Sector Expertise

OTF has worked in a large number of sectors ranging from commodity-based industries like coffee, marble, and wood, to more value-added service sectors like tourism, information technology, and entertainment. Provided below is a selection of case studies drawn from our work in agribusiness, ICT and tourism.

Agribusiness

Rwanda upgrades its coffee offering

Coffee provides more than 400,000 rural families with a livelihood. In the early nineties, coffee exports amounted to US $60 million accounting for 60% of total exports. However by 2001, the sector was in crisis with exports down to US $20 million. OTF developed a cohesive national strategy and investment plan that re-positioned the industry towards higher-value washed coffee. The strategy was approved by the Rwandan cabinet and is official government policy. Results to date have been exceptional. Fully washed coffee exports have increased from zero in 2002 to 730 tons or $1.5 million in receipts by 2004. Over this same period, the average export price has increased 11.2% with the price obtained by farmers up 17%. The project, paid for by the Rwandan government, subsequently expanded to include 10 clusters.

Jamaica's Agribusiness Cluster Combines Their Purchasing Power

For most Jamaican hot sauce and jerk manufacturers, packaging is the single largest input cost accounting for as much as 40% of unit costs. Although the bottles used in the industry are generally standardized, they are purchased in small batches by the individual processor due to volume requirements. The much larger glass bottle suppliers were able to exert bargaining power over a fragmented buyer base—dictating prices, credit terms, and the degree of after sales service. OTF changed this situation by coordinating a consolidated glass purchasing program. The joint purchasing initiative resulted in price reductions of 8% to 25% yielding over $500,000 in savings to the cluster.

Macedonia Expands Markets for Lamb and Cheese Cluster

Nearly 50,000 people in Macedonian make their livelihood from the sale of lamb and cheese. In general, their standard of living is low, and most were missing out on opportunities to increase their incomes by exporting cheese. The OTF Group conducted market research with the Lamb and Cheese cluster to help them identify interested distributors, and publicized these export success stories to create new interest among other cluster members. OTF helped the industry sign contracts worth nearly $600,000 to 4 new markets.

ICT

infoDEV: Impact Assessment and Lessons Learned from infoDev’s Global Network of Business Incubators

In April 2006, infoDev commissioned a team led by the OTF to carry out an impact assessment of its global network of business incubators. The study focused on the direct and indirect impacts of 66 core grant-receiving organizations, as well as infoDev’s role in facilitating those impacts. Based on the findings of a web-based survey, on-site observation, interviews with grantees and their stakeholders, and detailed case studies of ten representative organizations, OTF provided a set of recommendations to strengthen the impact of the network. A key feature of the assessment was the tremendous diversity of the organizations studied, reflecting the range of business models, environments and developmental stages of the Initiative’s grantees.

Promoting ICT Adoption in Africa

In 2008, Microsoft Africa asked OTF Group to become its partner in a bold initiative to deepen Microsoft’s engagement with key client countries in Africa by moving from a purely transactional model to playing the role of a strategic advisor. This initiative consists of supporting national governments to increase ICT adoption in key segments of the economy by conducting secondary and primary market research on key stakeholder groups such as government institutions, SMEs and large businesses. The result of this process is typically an ICT strategy that clearly identifies priorities for action in ICT infrastructure and hardware, training, and creating a “culture of technology” by highlighting the benefits of ICT.

Impact of ICT on Regional Competitiveness in the Caribbean

In 2005 OTF Group was commissioned to analyze the overall competitiveness of 15 countries in the Caribbean and more specifically the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a tool to improve the private sector’s ability to compete in the global economy. OTF delineated the regulatory impediments in improving access to technology and connectivity and steps to overcome these issues at a national and regional level. Particularly well-received was a sober evaluation of attempts to build ICT clusters throughout the region such as cyberparks and call centers, as well as the effective use of ICT in service sectors, niche manufacturing and other promising sectors. OTF developed a framework for policymakers to better understand ICT as a tool in improving firm level strategy and operational efficiency.

Tourism

Reversing two decades of decline in Bermuda’s tourism sector.

In 2002, OTF Group worked with hotel operators to develop a strategy to re-position the island’s offerings away from the generic sun and sand model towards higher-end customers. The new strategy resulted in a 10% increase in average hotel occupancy. This success enabled the hotel industry to invest more than US $500 million in physical plant upgrades and employee training. A critical component of this project was the fostering of a consensus between hotel management and labour. Using a variety of productive dialogue technologies OTF helped to foster a shared vision between two groups that had previously seen each other as adversaries.