Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/2-Assessment

Modules 2.1 – 2.8 ASSESSMENT

Exercise: Use at least 8 Case Studies to complete the table below:

Case Study	Industry type	Services offered	Challenges	What should have been done differently by this company
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

1. Role play: Participants should volunteer to take the following roles – Manager, Client. Chose a Case study and act these roles.

1. Discussion: Discuss and list down as many obstacles as possible to the use of FOSS in your business organization.
2. Assignment/Interview: Use the template below to interview a FOSS-based company in your country.

Company Name:................................... Country:........................................... Year Founded................................... Website:................................................... Services offered:.................................................
Section 1: Outlook and Experience report	Q1. When was you company founded and how many people are employed by your company? Q2. In your years of operation, what problems (e.g. getting start-up capital, getting loans to finance some aspects your activities, building a client base, hiring employees, finding office space, getting company documents, etc.) have you encountered? AND possible solutions Q3. Looking at other companies (in and outside your country) who may be offering similar services as you do, what would you say works well for your company? Q4. What is your advise for someone building business around open source software in Africa in general, and your country in particular?
Section 2: Revenue generation	Q5. Which services (e.g. training, marketing, technical support, hosting and software development, consultancy, etc.) is your company offering Q6. Which of the services in Q5 is generating more income for your company? Q7. What is the annual turnover for each of the service sectors? Q8. What are some of the difficulties, if any, you face in getting paid for the services you offer?
Section 3: Service line and FOSS motivation	Q9. What is the motivation for going into open source as a major business? Q10. Are you developing new products (software and/or training materials) or customizing existing open source solutions (bespoke software) to fit your customers’ needs? Q11. What are some of the strategies you use to market your products and services? Q12. Who are your most prolific customers and the types of services they request most? Q13. Are you localizing (translating into local languages) some of your products? Q14. How would you describe your company, "pure open source company" developing, distributing and providing services around open source software or a “hybrid company” developing, distributing and providing services around both open source software and proprietary software? Q15. What are some of your business plans for the next few years to improve the competitive standing of your company?