Feasibility Study on the introduction of the Fortune Cooker through Mi

Feasibility Study on the introduction of the Fortune Cooker through Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ethiopia. Feasibility Study on the introduction of the Fortune Cooker through Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ethiopia. Thesis Proposal Student - Aarti Baldewsing Student number- 0799222 Minor- Finance and Accounting First supervisor - Mr. Dare Second supervisor- Mr. Nielsen Hand-in date - 13 April 2011 Company- The Fortune Cooker Company supervisor- Mr. Maarten Romijn Table of Content 1. Introduction3 2. Company Profile4 2.1 Product Stage4 2.2 Product Characteristics4 2.3 Product Market5 3. Research6 3.1 Research Goal6 3.2 Research Objectives6 3.3 Research Scope6 3.4 Research Questions7 4. Theoretical Framework and Methodology7 4.1 Theoretical Framework7 4.2 Methodology8 5. Ishikawa Diagram9 6. Gantt Chart9 7. Professional IBMS Competency Evaluation10 1. Introduction The title of this thesis proposal is; Feasibility Study on the introduction of the Fortune Cooker through Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ethiopia. This title indicates that a feasibility study will be performed to see whether MFIs are willing to help finance the Fortune Cooker so that people at the BoP, so low-income households and unemployed females in Ethiopia, can make use of this product. Before laying down the background of this thesis proposal we must become fully aware of the meaning of the terms used in title of the thesis proposal in order to understand fully its content. A Feasibility Study is a study undertaken to analyse various issues and elements of the project in order to reach optimum decisions about the viability and direction of the business venture. Core elements of a feasibility study includes; market analysis, technical analysis and a financial analysis. Furthermore a feasibility study is undertaken to indentify the opportunities and threats in the internal and external environment of the new business venture and researches the potential resources needed to set up the business and ultimately looks at the prospects of success. The Fortune Cooker is a new, clean, convenient, user friendly, family power plant. It is built in a way that it uses solar energy to cook food, provide purification of water, dry wood and generate and store heat and electricity (See section 2 for detailed information). Microfinance Institutions (from here on referred to as MFIs) are institutions that deal with microfinance. According to KIVA , Microfinance can be defined as the provision of financial services such as credit, savings, insurance and more to the poor or the low-income clients who traditionally are considered non bankable and therefore do not have access to typical banking services due to the absence of formal employment and/or formal mortgages. Microcredit is the provision of a small loan to the poor and is one of the microfinance activities that an MFI performs. In this thesis the focus will be on Ethiopia as a market but this study will serve as a guide to introduce the Fortune Cooker elsewhere in the world. In specific people at the Base of the Pyramid are the target customers. As we look at the different world population groups in terms of economic activity the Base of the Pyramid (from here on referred to as BoP) or sometimes referred to as the Bottom of the Pyramid, refers to the largest but poorest socio-economic group in the world. According to Professor C.K. Prahalad four to five billion people live from 2 dollars or less a day. 2. Company Profile The Fortune Cooker is a new, clean, convenient, user friendly, family power plant. It is built in a way that it uses solar energy to cook food, provide purification of water, dry wood and generate and store heat and electricity. The Fortune Cooker company was created by Mr. Maarten Romijn who is the inventor of the product the Fortune Cooker. The Fortune Cooker was first tested in November 2003 in the Almeria area of Southern Spain. In early 2006 the product was tested in New Delhi/Gurgaon area of India. Since then changes in material usage have been incorporated in order to make the product function more effectively. For instance the aluminium mirrors have been replaced by solar glass mirrors to improve cooking performance and longevity. Underneath, an illustration is shown of the Fortune Cooker. 2.1 Product Stage The Fortune Cooker concept is ready and the product has been tested and produced and updated several times. It is on the verge of moving through the development stage into the production phase and after that it will

Plato and Equus essays

Plato and Equus essays Plato once said that man is a being in search of meaning. In Peter Shaffers disturbing play, Equus, psychologist Martin Dysart and his patient, Alan Strang, are searching for meaning. Alan Strang has chosen the path of nonrationalism to give him this meaning. He worships Equus a God that he has taken from parts of Christianity and has assumed its form of that of a horse. Martin Dysart at first glance is a man of reason. He is a overworked psychiatrist who helps people become healthy and rational again. Dysart feels he is missing a sense of meaning in his life and sees that his young patient, Strang, has that sense of meaning and is ambivalent as to whether he should take that from Alan by curing him. Plato, the preeminent rationalist would find fault with both characters. Plato would be even more disappointed with Dysart. According to Plato rationality is the only way to understand the world. Dysart is an educated man, he spent years studying to become what he is today, a psychiatrist, and has thereby remembered more of the innate knowledge that is within all of us. While Strang has given himself over to nonrationalism and Dysart should know better than to do the same. Alan Strangs behavior is bizarre to say the least. One does not have to be a Platonist to find his actions puzzling. When Alan Strang worships Equus he takes out one of the horses from the stable where he works and rides naked on it and experiences sexual climax. He then kneels down in supplication to his God. According to Plato, Strang is far from the ideal condition of the human soul. Plato stated that the ideal human soul is rational. He or she makes sense. Reason is sufficient to carry us through even the most difficult of times. Platos metaphysics is dualism. While this world is constantly changing it is not really Real. The Real is the world of the forms. Strang has taken the notion of The Good and...