2. Introduction
Part 1: Value Proposition
Vision
"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." - Henry Ford
We live in the year 2013 and in an age where sustainability is a way of life
not a luxury but a necessity. As quoted above, we put our best foot forward to
conceptualise a business, not for money but for welfare. Though we cannot
dispute that we have to make money in this process as that is the only way to
sustain any business, however, that was not the primary aim behind our concept.
We are a team of 5 students from various fields of study which range from
industrial design to ecology , from chemical engineering to systems and control
which led us to focus on innovation as the core thought process. We had our
own different perspective which with brainstorming became refined into the
concept of SusBox. Certainly SusBox was not the first idea we came up with.
Our aim was to think of an idea that is an immediate need and we could already
think of Green buildings through Building Information modelling. This idea
as the basis, we tried to reflect on more concrete demands of the world like
housing and offices due to the shortage of space and finances. It was easy for
us to think of recycling waste containers as houses as this concept is already in
practice in The Netherlands. We try to put this concept to use in health care as
we see an immediate need there for our business. With a robust, self sustaining
structure in SusBox we provide a cornerstone for sustainable relief work.
In the year 2000 the United Nations officially established the 8 Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015.[1] 4 out of these 8 goals are
focusing on healthcare. However, there is no certainty that these goals will actually
be attained due to several problems within the African continent. Especially in subSaharan Africa were 20% of the world’s population and only 2% of the world’s
physicians live.[2] In addition, the African continent is struck by approximately 130
disasters influencing the lives of more than 30 million people each year, increasing
the need of healthcare personnel and facilities.[3]
Several healthcare charity foundations such as Unicef, Red Cross, MSF and AHP
are providing relief work in these areas, however they often lack good facilities and
have limited resources. The SusBox can provide them an all-in-one solution, giving
the foundations the resources and transportable facilities they need. The African
Health Placement (AHP) indicated that they helped 2,9 million people with 450
doctors in a 2012. That is approximately 18 people every day per doctor working
in different locations and in different dangerous environments. The SusBox can
increase this number with 30%, increasing the amount of helped victims to 24
people every day. This will help the lives of almost 4 million people and that is only
by providing the resources for the AHP.
Mission
The SusBox will provide the healthcare charity foundations, currently working in the
sub-Saharan Africa, with a transportable self-sustaining healthcare facility. Currently
they have a limited efficiency due to the weather conditions, dangerous working
environment and limited working hours. The SusBox can increase the efficiency due
to the following functions:
Robust Shelter – Operational in different weather conditions and environments.
Energy Independent – Providing electricity for medicine cooling and lighting.
Clean Water Supply – Gravitational water purification system containing water for
1 week.
The Susbox creates new opportunities for relief workers to work in a self-sustaining
environment without having concern about external factors, such as extreme
weather conditions and wild animals, and due to the integration of lighting they
can easily work in the evening if emergencies occur. At the same time the water
can be used as drinking supply or as cleaning water for wounds and other medical
applications. By offering the SusBox to the current healthcare charity foundations
we hope to help with achieving the Millennium Development Goals by offering a
better transportable facility.
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3. Part 2: Analysis
Ambition
The main goal of the SusBox is to help the lives of victims of natural disasters all
over the world by providing the SusBox in disaster struck areas. In order to reach
this goal we will use the triple P framework to assure that also the sub goals will
be achieved. First of all we will support people with offering healthcare and give
the relief workers the opportunity to do their work under better circumstances.
Second of all we take into account that the planet should be taken care of and
the environmental impact should be minimized by using green technology and
sustainable materials and applying it in the SusBox. Third of all, profit is necessary
for a sustainable continuation and expansion of the company. However, in order to
reach our main goal we will firstly focus on providing healthcare in the sub-Saharan
Africa. The logistics and location of South Africa can be used as an advantage in
providing better healthcare in the neighboring countries such as, Namibia, Botswana
and Zimbabwe, while closely working with locals and healthcare foundations such
as the Africa Health Placements, Unicef, MSF, etc.Other stakeholders for the project
can been seen in Figure 1.
