For the minor 'Digital Business Models & Blockchain' we were asked to develop a business model for an organization in practice. The assignment was carried out for the BlueMatch organization. BlueMatch is a small Indian "not-only-for-profit" company committed to the health and living environment of poorer populations in India. They do this, among other things, by selling their sustainable smoke-free stove, called the 'EcoStove'. BlueMatch's mission statement is: “Our mission is to empower women and families to cook cleanly so they can build a healthier, more sustainable and more productive future. We produce, distribute and service sustainable smokeless stoves and eco-neutral biomass fuel." BlueMatch currently employs 12 people. The company is based in India and is headquartered in Halasinakaipura, Karnataka Province.
One of the business activities that BlueMatch is involved in are the so-called 'Self-Help Groups' (SHG). These are local communities committed to transferring knowledge about cooking, hygiene, climate change and budgeting. In addition, the SHGs contribute to the sale of the EcoStove by providing the necessary service and explaining how the product works. The SHGs thus act as sales and service departments.
Before we started the project, no concrete business model had been developed for the SHGs. That is why BlueMatch has asked us to take on this task. We have achieved this assignment with the help of the business models on businessmodellab.nl. The business model canvas forms the basis of the entire business model. In addition, we have benefited a lot from other models, such as the Value builder model and the STOF model.
Furthermore, there was no monitoring system in place at the start of the project to control the new business activity. That is why we have created a dashboard using Microsoft Power BI to record the most important matters of the SHGs.
After the project, Blue Match let us known that they are very satisfied with the delivered pieces. The company also told us that they are already using a few parts. We are very proud of this.
The experiences of BlueMatch can be read here.
