Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa
Jules Munyampeta, founder and CEO of RD Tech Rwanda, was questioning his company's current strategy. The ICT market in Rwanda had transformed significantly since the company was founded in 2005. RD Tech began as a computer importer that sourced new laptop computers from Dubai. Munyampeta soon realized that the market for new computers in Rwanda was very small, and subsequently had great success with a new approach-importing and selling refurbished used computers from the United States. The lower price point for refurbished computers allowed RD Tech to expand its market and have a greater impact on Rwandan society. Originally, the company sold personal computers to individuals, but quickly shifted focus to schools and government institutions as a result of changes in government policy. This shift resulted in rapid growth, and RD Tech Rwanda expanded distribution of refurbished computers throughout Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. RD Tech survived the impact of the global financial crisis, competition from Chinese entrants into the Rwandan market, and NGOs, such as One Laptop per Child, providing free computers to schoolchildren when, suddenly, sales came to a crashing halt. The Rwandan government made rapid technological advancement a priority for public schools and local governmental agencies, but refurbished computers and monitors were no longer acceptable for these institutions. Munyampeta considered his options. Was integrating the refurbishment operations into the East African supply chain the answer? Would this strategy deliver sufficient cost savings to justify the initial capital outlay and continuing operational costs? If so, could Winter and Brice raise the capital required to make the change? Or might a return to the original unsuccessful model of selling new computers now be feasible? Munyampeta wondered if, instead of focusing on a growth strategy, he should be considering a liquidation strategy.
Authors :: Mary B. Teagarden, Chad Nygeres, Michael Byme, Andreas Schotter
Swot Analysis of "Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa" written by Mary B. Teagarden, Chad Nygeres, Michael Byme, Andreas Schotter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Computers Rwanda facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Computers Rwanda, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Computers Rwanda operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Computers Rwanda
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Computers Rwanda
Strengths Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Computers Rwanda in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Computers Rwanda is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Computers Rwanda in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Computers Rwanda is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Mary B. Teagarden, Chad Nygeres, Michael Byme, Andreas Schotter can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Training and development
– Computers Rwanda has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Computers Rwanda has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Learning organization
- Computers Rwanda is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Computers Rwanda is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Computers Rwanda is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Computers Rwanda is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Computers Rwanda has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Computers Rwanda has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– Computers Rwanda is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Computers Rwanda to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Computers Rwanda to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Computers Rwanda digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Computers Rwanda has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Computers Rwanda, firm in the HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa HBR case study mentions - Computers Rwanda takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Computers Rwanda has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mary B. Teagarden, Chad Nygeres, Michael Byme, Andreas Schotter suggests that, Computers Rwanda is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Computers Rwanda 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Computers Rwanda has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Computers Rwanda is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Computers Rwanda products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Computers Rwanda needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa, it seems that the employees of Computers Rwanda don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Need for greater diversity
– Computers Rwanda has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Computers Rwanda needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa are -
Manufacturing automation
– Computers Rwanda can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Computers Rwanda can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Computers Rwanda in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Computers Rwanda is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Computers Rwanda can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Computers Rwanda can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Computers Rwanda to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Loyalty marketing
– Computers Rwanda has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Computers Rwanda in the consumer business. Now Computers Rwanda can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Computers Rwanda can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Computers Rwanda can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Computers Rwanda operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Computers Rwanda can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Computers Rwanda can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Computers Rwanda can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Computers Rwanda business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Computers Rwanda needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Computers Rwanda can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Computers Rwanda is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Computers Rwanda can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Computers Rwanda high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Computers Rwanda with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Computers Rwanda
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Computers Rwanda.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Computers Rwanda.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Computers Rwanda demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Computers Rwanda needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Rwanda Dimension Technology: Treading Water in Africa is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Computers Rwanda needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
