Browsing by Subject "Business plan"
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Item Open Access Business Plan for Sustainable Ethanol Cooking Fuel in Developing World(2014-04-24) Zhou, Kerui; Shi, WenjingEthanol cooking fuel has great promise in developing countries, especially in South Asia and Africa, because it can yield significant economic, environmental and health benefits. This business plan aims to find a clean and ideal solution to promote ethanol cooking fuel and stoves cost-effectively for a representative developing country—Kenya. This plan compares the biological features of a couple of potential feedstock of ethanol and chooses sweet sorghum because of its great adaptability to semi-arid climate and short harvesting cycle. Next, by assessing the technical and economical feasibility of a local small-scale ethanol plant and bringing forward integrated solutions throughout the entire supply chain from the feedstock production to the retail of ethanol fuel products, this business plan indicates that ethanol cooking fuel and stoves can substitute prevalent fuel-wood and three-stone fire cost-effectively. The local production of ethanol can yield income benefits to local farmers by purchasing local feedstock, healthy benefits to local residents, especially women and children, and job-creating benefits to local communities by involving retailers, delivers and farmers into this business. Besides, if the investor further takes carbon credit generated from ethanol plant, byproducts of ethanol production and potential government subsidies or financial incentive policies into consideration, the profitability of this business could be improved additionally.Item Open Access Creating a Business Plan for Assateague Island National Seashore and The Startup of a Nonprofit Friends Group(2008-04-25T03:39:35Z) Warner, BrandonAssateague Island National Seashore (Seashore) is faced with significant financial challenges. As a management consultant over an eleven week period, I worked with park staff to produce a business plan that clearly outlined operational requirements, identified financial resources currently available, and analyzed funding gaps. In addition, I worked with the Seashore to identify operational and investment priorities and develop strategies for meeting them. The purpose of the business plan is to improve the Seashore’s ability to more clearly communicate its financial status with principal stakeholders. It is also intended to accomplish three main tasks. First, it provides the Seashore with a synopsis of its funding history. Second, it presents a clear, detailed picture of the state of current Seashore operations and funding. Finally, it outlines Seashore priorities and funding strategies. This document will assist management with financial and operational baseline knowledge for future decision making. Of the six strategies recommended in the business plan, one was the creation of an independent organization to partner with the Seashore. This was the recommendation I implemented for the second part of my masters project. There were two important goals for this initiative. First, creating a nonprofit with a plan to become financially sustainable and second, ensuring the organization supports the mission of the Seashore. Assateague Island Alliance (Alliance) was incorporated on January 1, 2008 and has submitted its nonprofit application to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as of April 25, 2008. The Alliance is focused on supporting the mission of the Seashore and improving its financial flexibility. As Executive Director, I’ve worked on the organization’s startup, board of directors recruitment, development of a mission, vision, and strategic plan, and engagement of the Seashore and community to build support for this new organization. Details on each of these initiatives are included in this master’s project.Item Open Access CREATING VALUE CHAINS FOR SOIL HEALTH AND RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS IN WARREN COUNTY(2021-04-30) Hessenius, Angela; Howard, Elizabeth; Martinez, Catarina; Karanikolas, CleopatraThis Master’s Project aims to support Working Landscapes, a rural development nonprofit based in Warren County, NC, in developing a food waste recovery enterprise to handle food scraps from their food processing operation called ByWay Foods. Our project has two main objectives: 1) identify the best model for processing ByWay Foods’ vegetable waste stream to maximize economic, environmental, and social benefits in Warren County and 2) develop a business plan to guide the creation of this food waste recovery enterprise. To achieve these goals, we researched various alternative food waste recovery strategies including composting, vermicomposting, and biochar through literature review and interviews with experts and practitioners. Based on our client’s values and priorities, we selected a mixed-model compost and vermicompost operation as the optimal strategy for our client to create value from ByWay Foods’ food scraps. The result of our project is a business plan that guides Working Landscapes in the implementation of this new social enterprise that will enhance environmental, economic, and social value in the communities they serve.Item Open Access The Energy Investment Index: A business case for Duke University Energy Initiative's Energy Investment Index(2013-12-26) Barnes, Corey; Kuzma, Alisha; Marshall, MaxThe Duke University Energy Initiative, with the goal of establishing Duke University as a leader in energy industry data analytics, is exploring the creation of an index that tracks investment in the energy sector over time. The Index would assist industry leaders, policymakers, and investors in decision-making and consulting by providing a comprehensive summary of trends in energy investment through aggregating data from various sources. This business plan comprises a market scoping analysis, customer and competitor analyses, a discussion of barriers to entry, a detailed description of the product and its underlying models, marketing materials, a financial analysis, and an implementation strategy. It concludes that the creation of the Energy Investment Index is both feasible and advisable.