This business plan is for the operation of a Tele-Learning service for both online and Tele-learning centre customers. The business model uses innovative business model methodology, making use of value players in the communication network service. The service design, technology design, organisation design and financial designs have been analysed together with market demand forecast. The target market is Senior High School leavers in Ghana and possibly some international online users.

This paper is concise and can be followed as a model to prepare the business plan for other set goals and objectives for other business ideas. It includes related financial and profitability analysis.

 

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION OF THE BUSINESS IDEA
BUSINESS MODEL
MARKET ANALYSIS
FORECASTING OF DEMAND
COST ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS OF PROFITABILITY AND CASH FLOW
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

Creativity is inherent in every creation. However, until explored it is not realized. Even though in one way or the other we use creativity on daily basis, it is not always that we put our minds to it as something that can be explored deeper and developed. with creativity the sense of lack of resources melts away. My greatest strength is in the passion of achieving set targets, a passion that keeps me continually focused on the task, engaging all my time and effort, in and out of the office, until achieved. If I need to research into new areas to get a job done, I do it naturally as part of the delivery process. It is very common to see me punching my laptop keypads while waiting for a bus.

 

Nobody knows what you know until you demonstrate it or impart it. When in 1988, the IEEE team visited KNUST and saw my computerised traffic light work on display for their attention, they said to me, "you are ahead of the people". It has taken me 23 years down the lane to understand what they meant. I discovered the meaning when I was doing research work on Intelligent Traffic Management for Ghana during my Master in ICT studies. For this reason, I am moved to sensitizde our kids and youth early enough to take charge of their talents early enough and develop them.

 

I hold a first degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) (1987) and a Master of Information Communication Technology (MICT) from Aalborg University/Ghana Technology University College (2012).

 

I have travelled across the length and breadth of Ghana to carry out various IT services, including both hardware and software since 1988 when the handful of IT companies were concentrated in Accra. Those were the days that we had to install computers for prospective clients for them to have a feel of it and get interested. My BSc. Degree project was on the Interfacing of the single board computer to a pyranometer for solar energy data acquisition. In this research project I studied the computer architecture, interfacing techniques, and did the design and implementation of the data acquisition system. I program from as low as machine language to high level languages.

 

I have skills in embedded systems. I have a good understanding of programming and computer interface design and microprocessors. I am strong in computer hardware and software and networking; software engineering, application development and programming.

 

I was part of the team that repaired the Kumasi Sports Stadium Scoreboard in about 1988. Thanks to the confidence imposed in me by my lecturer Dr. Francis Omani (Presently at the Maritime Uneversity College) who was the one who introduced computer engineering subject in the Electrical Engineering curriculum of which I was one of the very first beneficiary batch of students. I have a high innate flare for mechanical engineering also.

 

I have done a lot of private study on automobile engineering. Indeed back in school I attempted switching over from Electrical/Electronic Engineering to Mechanical Engineering. My attention to practical knowledge and experimentation found me most of the time in the laboratories of the Electrical/Electronic Engineering together with the Mechanical Engineering workshops while I was in KNUST.

 

This practical zeal has been with me ever since. This background places me now in the field of mechatronics where knowledge of electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering and applications development have become inseparable. With this background, I offer support services for computerized automobile ECU diagnostics systems and embedded systems programming. For this purpose, I install and support DataSpecialist III Plus (DSPIII+) device for digital odometers, airbag modules, car radios, car immobilizers. I support the use of Elnec programmer among other such devices.

 

I have ever since 1992 worked on my cars and rendered such service to stranded users when needed. I was, at the time of my graduation from KNUST in 1987, the only student in the Department who had presented and defended two (2) academic projects instead of one (1). Both projects were inspected and received the commendation of the IEEE team that visited the University in 1988. My computerized traffic light product was exhibited at Indutech 1988. This did not see the light of reality because my effort was thwarted in 1989, and I did not have the personal resources to go it alone. Left to me alone, our transportation system should have been automated long ago. I still have that passion. I automate easily as many processes as possible as I see the need for repetition.

 

I am an Adjunct Faculty with the Faculty of Informatics, Ghana Technology University College. I have a very strong desire to impart knowledge and share ideas. I have 25 years experience to offer variedly in ICT:

 

• Self Development in IT by Research – I am very strong in research work.

• Computer installation, repairs, upgrade and maintenance.

• Customer support services – software and hardware

• Networking

• Customer tailored application development

• Accounting systems setup and support

• Onsite IT support services.

• Cyclos Developer.

• Six years in the Linux Severs and PHP/MySQL systems

• MS OFFICE SUITE, JAVA, PASCAL, C++, PHP/MYSQL, VISUAL BASIC, ASSEMBLER, MYOB ACCOUNTS, NETBEANS, ECLIPSE, WAMP, XAMP, J2ME-POLISH, JOOMLA, WORDPRESS, DRUPAL, WINDOWS, LINUX, POSTSCRIPT, PHOTOSHOP, PAGEMAKER, COREL DRAW SUITE, WEB TECHNOLOGIES, MATLAB, ETC. I have the ability of learning and using new systems at an extremely fast pace to deliver excellent products. I am very good in IT application development, developing and porting applications to cross mobile platform. I am capable of working for long hours. I am very meticulous and trustworthy.  

ICT is the abbreviation for Information and Communication Technologies.

