Managing for value – a management model for accessing markets for agro-based industrial products (the community-owned professionally-managed [coprom] system)

Partners:

Food Research Institute, Ghana
Afrimart Global Enterprise, Accra, Ghana
Amasa Agro-Processing Company, Accra-North, Ghana
Feed and Flour Ghana Limited, Accra, Ghana
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Brong-Ahafo Region), Sunyani, Ghana

Problem:

The output under consideration is a management model designed to combine Community Ownership with Professional Management hence the acronym COProM.  It is aimed at addressing those factors that impact negatively on the profitability of community-owned small to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and which can be traced to lapses in business management structures and practices.

Achievements:

The object of the model is to ensure that communities derive the financial, employment and social development benefits resulting from the establishment of SMEs within their communities without necessarily being saddled with the day to day management of the enterprise and the marketing of products.  The model is a marriage of some aspects of a secondary level cooperative and those of a limited liability company.  It primarily involves a partnership between a proven, seasoned business enterprise/entrepreneur and the community – (the entrepreneur being the Professional Manager and the Community being the majority shareholder) – under the policy guidance of a management board chaired by a non-governmental organization with a non-financial interest in the growth of the particular SME.  Other private stakeholders could participate as shareholders; and governmental agencies with community development interests could also be appointed to serve on the board.  Other key components of the model include the establishment of a management team, a clear definition of the roles and benefits of stakeholders, the establishment and implementation of a shareholding policy and a procedure for brokering partnerships.

The problems the model seeks to address include:

• The lack of policy direction for SMEs
• The lack of a production strategy leading to erratic and unprofitable production activities (erratic production limits market access as larger buyers cannot be confident of timely delivery of products)
• The lack of a marketing strategy leading to a stagnation of growth in income
• Overdependence on volunteer staff who lack the necessary business management skills
• An understandable commitment to farming activities but which is detrimental to processing activities.
• Improper management of financial, production and marketing data.