers a familiar touch: you’ll be working with documents (as usual), but these will be saved to Office 365 and not on your local machine.

• When it comes to spreadsheets, Google let’s you right-click in the app and resize hide/unhide rows. Also, Google spreadsheets provide more advanced features, such as: charting, image embedding, pivot tables, etc.

• On the other hand, when it comes to presentations/PowerPoint, Office 365 has a clear advantage: the web app offers the same experience and results as the desktop application

Google Docs has the advantage that’s easy to install, is inexpensive, and is compatible with almost any device with a browser. So no matter if you work from your home PC which has installed Linux, or away, from your Android smartphone, the experience will be the same. However, Docs has a series of limitations as well, such as: flawed integration with local apps, scarce compatibility with PowerPoint files, etc.

Microsoft Office 365, although is more expensive, provides a complete set of advanced features, as well as full compatibility with offline Office apps.

So, I can’t really say that one tool is better than the other, but that both have a series of advantages as well as limitations, and that before making your choice you should first take into account the needs and requirements of your team.

Exit mobile version