The first goal is to provide sufficient SusBoxes for in the sub-Saharan Africa by
providing all the 450 AHP doctors their own transportable facility in the first four
years, this is mainly to reduce the investment risk. The SusBox will be sold to
the Healthcare Foundations with a one year maintenance service which can be
extended for another year for an additional price. After increasing the amount of
helped victims with 30% and having a more stable business and income we would
like to expand the business more northwards to the middle and north of Africa and
eventually make the step to other continents all over the world, producing more than
100 SusBoxes every year.
2.1 Sustainability Analysis
People, planet and profit are the triple bottom line of sustainability. From a people
point of view SusBox can contribute to the improvement of living conditions. With
the Susbox, healthcare is provided at places without power and water facilities
and comfort is higher than in emergency tents. If the boxes and integrated
technologies such as solar panels and biogas production tanks are left behind when
the organization is finished, these facilities can still be used by the community to
improve their living conditions.
The impacts on the planet are low due to the reused container construction that
prevents mining of metals or cutting trees. Countries with more imports than exports
are building up a surplus of used containers that are not attractive to recycle.
Existing doors function to lock the box from the outside. Locating the production
of SusBox in South Africa can give a secure supply of materials and proximity of
clients located in other southern African countries. Also other materials used are
chosen with the environment in mind as described in section 2.3 on LCA.
A project can only be sustainable if it is also economically feasible. Development
organisations have received less development aid in 2011 than in 2010 due to the
economic crisis. This forces them to work more cost efficient or make choices where
they can help. SusBox provides a shelter solution at competitive price that takes
away any worries from the organisation. It is competitive priced in comparison to
brick or concrete constructions. When using SusBox as transportation container for
school books, medical supplies and other needs, costs could be further decreased.
2.2 Tech analysis
The technology inside the SusBox makes use of solar energy as it’s main source
of energy to make itself energy independent.On a broad scope the technology at
SusBox can be divided into 2 categories.
1. Water management technology
2. Electrical Technology
Figure 1. The main stakeholders within the project
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4. Water Management technology [5]
Electrical Technology
The water technology is further subdivided into two - drinking water and sink water
technology for drinking water uses traditional methods, which makes use of gravity
as the driving force to filter the water. The biggest advantage for this technology
is that it doesn't require any energy hence it is our choice. The subdivided water
technology can be seen in figure 2.
Figure 3. A insight of the electrical components
Figure 2. A insight into how this technology works
The technology is centered around the adsorption of organic impurities in water that
contains activated carbon particles which form the cake inside the filter. Activated
Carbon (AC) works by attracting and holding certain chemicals as water passes
through it. Because AC is a highly porous material, it has an extremely high surface
area for contaminant adsorption. The equivalent surface area of 1 pound of AC
ranges from 60 to 150 acres.AC is made of tiny clusters of carbon atoms stacked
upon one another. The carbon source is a variety of materials, such as peanut
shells or coal. The raw carbon source is slowly heated in the absence of air to
produce a high carbon material. Passing oxidizing gases through the material at
extremely high temperatures activates the carbon. The activation process produces
the pores that result in such high adsorptive properties.
The adsorption process depends on the following factors:
1. Physical properties of the AC, such as pore size distribution and surface area
2. The chemical nature of the carbon source, or the amount of oxygen and hydrogen
associated with it;
3. Chemical composition and concentration of the contaminant;
4. The temperature and pH of the water; and
5. The flow rate or time exposure of water to AC
In order to satisfy the energy needs of the SusBox we use solar power in the form
of a 245 W solar panel to power a Sundazer refrigerator which does not require
a battery and directly converts the solar power into the usable form of energy.
The excess solar energy from this process is stored in a battery. The capacity of
a battery to be used is decided after some calculations which can be shown as
follows:
Total energy required, E = 1000 Wh / day
Backup in case of panel failure = 3 days
Total required energy max = 3 X 1000 = 3000 Wh/day
Depth of Discharge = 0.7 (from heuristics)
Demand final = 3000/0.7 = 4285.7 Wh/day
Lowest temperature factor = 1.11 => 4285.7 X 1.11 = 4756.35 Wh/day
Design based on 24 W system we have, 4756.7/24 = 198
Contingency factor = 100 Ah
Total battery specs = approx. 300 Ah battery
Based on economics we can select the size of the battery pack which varies by
location, however a global overview of the energy needs of the box can be seen
in Figure 3..From the calculations plus taking into account contingency factors we
come up with a 300-400 Ah battery capacity to store energy.This energy which is
stored in the battery is used to drive the various electrical components in the box
which includes ventilators , lamps, fans, tube-lights and power sockets for charging
devices. Tabulated ratings of the various electrical components are as following:
Activated carbon (AC) filtration is most effective in removing organic contaminants
from water. Organic substances are composed of two basic elements, carbon
and hydrogen. Because organic chemicals are often responsible for taste, odor,
and color problems, AC filtration can generally be used to improve aesthetically
objectional water. AC filtration will also remove chlorine.
