Panel Discussion: Looking for a New Business Idea?
We all know entrepreneurs are always full of new business ideas. Recently we caught up with a few kingdom business leaders who were willing to share some of them. Here's a few that they listed. Hopefully these help unlock some ideas of your own!"Lack of safe drinking water is at the root of many problems in the most impoverished places: people are sick, have no time to work, children can't get educated because they are fetching water. There is tons of room for businesses to create and deploy technology for safe water that is financially sustainable."
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"I am really passionate about viral franchising (think Starbucks) and equally dispassionate about the BAM business start-up that is focused on a single site (a coffee shop in one city). The underlying principal here is that of stewardship and multiplying impact. I am usually suspect of those who speak with me who have limited their vision and impact by “using” BAM as an entry strategy rather than seeing it for what it can be – one of the most holistic transformational means in which Christians can transform the world for Jesus. We need to think big, really big! Such as massive corporations, macro businesses with thousands of employees, regional branches geographically covering the least reached. We need to meet real needs such as those in Muslim countries where new believers are shunned and lose their jobs for becoming a Christian, evangelism alone is not enough, church planting is not enough, small business is not enough, we need to create tens of thousands of new jobs. Where governments in some countries turn a blind eye to BAM because of the economic impact and the value they placed on job creation, a business creating thousands of jobs can be far more overtly Christian that the typical missionary can. We need to go big."
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"The left-field idea: Newman's Own meets global poverty. Imagine a BAM business in Thailand that employs locals to create specialty Thai marinades for sale in Western markets, and then imagine doing this in multiple countries under a common brand (like Newman's Own) that appeals to socially-conscious consumers.
How to market it? Travel books and TV shows are popular; they focus on the beauty of a place. Cooking shows and cookbooks are popular; they focus on the wonderful tastes of a place. Too often when we draw attention to a needy place, we only focus on the need and not the beauty of God's creation there and in the culture. So how about creating books and TV shows that highlight the beauty of a place, its people, and its food while also talking about the locals who are making the product and their need. You experience and learn their culture and you get to help them too!"
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"In Rwanda, there are loads of opportunities for businesses, including the following as some examples that come to the top of my head!:
1. Website development
2. Graphic design
3. Filming and editing
4. Digital photography
5. Food products manufacturing (oil, preserved food goods, etc.)
6. High-end soap and candles
7. Estate agents/property developers
8. Car sales (new and used) and hire
9. Fashion design
10. Garden landscaping and home decor.
11. Management/leadership training
12. Computer skills for children
I could go on all day!"
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"Be sure to parnter. Don't try and do it all yourself."
Labels: Editorials, Panel Discussion, Practical Tips and Tools
