Movendi Foundation

Ghana moves

To read the initial project plan, click here

To watch the movie of the product designed by the Industrial Design students during their stay in Ghana, click here

Review on Ghana Moves

GhanaMoves, a team consisting of four MSc-students Industrial Design Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, have devoted themselves to the cause of disabled people in Ghana. In cooperation with the Movendi Foundation, contact has been established with a local producer of tricycles and wheelchairs for disabled people. This metal workshop, MAK-D, has been suffering a decline of production, due to shortage of financial means. Partly because of this, the educational aim was to structurally improve the business situation of MAK-D, so that a more sustainable project could be realised. A new product should be able to contribute to this goal. Therefore, a product development process had been set up, starting from a strategic research, conceptualisation of a product and finally resulting in the market-implementation of this product.

An internal analysis pf the company MAK-D and an external analysis of MAK-D’s direct competitors resulted in some interesting starting points. It appeared that the business in MAK-D’s direct environment is characterised by imitation and copy behaviour. Only in the production of products with wheels, such as good carriers & tricycles and mobility equipment for disabled, MAK-D seemed to have a competitive advantage.

Besides this, an external analysis showed that the care of physically challenged children is quite well organised in Ghana instances such as the Liliane Fund has taken care of these children. However, another problem arises when these children have to participate in society and start to seek for jobs. Due to bad infrastructure and false prejudgements of employers, it is difficult to find jobs for these young adolescents, resulting in a group of disabled begging on the street.

Another striking fact of Ghanaian culture is the liveliness of the street trade sector: The major part of Ghanaian populations finds labour in selling products on the street. There would be an opportunity for MAK-D in the development of trade carriers, if not the major share of these traders weren’t individuals and if MAK-D would have had the right distribution channels to deliver his products to these potential clients.

However, all these findings taken together resulted in another, unique opportunity for MAK-D: If he is able to develop a product that provides the opportunity to disabled to participate in street trade, a social problem can be solved. Besides this, it creates the possibility to address one big, external financer, such as an NGO or Multinational Company. Moreover, if it is a product with wheels, a unique, currently non-existent product will be created, which is difficult to imitate by MAK-D’s competitors.

The design team developed a product which met the above demands; after the generation of several ideas and elaboration of these ideas into usable concepts a selection has been made. After this, the two most promising concepts have been turned into workable prototypes and have been tested. The most successful concept has been further optimised and has finally been tested with the target group: Physically challenged people from the “the Ghana Society of Physically Disabled”. Both the disabled as the spectators reacted positively: the disabled were happy to finally execute labour that their non-disabled friends did as well, while the spectators actually bought products and praised the initiative to stop the begging on the street.

This testing gave rise to the idea that the product was really worthy of market implementation. It would be even possible to link a company to the product, so that the company’s goods could be sold with this carrier. After a week of company presentations, one multinational truly believed in the product and was willing to adopt the idea and to set up a pilot test with three disabled people. This company, FanMilk, an ice-cream seller and local market leader in street trade, gained several advantages as well: Besides gaining a “social corporate image”, they have a new distribution channel as well.

Especially for FanMilk three products have been made. Starting from July 1st, three disabled will actually sell ice on the street, hopefully resulting in higher sales for FanMilk, a new order for MAK-D and more disabled who gain the opportunity to execute a respectful job!

Thank you for your support during the project!

GhanaMoves!

An impression of the final result.

terugblik1

Underneath is the original Project plan

Support a Ghanaian Company in Mobility Equipment for Disabled Children!

Written by: Sietse Cieraad, Rutger Bonsel, Imke Schepers en Stephanie Reintjens

March 2006 - June 2006

Ghana is without doubt a country where help for disabled children is still a necessity. We, four Dutch MSc Industrial Design Engineering students from the Delft University of Technology, would like to use our knowledge to improve the life of children with a handicap. From February till June 2006 we will dedicate our time to achieve this and by means of this folder we would like to raise awareness and ask for your contribution to support our project. In cooperation with the Movendi Foundation, a project has been formulated, aiming at designing and developing equipment for disabled children. By assigning our knowledge to a local entrepreneur, a spin-off for the future will be provided and a continuing production of equipment sustained.