Similar to other types of water treatment, AC filtration is effective for some
contaminants and not effective for others. AC filtration does not remove microbes,
sodium, nitrates, fluoride and hardness. Lead and other heavy metals are removed
only by a very specific type of AC filter.
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5. 2.3 LCA
Comparison with conventional
alternatives could be a building
from stone or prefabricated
elements. Corrugated steel
roofs are often placed on steel
trusses and columns. The used
materials are very uncertain but
the same size building could
have 680 euros of environmental
costs. This is also elaborated in
appendix 1.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data are used to select the best materials from
an environmental perspective. This simplified LCA compares typical alternative
building materials in the Netherlands. Data about the South African situation are not
available but will probably not differ much from the Dutch situation. With respect to
transport more detailed data from South Africa can be used.
The inside of standard 3 by 6 meter containers will be insulated and covered with
board material to keep the solar heat and night cold out. Softwood laths that are
approved by FSC or a similar certification are the best environmental choice as
published by NIBE on www.nibe.info. Cellulose insulation is one of the best choices
to insulate the walls and ceiling against heat. Window and door frames should be
made from wood from certified sustainable managed forests. Glass windows make
sure that dust cannot enter the box and the door can best be made from MDF. Steel
bars in front of windows are used for security. Total environmental costs of the entire
infill are 105 euros as can be seen in appendix 1.
Transport by 24k truck uses about 0.42 litres of diesel per km[6]. With an average
transport distance of 1,000 km the environmental costs are 266 euros. So transport
has more environmental costs than the used materials. When SusBoxes are
used for transportation of other goods such as food supplies then environmental
impact becomes lower from avoided food transportation kilometres. Of course the
transport takes place every time a SusBox has to be moved while materials are only
produced once.
Figure 5. Conventional concrete emergency shelter [8]
2.4 IP analysis (Intellectual Property)
It is of utmost importance to safeguard an idea for a business. By doing so
entrepreneurs can be protect their concept from being exploited by others.
Since the idea is the heart of the business, money is invested by entrepreneurs to
protect their idea and thrive in a competitive environment.
Some advantages of having Intellectual property rights include the following:
- It protects an idea from being copied by competitors in the same segment of the
market.
- Having a registered IP helps in forming a good image of the business amongst
customers.
- IP gives an opportunity of another asset which can keep the business afloat.
- With a registered IP , a business can easily licence their idea to other businesses
and expand their market of interest.
Use of LCA data for making material choices is not protected intellectual property.
This means that other parties can do the same without investing much effort.
Our competitive advantage is that LCA data and material costs will be stored in a
database that is only accessible to us. With Building Information Modeling (BIM) the
database can be used to get real time information about costs and environmental
impacts from LCA data. This will create an objective and time saving workflow that
will stop potential customers from changing to other imitation-SusBox suppliers.
Figure 4. Container houses in Japan by architect Shigeru Ban [7]
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6. 2.5 Market analysis
2.6 Need assessment
We mainly focus on the disaster aid market in the sub-Saharan Africa, and we are
especially aiming at providing the self-sustaining healthcare facility and temporary
shelter for the victims in that situation. Especially since the African continent is
struck by approximately 130 disasters influencing the lives of more than 30 million
people each year, but only 2% of the world’s physicians are active in this area. In
addition, they have a limited efficiency due to the weather conditions, dangerous
environment and limited working hours, increasing the need of healthcare
personnel and facilities. The logistics and location of South Africa can be used as
an advantage in providing better healthcare in the neighboring countries such as,
Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, while closely working with locals and health
care foundations.
