Kingdom Business Plan and Summary February 2011 Name: Rukaya Address : Sang Business Name and Address: Suhidoo (Peace) Executive Summary Business Description Rukaya sells clothing fabric by carrying it on her head to surrounding villages and selling at the Sang market once every six days. She obtains the fabric by traveling to Togo, a bordering country to Ghana. She would like a loan to buy additional clothing and begin buying sandals and earrings. Rukaya is the wife of Pastor Neindoo. They have one child, Daniel. They moved to Sang from Sambu so that Neindoo can pastor the church there. Kingdom Impact Rukaya speaks to customers about the differences between Christianity and Islam. She and her husband do outreach. Rukaya also sings at church and provides food and clothing to the poor. Rukaya does not work on the Sabbath. Rukaya gives 2 GHS per month to the church. In addition, when she is at the Sang market selling, selling in the villages, or buying in Togo and does not participate in the Muslim prayers, she is often asked to explain why. This gives her the chance to share the Gospel. Investment Required Rukaya needs 806GHS ($568USD) to increase the amount of fabric she can buy during a trip to Togo by 50% (from 40 to 60 pieces) which will cost 450GHS, purchase 24 pairs of sandals for 96GHS, and 60 pairs of earrings for 210GHS. 50GHS of the 806GHS will be used for transportation to the capital of Togo. Loan to be paid back in 12 installments of 77 GHS over a 1 year period. First payment to be due at the end of the 2 nd month (April 2011). 1
Business Plan Business Overview Business Description Products and Services Rukaya travels to a border town in Togo once a month to purchase 40 pieces of fabric across three different levels of quality. This travel takes one day and costs 10 GHS. The additional capital will be used to purchase 20 additional pieces of fabric, as well as, begin selling sandals and earrings. If she travels further to the capital of Togo she can receive better pricing and a wider variety of fabric and accessories. However, this trip costs 60 GHS (an increase of 50 GHS) and takes two days (1 extra day). The reason for the increase can be attributed to the current trip being similar to traveling from Yendi to Tamale and the new trip to the capital of Togo (Lome) being more similar to a trip from Yendi to Accra. Rukaya plans to purchase 15 pieces more of the most expensive fabric for a total of 20 pieces, she will not buy any additional pieces of the middle quality fabric (leaving it at 20 pieces), and will buy 5 additional pieces of the lower end fabric for a total of 20 pieces. Rukaya will also buy 24 pairs of sandals and 60 pairs of earrings. Rukaya will sell at the Sang markets (4 occurrences per month excluding when one falls on a Sunday) and travel around to five different villages, visiting each of the five villages 2 times during a month. It takes her approximately one day to visit one village. She will most likely hire an apprentice to help her sell the additional clothing, paying a sales commission, assumed to be 10GHS per month. Risks and Opportunities Risks include the following: 1) Is there demand for 20 additional pieces of fabric, 24 pairs of sandals, and 60 pairs of earrings each month? 2) Is there demand for such a significant increase in the highest quality fabric? 3) Is the extra day of travel and additional cost of transportation worth the trip to the capital to obtain better pricing and variety? 4) There is a substantial amount of competition 5) Can an employee be successful at the task at hand? 6) She makes some credit sales and more product may produce more credit sales 7) She does not know how many customers live in the five villages 8) Even if a customer is accustomed to buying fabric from her, will they buy sandals and earrings? 2
Opportunities include the following: 1) Customers have inquired about sandals and earrings and already purchase them from someone else. 2) Biggest increase in fabric is in highest gross profit dollar fabric quality and the other increase is in the lowest working capital investment fabric quality that provides an equivalent gross profit dollar and higher gross profit margin than the middle quality fabric. 3) She can buy cheaper fabric in the capital of Togo, saving 5GHS per piece. 4) If she is able to purchase large quantities from the same supplier she will receive a discount. 5) She could potentially take market share from her fabric competitors and sandal and earring sellers. 