Solving the Problem

The opportunity that I identified in the previous exercise is inefficiency in some charity organizations -- which delays relief for their cause. The way that I think this problem can be "solved" or perhaps simply ameliorated, is by creating a non-profit with a charitable and purpose to support a certain cause -- a social enterprise. 

This entrepreneurial model would sell goods/services to customers, where all profit would go towards organizations that directly take action towards a certain issue -- such as groups that work to build solar panels in poor communities to tackle climate change, or perhaps an organization that directly does research for the betterment of humankind and our environment.  This solves the issue of distribution delay in aid or overall mismanagement with what to do with the donations/funding, and promotes efficiency in responding to the cause. 

By selling a good/service, there is an incentive provided for customers to make a payment which essentially goes towards a donation -- solving the lack of donations issue some charity organizations face. Therefore, along with receiving a product/service that they really want, they are also doing something charitable to support a cause. The solution to my opportunity is not solely based on the good/service being sold, but rather how the business model works with the proceeds being received. This also solves the problem of people donating useless things, as their money (which is very flexible) would be the only thing going towards the relief. 

An issue I've come across, however, is that there are thousands of social enterprises out there -- all dedicated to different causes and producing different products/services. I've decided that in order to differentiate this sphere of business models, my venture would focus on only one objective -- donating to organizations that engineer renewable energy in the developing world. 

I've had certain ideas on what good/service this nonprofit would sell -- originally, I really wanted to sell coffee or coffee bags in a local, community setting to support low-income coffee farmers in Latin America. I had this idea because along with supporting certain causes using proceeds, I also wanted to increase benefits by giving back directly to the people that craft the good/service being sold -- such as by providing employment or anything to coffee growers, especially those that have greater economic needs. However, I realize that the market for coffee is incredibly difficult to yield donated profit due to competition, especially in the United States -- which means it would be better to incorporate product differentiation. I'm still thinking of ways to solve this issue, as earning sufficient proceeds is imperative for this business model to "solve" the opportunity I've identified.