Considering the needs of our customers, the hostile environment in the natural
disaster environment should be taken into account. Our research pointed out that
the energy supply would be a tremendous problem in the disaster area. Because it
relates to the basic needs of the victims, so it would be really helpful if our product
can generate the energy for lighting, heating and other basic needs. To provide
a reliable living space is also important in the emergency aid, but most of the
temporary shelters are simple and crude nowadays. Especially for the victims in the
disaster, they should have a warm and safe temporary living space. Some statistics
indicate that 1,1 million children die of no or limited (clean) water, sanitation &
hygiene. We noticed how significance the health care is in the disaster area. Thus
we conclude the user needs in these three respects: energy supply, safe shelter
and healthcare facility.
Our product will be sold via B2C channels. Because in our business plan, the first
step is reaching the Healthcare Foundations such as Africa Health Placements,
UNICEF, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), etc, with a one year maintenance
service which can be extended for another year for an additional price. If these
foundations would like to use our product, they will contact with the African
government and discuss the details of the usage in the particular place and time.
So far, the SusBox is the only self-sustaining temporary shelter at present. There
are some other different kind of temporary housing products in the market, such
as the Spacebox in the campus of the TU Delft. And in the market we found some
suppliers for the disaster aid which can be our competitors. For example, Diamond
Brand has also designed and produced Disaster Relief tents for humanitarian use
and to relief organizations such as FEMA, USAID, and Samaritan’s Purse. Another
famous supplier is Warner Shelter Systems Limited (WSSL). But what is deserved
to be mentioned none of them can generate energy and supply clean water to
the user. Providing a robust and energy independent shelter is the innovation
and unique selling point of our product. This is also the reason why the SusBox is
suited for disaster situation and emergency aid in some places where the resource
shortage problem occurs.
So if the SusBox can generate enough energy to support the daily life of the victims,
they don’t need to worry about the lower temperature at night, since the heater and
isolation can stabilize the temperature in the room. And the children can be taken
care off better in the safe and comfortable shelter. Since clean water is difficult to
obtain in such places, a gravitational water purification system is integrated that
contains water for approximately 1 week. Moreover, the clean water and the energy
generation system also can be used for the healthcare facility, such as the cooling
of the medicine storage or cleaning wounds.
Therefore, our main goal is to help the lives of victims of natural disasters by
providing the SusBox in disaster struck areas. In order to reach this goal we will
firstly focus on providing healthcare in the sub-Saharan Africa by the self-sustaining
energy system and clean water supply in a safe shelter.
As said before in the market analysis, first we will reach the health care Foundations
and see if our product can fit in the usage situation. So once they are satisfied with
what we can provide, they can ask the money from the government to pay for the
SusBox.
However, of course we also have some competitors. But these kinds of products
don’t have the advantages of energy independent. So that is the strong points
of the SusBox, and that is why I think we have the chance to get into this market
nowadays.
In this existing market, people are more and more looking forward to see the high
efficiency and environmental friendly solutions. Since it will charge a lot of resource
to rebuild the homeland after the disaster, so it is important for them to save the
energy usage in that situation, especially for the shortage resource place. Following
this trend, it is not so difficult for our new product to enter the existing temporary
housing market. By the green technologies, SusBox can bring a lot benefits to the
victims and governments.
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7. 2.7 SWOT Analysis
SWOT stands for Strengths , Weakness , Opportunities and Threats. In any
business these four factors can help in deciding the feasibility of the model whether
it will be successful or not. The Strengths and Weaknesses decide the positive and
the negative parts of one’s business and the other two in Opportunities and Threats
help in indicating the external environment in which the business will exist.
A SWOT analysis can offer helpful perspectives at any stage of an effort. You might
use it to:
- Explore possibilities for our business problem solving.
- Make decisions about the best way to apply our initiative. Identifying our
opportunities for success in context of threats to success can clarify directions and
choices.
- Determine where change is possible. If we are at a juncture or turning point,
an inventory of our strengths and weaknesses can reveal priorities as well as
possibilities.
- Adjust and refine plans mid-course. A new opportunity might open wider avenues,
while a new threat could close a path that once existed.
