During the development of the NEXUS Concepts, we tried not only to incorporate our own experiences into the model, but also to consider various recommendations from international relief organizations. The target is set: we want to achieve a social and ecological impact with a commercial and entrepreneurial business model which is financially attractive for all stakeholders. The focus on financial sustainability is certainly the biggest difference to other NGO or government projects. Accordingly, we will begin to repay the first loans from Nepal to our investors in May!
Entrepreneurship is propagated by many organizations as being helpful for the development of poor regions, but up to date, only a few projects have been implemented. Entrepreneurial action sometimes means making difficult decisions, something which is not easy for many relief organisations. In our case, this applies in particular to human ressources but also to price policies. Our approach is depending on a minimum income of our customers and a relatively stable environment. The NEXUS Concept can therefore not be applied in crisis areas such as Syria or in environments where people do not have any income.
Nevertheless, this still leaves us with a market potential of several billion people worldwide! In Nepal, we currently have around 3,000 customers and generated 18 jobs. And growing!
Another important difference is the efficiency. We claim that the payback pressure of our projects forces all partners to work as efficiently as possible. Our experience shows clearly that the compulsion to efficiency leads to more creativity, which in turn leads to exciting and innovative solutions. The story of Rajkumari is a good example how our partners start to take faith into their own hands with creative solutions.
Our team is small and flexible, which allows us to tackle complex problems with the necessary know-how. We are convinced that with holistic projects using modern technology and up-to-date know-how, we can offer an alternative to traditional development aid, which is not only less expensive but also more sustainable for all those involved. We see this as a possible way to achieve the challenging targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).
In order to close the loop, we see the holistic yet more complex business models as the only alternative for long-term success in the BoP markets. Simple “silo thinking” has often been tried in recent years and has mostly failed.
Some of you have probably noticed that we try to communicate as transparently and honestly as possible. We believe that this is the only way to gain understanding and therefore support for our projects. Let us know your opinion! Discuss with us on Facebook, Twitter or via email.
We are looking forward to receiving your feedback!
Source: nexus ch
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