I want us to begin understanding this from the very already established day to day living. It is true that some people begin to wonder where they belong in this world immediately you begin to talk about ICT. The question is, should it really be so? Let us look at it this way. The entire universe is about communication which is simply a give and take affair - ask and receive, seek and find, knock and be opened unto.

Let us understand these: 1. When you ask, you can do so in various forms - voice, body movement, pressing your foot on another person by your side's foot intentionally as our elders do, letters, etc.

Through all such listed methods you send out what we can call data, which is worked on to derive some relevant information. Thus, the data is sent to whosoever we want to act on them.

This person works on it, i.e. processes it. The processing is that the person hearing you uses his brain(the processor) to understand what exactly you want by the kind of sound he is hearing from you, or the gestures seen or actions experienced.

What he understands you to mean after this processing is what is called Information. You will by all means receive a response.

The sending of your information and receiving feedback is called communication. AT ALL COST YOU WILL RECEIVE A RESPONSE.

Therefore, this sound must come to him in a manner (format) he can understand to give you a response.

So in the ICT industry we also talk of Request-Response. When a person does not know in the first place that the sound you are making is for his attention, he/she may hear and understand but may not respond. Another person may go ahead and respond. These all depend on the culture, upbringing and principles of that person. If you bring this home, you will realize that certain situations arise where when you respond to an issue which was not purported to be answered by you, the reaction you get is, I was not talking to you! Some such reactions can come in a very rude form or rebuking manner. Hence to stay safe, one will want to be sure that the questioning being asked is for his attention before he responds. There are situations where you will be expecting a response from someone and the person will be sitting there looking at you, or may not even turn in your direction. some react to this by saying things like, Am I not talking to you? Then other person may say things like, I did not know you were talking to me because you did not draw my attention before talking and so I did not know it was meant for my attention. Next time if you need my attention let me know first.

The proper way to do this is called a handshake just as we shake hands in normal day like; we reserve bigger terms for later appreciations. Simply explained as:

Request : I need your attention to discuss something. Can I have it?

Response: Yes, you have my attention.

After this handshake you now know you have the attention of the person to have a meaningful interaction or exchange between you.

 

In our normal day to day living, you cannot hold the hand of someone in a handshake and be talking to someone else without proper permission. Hence, with a handshake between you and someone, whatever you say is first and foremost meant for his attention. You can therefore not speak to him in a language he cannot understand. If you do, you will definitely get a response which may be silence, gestures, or the person also speaking a language you don't understand where he probably may be saying I don't understand. Anything not meant for that person during a handshake will require proper permission being sort. You may for example say, please excuse me. This what is referred to as protocol which establishes an agreed way of seeking attention, asking a question and getting a desired result.

 

As you may discover in these scenarios all these actions require some work to be done to achieve them. The work done is depended on the amount of effort you put into it. While you are putting in effort through your thoughts, words, and deeds, it is important to note that all of us have different levels of limits to our abilities and capabilities.

 

The next thing to think about is, with the capacity that I have in terms of such parameters as physical strength, resources, etc., one has to think of how best to tackle the task with the capacity available and derive the best results. How you will tackle a task to achieve the best of results with the limited capacity you have is what has been described with this big scary word - TECHNOLOGY.

 

If I am standing close to someone and I need his attention, I can tap the person or call the name. If the person is in the room and I am outside the I can call by my voice. if I think I don't have that capacity to be heard from afar by my voice, then I may knock with my hand. For some kinds or doors knocking with your hand may cause you pain and still not be heard. Hence you may use a object to hit the door. Now we have door bells with sound only and door bells with video. All these are simply ways of getting attention, and all form part of this BIG WORD TECHNOLOGY.

 

Hence, there are different technologies to achieve different purposes. If you need the response to a request from someone, the method or technology you use depends on how quickly you need your response, how critical it is that the request must be clearly understood, whether someone knowing about your request can create problems, whether the responder needs to hear your voice at all cost, whether the responder needed to read some this, whether the responder must see you talking no matter where the two of you are, etc. All these mean you need specific technologies or method. We will expand this later.

 

Every method you use has its good sides and bad sides. Hence, a method or technology is judged according to prevailing circumstances. If you have to send somebody with your request, you can speak to the person, hand over a letter with supplementary instruction, go by foot through bush paths, by foot through roads, go by private transport, go by public transport, by road, by sea, by air.

 

Whichever you choose has its doe's and don't s. To send telegraph you have to go to the telegraph office and cue, to send by computer you have to sit and press buttons on the key board. For the computer to understand what you are asking to be done, the computer environment provides what is called a word processor to be used for typing letters. To send the letter, ICT provides e-mail to have the job done instead of sending your house boy. This is why in the ICT world you hear of application programs.

 

The computer does not know anything. It is called a black box. What you put in is what you get. If you put garbage in it you will get garbage out. Hence, depending on your need, a specific application program is designed for your specific purpose. A word processor will understand pressing the space key on the keyboard as wanting to create space in between words or characters. The same space key during playing games will do something different. Hence, what in OK in one instance of working on the computer may be very disastrous in another situation.

 

What is critical in the ICT world is that there are rules to be obeyed. To this end there are standards and best practices, i.e. acceptable ways of doing things that have been agreed upon by the industry.

 

Reflect on these. To be further expanded. You may draw my attention at any time to any error you may detect and also suggestion for simplification for beginners' appreciation.

 

Rev. Lambert Ntibrey