- SWOT also offers a simple way of communicating about your initiative or program
and an excellent way to organize information we've gathered from studies or
surveys.
STRENGTHS
- Off grid solution
- Robust structure
- Easy assembly
- Green technology
Figure 6. Swot analysis
WEAKNESS
- Expensive
- Transport is an issue.
- Not independent so can be delayed.
- Maintenance can be problematic in remote areas.
OPPORTUNITIES
- Market for health care in Africa is legitimate
- Market trends in other disaster areas can be a good option
- A collaboration with NGOs is a feasible option
- Shipping goods inside the containers
THREATS
- Government policies in disaster stricken areas can be a hindrance.
- Cheap alternatives can be preferred
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8. 2.8 Cost Structure/Revenue
Since we are a product based company, our initial investment will be mainly
focussed towards installing a small scale industry where the assembling of
the SusBox will be done and for the development of the initial prototypes and
models of the SusBoxes. And since our primary target group are the 3rd world
African countries, the duties and taxes involved in the establishing the industry or
running our business will also be included in the initial investment. The total initial
investment is predicted at Euro 414000. The split has been explained in detail.
We have planned to set up a small scale industry on a temporary basis. So
depending on the demand of the product we can shift our industry to the respective
country or state. Due to this, we will be able cut down the heavy transportation
charges. It includes the cost of the land, equipment and the plant. The cost of the
land can vary from country to country depending on the country laws and policies.
But the overall cost is estimated at Euro 200000.
The Individual Cost of a SusBox is estimated at Euro 6380. It involves all the
material cost and installing cost involved in making a SusBox. With the effective
cost of Euro 6380 we plan to sell the Susbox at Euro 9000. Hence providing us
a marginal profit of almost euro 2500 for every Susbox. The inventories required
for assembling a SusBox will be imported from different countries according to the
availability. The containers used for our SusBoxes will be the ones which are not
utilized anymore by the shipping industries. We are in talks with different container
companies for providing us the best deal.
A table has been given which describes the individual cost of each Susbox. The
rates are subjected to change according to the rates of a particular country.
Then depending on the country, there will be taxes and legal costs for which
we have to pay the government. But, since our business is helping the country
in improving the living conditions, we will be provided with subsidies from the
Government. The total estimate for the legal Expenses has been accounted for
Euro 5000.
After setting up the factory, in order to attract our customers, we have planned to
build a prototype of our product. This prototype along with the initial inventory will
cost for an approximate amount of Euro 30000. This includes the cost of all the
inventories required to build 5 Susboxes. And finally there is a part of investment
reserved for losses. If in unfortunate cases, we don’t make enough profit for keeping
the business running, the reserve will help save our company during financial crisis.
This reserve is planned as Euro 10000. The table below tabulates the different initial
investments made:
Figure 8. Estimated cost per SusBox
Figure 7. The different initial investments
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For manufacturing the Susbox and for setting up the factory, we plan to hire 20
labours from the local place where we are planning to set up the industry. Proper
training and guidance will be provided to the labours so that the work is carried out
efficiently. Each labour will be paid an amount of Euro 200. This payment will be
on monthly basis. The number of labours involved will depend on the demand and
supply of the Susboxes, by this way we are not only helping our business grow, but
also help the government by providing more employment opportunities. After the
assembling part, the Susboxes has to be transported to different sites for which
there will be extra transportation charges. These costs are accounted for Euro 2000
which again depends from country to country.
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9. SusBox will be sold to clients with maintenance for one year included. After one
year of service an additional service contract can be signed. Selling a service
instead of a product is possible at a later stage when initial investments are paid
back. Our primary revenue target will be to achieve a production of 100 SusBoxes
in our first year. Each SusBox will be sold at a price of € 9.000 resulting in year-end
revenue of € 900.000. With the following revenue we have planned to achieve our
break-even point in 2.5 to 3 years time. This period is subjected it change according
to the changes in the demand of our product. As our business grows we will be able
to produce more SusBoxes by establishing our presence in different countries.
Our primary target market will be the already established NGO's and the
government health organisations. Any other non-profit organization which helps in
improving the health and living conditions of the people will also be in our focus. In
the future we plan to sell our product as human dwellings for universities and other
student housings.
