I Love the Rain in Africa!

Never complain about the rain in Africa! We are a continent of extremes. No power, too much rain, there’s no shortage of choices. And so it was on Day 4 at Jabavu with our featured image showcasing the rain.

Entrepreneurship is all about developing business ideas, identifying gaps in the market, taking calculated risks, and capitalising on them.

Analysing the market

A fundamental part of that process is analysing the market and understanding the needs and wants of customers. To help budding entrepreneurs understand the market better, day 4 focused on market analysis and the 7 Ps of marketing.

Building upon one of the opportunities identified by the class in the previous week, an app listing rooms for rent in Kasi, the market was analysed along the following dimensions – market size and potential, competition, customer demographics and psychographics, market trends, and regulations.

While the competition from the incumbent classified listing apps and property listing apps was acknowledged the consensus that an app focused upon Kasi to the exclusion of the traditional suburbs would capture the imagination and support of landlords in Kasi as well as township residents looking for a room to rent.

Building the 7 Ps

Of the 7 Ps: product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence; pricing and the monetization of the app attracted the most attention.

Why would a landlord listing a room for rent pay a listing fee when they could list their room for free on any one of the many classified listing sites available in the SA market?

The answer to this question was to be found in the Lean Canvas where the debate centred upon the unique selling proposition / unfair advantage blocks of the canvas. The focus upon Kasi that the app would bring along with a listing page that talks to the location and amenities accessible by the renter would add value to the transaction beyond what the market offered currently.

Alternative monetization strategies included advertising on the app by local brands that had a strong presence in the township.

New ways of thinking

Being right or wrong was not the issue. 

The class was learning how to analyse ideas by applying the tools and techniques learned and practised in class. A new way of thinking, in a structured manner, about their business ideas that in the past were evaluated on gut feel alone.