Description of project
Focus of this project is MAK-D Metal Works, a metal workshop in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The owner, a small independent entrepreneur, currently produces a diversity of metal works from fences to smaller tools. In the past, however, the entrepreneur has proven himself by producing mobility equipment for disabled people. However, when the necessary subsidies for his work stopped, he had to focus on products that are easier and cheaper to produce. Nevertheless the need for medical products in Ghana is still significant. At this moment a school for children with a disability in Kumasi has a serious need for more aid equipment. Furthermore, the possibilities for St. John Hospital in Duayawa Kwanta will be investigated.

The project team will go to Ghana and develop equipment for MAK-D to improve the mobility of disabled children. This product can be produced with local means and can be used under local circumstances. Besides this, for the subsidy-dependent entrepreneur, a Business Plan shall be written and a market exploration will be performed, which will guarantee an independent endurance and continuous production of equipment for the children with a disability.

Ghana
Ghana is a West-African country on the Golf of Guinea, with the neighbouring countries Ivory Coast and Togo. Total surface is 238537 km2 which is 7 times The Netherlands. Total population is estimated around 21,7 million. Accra, in the south, is the capital of Ghana and Kumasi is the second largest city.

The Project-Team
Stephanie Reintjens (23)
“As an addition to my bachelor Industrial Design Engineering at the TU Delft I wanted to deepen my knowledge in the business-side of product development. How to design a product that is appropriate for a company? In my Master of Science Strategic Product Design, I am provided with this insight. Practising this in the situation of a developing country seems a real challenge to me. Furthermore, the cooperation with people with a complete different way of thought is even more challenging to me”

Imke Schepers (23)
“At this moment I am doing my Master Medical Design at the TU Delft. This specialisation, after my bachelor industrial product design, educates me in developing products specifically for the medical sector in which the human aspect plays an important role. With this project I hope to improve the life of disabled children."

Rutger Bonsel (24)
“After my bachelor Industrial Design Engineering I am now following the Master Strategic Product Design. Sustainability is an important aspect, just as the question how good products can be developed for the lowest class of society. I would like to investigate this through this project.”

Sietse Cieraad (24)
“After successfully finishing my bachelor Mechanical Engineering with a specialisation in Industrial Design and Production, I wanted to focus more on designing products for people. With my technical knowledge I hope to design and develop a well-thought product for the Ghanaian people.”

Mak-D Metal Works (Madina - Accra)
Mak-D is a simple but functional metal workshop in Madina-Accra, owned by Mr. Michael Amewornu. Equipment for disabled people has been developed in this workshop since 1982 of which most were tricycles and wheelchairs. In the first years these activities were financially supported by a missionary, but since a few years this support has stopped and today he only produces a few tricycles per year. Mr. Amewornu has the ambition to set-up his own, independent business for only mobility equipment, but lacks the knowledge for this.

Garden City Special School (Kumasi)
The Garden City Special School is a school and home to children with a mental handicap. Part of these children have a physical handicap as well. The board of the school has let us know that there is a need for wheelchairs for the inhabitants of the school.

St. John Hospital (Duayawa Kwanta)
St. John Hospital is active in the treatment of disabled children. Several doctors from the Netherlands have already been operating on a voluntary basis to improve the situation of disabled children. Nowadays, the hospital is active in expanding the centre of revalidation, with possible needs for mobility equipment.

Financial Aspects
For the realisation of this project, financial support is needed. According to the calculations the needed support will be €6000,-. For this amount the four of us will voluntary work on a 5 month basis for the disabled children in Ghana. The described activities will be executed during this period. Costs can be kept low since Ghana is a relatively inexpensive country and no salaries are to be paid. Knowledge and time will be donated on a voluntary basis.

With this financial support, material and production means will be purchased, necessary for developing the products as well as the supporting logistical costs. Support in natura will be highly valued as well.

If the total budget is exceeded, it will be donated in the benefit for the disabled children in Ghana. For gaining financial support a variety of persons, organisations and companies will be approached.

Interest
If you are interested in subsidising the project, we are obviously well willing to present our project plan. During the project we will keep you up-to-date from the projects’ progress. On completion, we will send you a product evaluation and a justification of the received subsidies. We are also prepared to present our final results to you.

We would like to thank you in advance,

Kind regards,
Imke Schepers, Sietse Cieraad, Rutger Bonsel en Stephanie Reintjens

Email: GhanaMoves@gmail.com

Please donate your financial support to: Giro 3034 attn. IO project2006