2.9 Key partners
The SusBox is aiming to help the victims of disasters, however this can’t be
achieved without support of certain key partners in the project. Within this chapter
different key partners will be addressed and it is briefly explained what their
importance is and what they provide at a certain stage of the project. The key
partners are divided in 5 groups, each being explained below:
- Humanitarian aid (Unicef, AHP, MSF)
- Government (Local government)
- Engineering & construction experts
- Financial & Intellectual Property partners (Kempen & Co, ECN)
- Container Suppliers
Humanitarian aid
The main key partners are the humanitarian aids, since they provide direct
resources to the victims such as temporarily shelter, food and water. After contacting
these humanitarian aids it was found that they often go to the location of the
disaster and create a support plan at the location of the disaster itself. Therefore,
the humanitarian aids contact the local government in order to get their support and
obtain a better understanding of the situation. For the SusBox it is important to work
together with these aids since they can provide specific requirements on their needs
at different locations so the SusBox can be specifically adapted to support these
aids effectively.
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Government
The (local) governments of struck countries have an high importance, since they
provide information and permission to the humanitarian aids when a disaster
occurred. Another reason for SusBox to have key partners in the sub-Saharan Africa
governments is to enable us to deploy the Susboxes in a legal, fast and efficient
way. Furthermore the government can support the humanitarian aids by paying
the costs for the SusBoxes and providing the specific resources that are needed
by themselves with the help of SusBox. The governments will be approached with
help of the humanitarian aids as key partners, since they can help convince the
governments that the SusBox is an all-in-one and efficient solution during the time
the humanitarian aid is providing their support.
Engineering & construction experts
The SusBox still needs to be produced and has to fulfill all the safety requirements,
for example concerning transportation and usage, and regulations of the (local)
governments. Therefore, engineering & construction experts are needed in order
to combine all the used technologies in the SusBox and to make sure the SusBox
is safe to use in different environmental conditions. They are mainly involved in the
production of the SusBox and in improving or adapting the design for more specific
requirements, such as extreme weather conditions etc.
Financial & intellectual property partners
SusBox also consulted financial and intellectual property partners, such as Kempen
& Co and ECN, in order to have a better insight in the financial side of the project
and making it more profitable. Kempen & Co can be an important key partner as
an investment bank by providing business strategies and a starting budget for
the project. Additionally ECN was also consulted to give more insight in how to
sustain our technology and knowledge within the company and protect it to create a
competitive business advantage within the field of expertise.
Container suppliers
The last key partner would be the supplier for the containers and transportation
towards the desired location. Since SusBox would be focusing on the sub-Saharan
Africa, the supplied containers would come from the Durban Harbor located in
South Africa. Transnet [9] would possibly be one of the providers of sea containers
and transportation, since they are already located at the Durban Harbor and SusBox
can efficiently use the sea containers that are not allowed to be used for transport
anymore.
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10. Part 3: Feasibility of the business model
2.10 Analysis of the context
The production of the SusBox in South Africa and logistics to sub-Saharan countries
deserves some attention. Doing business in these countries will be different than
we are used to in Europe. As a production location for SusBox we have chosen for
South Africa because there are already resources and good infrastructure available.
Neighboring countries where SusBoxes can be deployed are accessible by road
transport.
South Africa suffered from apartheid until the 1990s where society was divided
between white and African people. After elections in 1994 won by Nelson
Mandela’s ANC, policies were focused on repairing injustice from the past. In
reality the division between rich and poor has only become larger. African people
are now discriminated to have preference for government and many jobs with
businesses. The wealthy upper class currently consists of a mix of different races.
Unemployment is estimated to be as high as 48% in 2009[10]. Criminality is a major
problem and violent murders occur against the white Boer inhabitants[11]. This
violent climate makes people reluctant to do long term investments that could lead
to further development. For example the lack of portable water could be solved
by more water efficient technologies. HIV contamination is also considered to be
a national crisis with 5.6 million people carrying the virus and 310,000 deaths in
2009[12]. This causes the population to decrease in size with 0.46% per year now.
Development aid for Africa related to healthcare was over 6 billion USD in 2011[13].
Mozambique received in million USD 766, Zambia 405, Zimbabwe 130 and Namibia
95 for healthcare. A large part is for population policies including HIV/aids control.
