The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version
Two young attorneys found and begin to build the Indego Africa Project, an NGO partnering with women's cooperatives in Rwanda. Indego connects the cooperatives to the international retail market for handmade artisan products, helps the cooperatives build their business capacity, and develops and delivers classroom training in life and business skills for the cooperative members. At the time of the case, Indego is partnering with three cooperatives. The NGO is staffed mostly with volunteers and the founders are stretched to the limit, between managing the growing organization and all of the necessary fundraising activities. The organization hopes to partner with more coops and increase its impact in Rwanda and beyond, but the path to sustained growth and impact is not clear.
Swot Analysis of "The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version" written by Kathleen L. McGinn, Rachel Gordon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Indego Cooperatives facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Growth strategy, Influence, International business and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Indego Cooperatives, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Indego Cooperatives 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Indego Cooperatives
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 Indego Cooperatives
Strengths The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Indego Cooperatives in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Indego Cooperatives is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Indego Cooperatives is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Indego Cooperatives has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Learning organization
- Indego Cooperatives 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 Indego Cooperatives is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Indego Cooperatives has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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.
Organizational Resilience of Indego Cooperatives
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Indego Cooperatives does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Indego Cooperatives 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 Indego Cooperatives in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Indego Cooperatives to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Indego Cooperatives to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Indego Cooperatives has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Indego Cooperatives 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Indego Cooperatives in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Indego Cooperatives is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Indego Cooperatives 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Indego Cooperatives has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Indego Cooperatives is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Indego Cooperatives needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Indego Cooperatives to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Indego Cooperatives has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Indego Cooperatives has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 Indego Cooperatives 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Indego Cooperatives 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Indego Cooperatives 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Indego Cooperatives 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Indego Cooperatives has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Indego Cooperatives needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Indego Cooperatives supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Indego Cooperatives vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version | 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version are -
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. Indego Cooperatives can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Indego Cooperatives has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Indego Cooperatives to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Indego Cooperatives to increase its market reach. Indego Cooperatives will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Indego Cooperatives can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Indego Cooperatives can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Indego Cooperatives is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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.
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 Indego Cooperatives 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Indego Cooperatives 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Indego Cooperatives can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Indego Cooperatives 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.
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. Indego Cooperatives 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. Indego Cooperatives 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Indego Cooperatives has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Indego Cooperatives to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version case study. Indego Cooperatives can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Indego Cooperatives 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, The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version are -
Regulatory challenges
– Indego Cooperatives 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Indego Cooperatives will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Indego Cooperatives 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.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Indego Cooperatives in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Indego Cooperatives 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.
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. Indego Cooperatives needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Indego Cooperatives can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Indego Cooperatives needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Indego Cooperatives can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Indego Cooperatives in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Indego Cooperatives 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Indego Cooperatives has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Indego Cooperatives needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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 Indego Cooperatives.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 The Indego Africa Project, Spanish Version 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 Indego Cooperatives needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.