The Global Summit of Women 2009

Santiago, Chile

May 14-16

Presentation on “Scaling Up: Moving Microenterprises

to Mainstream Business”

By Melanie Harteveld Becker, Co-Director,

Pambili Foundation (Namibia)

Background:

The meaning of the word “Pambili” in Ru-kwangali is “at peace” and in Zulu it is “going forward”.

Pambili Association’s vision is to have a strong impact on design awareness in Namibia through training, marketing and research. Initiatives to achieve this include various training activities, as well as the facilitation of pro-active marketing activities through platforms and networks.

Pambili Association’s overall objective is to ensure that Namibian communities and Namibian young designers benefit through the production of quality craft design products that answer to the demands of both the local and foreign markets. The idea is to facilitate business and trade opportunities for the communities, designers and for the Association itself.

Pambili’s specific initiatives focus on craft design, fashion design and jewellery design and they are:

Training: mentorship programmes and knowledge sharing (training and product development workshops, seminars, knowledge sharing sessions and meetings)

Marketing: the creation of platforms and the participation in marketing activities (trade fairs, exhibitions, shows and expo’s)

Research: market-related and design research

Challenges:

1. Namibian producers suffer due to market domination by imported products – Imports from the stronger producing countries in the SADC region, as well as product imports from the West and the East. Imported products undermine the development of Namibian products. Namibian product identities are becoming so hybrid that they are unclear. Thus, product design challenges are hampering sales and, consequently, it directly hampers poverty reduction.
2. Lack of training by professionals with sufficient local knowledge – Namibians should not solely rely on foreign assistance – training should be conducted by local Namibian specialists who altogether understand the local situation.
3. Lack of a holistic approach which includes product design, skills training and product marketing – Previous foreign and local craft training interventions resulted in skills development, but few of these projects implemented and supported continuous product development and value adding through design. This resulted in project failure and the raising of false expectations. Today, income-generation has become one of the biggest challenges for Namibian projects. Generally, projects lack a strong marketing focus and most products are make-able but not market-able. Anything can be made, but not everything can be marketed.

How Pambili is “scaling up”:

1. Design investment in product development processes is the correct shift towards poverty reduction. One selling product is one step closer to poverty elimination.
2. Value the “experience economy” – Relationship marketing can be achieved through customizing the 7 P’s of marketing:

PERSONALIZE Product, Price, Place, Promotion and Packaging.

FOCUS on People, Processes and Physical evidence of the value you can add to your product.

3. Pro-actively create marketing drivers through platforms and networks – The focus on the development of both platforms and networks assists Pambili to link the supplier with the end user.

Platforms raise public awareness, put the product or service “out there”, drive professionalism (continuous official presentations raise quality standards), forge network links, take the micro-enterprise into mainstream, fight isolation and mobilize people.

Networks add personalisation since businesses and individuals get to share and learn more about each other. Networks result in the sharing of resources, as well as perceiving donors, local authorities and government as partners instead of “have-to-doers”. Nurture and be willing to develop give-and-take relationships.

4. Advocate clear product identity – Advocate the development of products with a clear cultural value.

5. Invest in ongoing product development:

· processes have to continue and evolve,

· go back to basics (product design: concept/story, quality, material and finish),

· clarify product identities (from cultural products to simplified versions),

· personalise products and add value for a personal approach.

Lessons learnt:

1. Value local culture and strengthen local identities.

2. Clarify roles – forge partnerships in training projects instead of dominating the relationship. Advocate a give-and-take relationship. Both parties must bring knowledge to the table. Acknowledge basic skills as an input.

3. Value the producer’s ownership: According to Wikipedia, “ownership implies responsibility” and “group ownership of property (also intellectual property) places every member in a position of responsibility (liability) for the actions of each other member”.

4. Understand and apply personalised marketing.

5. Never underestimate the power of information sharing at all levels of interaction – share honestly and in simple language.

6. Walk the fine line – Get to know what the fine line is between market-able products and make-able products. Pambili in principle does not invest in basic skills training. Pambili’s aim is to turn existing skills into marketable products. This approach directly battles the creation of false expectations.

7. Creativity should always be encouraged – creativity should be channelled towards market sense. Rather make mistakes and learn, but never suppress creativity.

8. Push paradigms – This is the way you see your current realities and future possibilities. Encourage rather than limit.

9. Limited resources drive creativity.

10. Marketing is hard work. The producers in Namibia have to be educated to understand the position of the marketer. The marketer has to be educated to understand the position of the producer.

What works and what doesn’t:

1. Focussing on social design leads to surprising results.

Pambili mobilise and encourage local designers to push the boundaries of sustainability through the realization and implementation of social design. Social design is “a design process that contributes to improving human well-being and livelihood” (Holm, 2006).

2. Localism is sustainability.

Fletcher (2008:140) mentions “localism is an antidote to unsustainability…local action helps develop human creativeness as we inventively respond to problems with the resources and expertise that is to hand”.

3. Simplicity – back to basics and clear product identity

Clarify product identity. Simplify design, personalise and add value to your product. “Less is more.” Many designers know this. Yet, many designers believe “more is more”. But you have to first understand “less is more” before you will successfully execute “more is more”.

4. Pro-activity – mobilize

Inspire people where you go, have a motivating word, acknowledge ownership and forge partnerships where all parties have to give to be able to take.

5. Share knowledge

Knowledge shared is knowledge gained. Sharing knowledge generates trust, even in the design world where previously knowledge-sharing was highly unlikely. Now it is recognised that “Creativity is often better when you do it in a team because the interaction will spur on new ideas” (Taljaard, 2009).

6. Clear vision, work goal-oriented, drive for results

Never lose overview over your vision. Always ask yourself whether what you plan or execute fits into your project goals. If it doesn’t, drop it.

7. Adhere to deadlines

Good time management creates trust, especially in Africa. To achieve is to be on time.

8. Keep an overview – self motivation is born out of recognition of the success that has been achieved

Be honest to yourself. If you know what you have achieved you can better motivate yourself. Regular reporting systems are a great tool to keep a clear overview.

The Namibian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, wrote to me recently and this was direct feedback from the commercial office:

“It’s easy to be enthusiastic about this project because I see so much potential for Namibian arts and crafts to do well in Europe. Working with professional, goal-oriented and socially-conscious organizations such as Pambili makes my job (promoting Namibian products in Germany and beyond) a whole lot easier and even more enjoyable. I really look forward to working together with you. “