Infrastructure between South Africa and Namibia can be considered good for African
standards. Mozambique and Zimbabwe experienced civil wars in the 1980s that
demolished many roads. Infrastructure is still under development to be improved
to decrease transport distances. In general transport between these countries is
however possible.
Corruption is a factor to take into account when doing business in many African
countries. About 10% of development aid is lost due to corruption[14]. Government
officials have a monopoly on their activities that make corruption possible. By
cooperating with these practices, development organizations help to keep it in
place but there are often no alternatives to get things done. Better education and
transparency are ways to counteract corruption on the long term.
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The idea of dwellings like Susboxes has already been implemented in Europe
in different ways. For example Spaceboxes is a concept made especially for
students. It also utilizes shipping containers which are converted into housing
complexes. There are also other companies which utilize containers for different
other purposes. But SusBoxes has been made keeping in focus, a specific market
and for a specific group of people. Our company targets the sub-African countries.
These countries have been analysed as the counties in which there is an immediate
and prolonged requirement of housing complexes like SusBoxes. We not only seek
for development and profit for our company but also are a part for developing the
society. With this attitude we have a good chance to attract customers, namely the
government whose main motto is to develop the conditions of the society and other
NGOs We also found that there are almost no companies which targets this kind of
specific group.
The fact that we convert the containers into energy efficient dwellings gives us even
more upper hand than our competitors. Techniques such as LCA and other energy
efficient equipment help in making the Susbox as totally energy independent and
sustainable. Utilizing such technologies we aim at providing a housing place which
is robust and fully energy independent at the same time. Some of the main features
due to which SusBox will be a success are:
- Profit making being not the only motive but also to an attitude to help people and
upliftment of the society.
- Almost no competitors for our target group in specific
- Totally energy efficient and sustainable
Delivering SusBoxes to health care NGO’s in emergency areas can let them focus
on what they are good at: helping people. They do not have to worry about logistics
of their accommodation, energy, and food supply. With water storage for one week
they can wash hands and drink water from the gravity fed activated carbon filter.
Delivering other goods at the same time can provide additional revenues not taken
into account in the chapter on Profit.
Future expansion is possible with supplying the SusBox to other organizations as
well such as Doctors Without Borders. SusBox also provides the option to quickly
construct entire villages. After proving the concept with health care other markets
can be explored. With more demand in Asia and South America there could be
more assembling locations in these continents.
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11. Appendix: LCA data
Reference
[1] United Nations, Millennium Development Goals, http://www.un.org/
millenniumgoals/
[2] African Health Placements, Who we are, http://www.ahp.org.za/about-ahp/whowe-are
[3] Wereldrampenkaart 2011, Rode Kruis, http://www.rodekruis.nl/actueel/pers/
documents/wereldrampenkaart%202011.pdf
[4] African Health Placements, Milestones, http://www.ahp.org.za/about-ahp/ahpmilestones
[5] Treatment Systems for Household Water Supplies: Activated Carbon Filtration ,
University of Minnesota
[6] Brent, A., 2010. Life cycle inventories to assess value chains in the South African
biofuels industry. Journal of Energy in Southern Africa 21 (4) p.15-26
[7] Inhabitat, 2011, http://inhabitat.com/ex-container-project-provides-shippingcontainer-housing-for-victims-of-japan-earthquake
[8] Inhabitat, 2011, http://inhabitat.com/plastic-formwork-system/plastic-formworksystem-2/
[9]Transnet, http://www.transnet.net/Pages/Home.aspx
[10] CIA, 2013, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
[11] Trouw, 2010, www.trouw.nl/nieuws/wereld/article2976849.ece
[12] CIA, 2013, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
Figure 1, board material LCA
[13] OECD
[14] ISSUU, 2013, Hoe komt het dat Afrika de Millenium doelstellingen niet haalt?,
http://issuu.com/mondiaalnieuws/docs/mo-paper73_benin
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12. TABLE 1, MATERIAL LCA FOR SUSBOX
Figure 2, insulation material LCA
Figure 3, window and door frame material LCA
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13. TABLE 2, MATERIAL LCA FOR ALTERNATIVE
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