6) She could end up with demand that exceeds the additional 20 pieces, sandals and earrings as a result of wholesale demand Biography of Candidate Rukaya is a pastor s wife and works as a traveling saleswoman. She has been doing this for 9 years, 5 in Yendi and 4 in Sang (where she currently lives). When I asked the group about what would the monthly payments be for a 1,000 GHS loan at 15% with a one year term, she seemed to be very instrumental in helping them arrive at the right answer without a calculator. This indicates some basic business skills and an understanding of numbers. Company Structure This is a sole proprietor business with the potential to add one employee with the addition of capital. While there are certain suppliers and customers that she visits consistently, there does not appear to be any supplier or customer concentration risks. Rukaya does not have a storefront. She walks from village to village carrying the product on her head and participates in the local market in Sang by renting a shop on those days (every 6 th day). Marketing Industry and Market Overview Rukaya lives in Sang, in the Northern Region of Ghana, between Tamale and Yendi. She serves five villages in the surrounding area by walking to them. Fabric, sandals, and earrings seem readily available, but when purchased in Ghana for resale in Ghana, the margins are low. Product purchased in Togo is less expensive; therefore, it carries a higher profit and margin. These products are available at market, as well as from traveling salespeople, such as Rukaya. 3
Customers Customers include villagers in the five villages near Sang that Rukaya visits and anyone that attends the Sang market where Rukaya rents a shop every sixth day. Potential new customers may include some wholesale business to other women who sell in similar manner as Rukaya but do not make the trip to Togo. Competition Rukaya says there are six other women in the surrounding areas that do what she does. The big difference is that she is the only one that makes the trip to buy product from Togo. The other women either buy product from people that do make the trip to Togo or purchase it from Ghana. This results in lower profits for Rukaya s competitors or higher prices to achieve a similar dollar margin. Pricing and Distribution The product is distributed directly by Rukaya by walking village to village. There is no additional cost associated with this method of distribution. She also sells product at the Sang market. There is a distribution fee associated with this as she spends 5GHS a month renting a shop at the Sang market. Unit Price Name of Product or Service in cedis Fabric - Best 40 Fabric - Mid 30 Fabric - Low 25 Sandals 6 Earrings 5 Rukaya mostly sells to the end customer but is considering selling to some women who do not travel to Togo, so kind of wholesale. Rukaya claims that the end customer really pays 2GHS more for each quality of fabric and that the prices stated above are really wholesale prices. To be conservative we assumed all sales occur at the lower price. Promotion Rukaya does not incur any advertising or promotion costs. She has visited these same villages and sold at the Sang market for years. Therefore, her consistent presence and reputation for having attractive products and a wide variety of products already appeals to her customers. 4
Financial Startup Costs The costs required to expand the business are for additional fabric, sandal, and earring inventory and transportation costs. One-Time and Startup Items cedis $ Tools and Equipment (see below) 0 $0.00 Equipment Installation & Prep. $0.00 Starting Inventory 756 $532.39 Veterianary Fees $0.00 Advance Rent $0.00 Other Fees (legal, etc.) 50 $35.21 Licenses and Permits $0.00 Initial Advertising & Promotion $0.00 Operating Cash $0.00 Total Start-up Expenses 806 $567.60 Investment Required The investment required to increase Rukaya s fabric and accessory business from is 806GHS ($567USD). Financial Plan Assumptions & Costs 1) Rukaya will immediately use the capital to travel to the capital of Togo and buy the extra fabric, sandals, and earrings for 756 GHS. This will require an extra 50 GHS in transportation costs each month. 2) She will sell all her product each month. 3) She will employ 1 additional person costing approximately 10 GHS per month 4) She will spend 5 GHS per month to rent a shop at the Sang market. She does not sell at this market when it occurs on a Sunday. 5) It costs her 25 GHS to feed her family of three each month (not a business expense). Loan Information It was assumed that Rukaya will receive 806 GHS as a loan, paying a 15% onetime fee that is amortized over the term of the loan. The term of the loan is 1 year. The loan is assumed to have been made March 1, 2011, initial payment on April 30, 2011, and final payment on March 31, 2012. The monthly loan payment will total 77 GHS, with approximately 10 GHS of that being attributed to interest. 5
cedis $ Loan Amount (Principal) 806 $567.61 One-time Service Fee Percentage 15.00% Number of Years 1 Months before First Payment 1 Monthly Payment Amount 77 $54.23 Total of all Payments 927 $652.82 Total Service Fee Paid 121 $85.21 Income Selling all her product each month will generate 1,169 GHS. After considering the business expenses listed above, Rukaya will have pre-loan cost profit of 348 GHS per month. The principle and interest associated with the loan comes to 77 GHS per month. All of this results in take home cash profit of 271 GHS per month. Financial Investment Required Loan to be paid back in 12 installments of 77 GHS over a 1 year period. First payment to be due at the end of the 2 nd month (April 2011). Action Plan Date 3/1/11 3/2/11 3/4/11 Item Receive loan Go to Togo & purchase fabric, sandals & earrings. Return from Togo and begin selling 6