IMT GHAZIABD

MITTICOOL
IB REPORT
GROUP 6 [Pick the date]

INTRODUCTION
Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a traditional clay craftsman, has developed an entire range of earthen products for daily use in the kitchen. These products include 1. Low cost water filter 2. Non Stick Clay Tawa 3. Mitticool 4. Clay Cookers and other such items of daily use. He has invented modern life-style products with touching of rural arts and traditions. These Mitticool products are gaining popularity in India as well as abroad. All Mitticool products are eco-friendly made from special clay. One such product Mitti Cool refrigerator was developed by him in 2005 which works on the basic principle of evaporation and does not require electricity for running. Considered as Poor man's fridge this product serves the needs of rural population which faces electricity shortage.

ABOUT THE PRODUCT

A fridge for the common man that does not require electricity and keeps food fresh too. With this basic parameter in mind Mansukhbhai came up with Mitticool, a fridge made of clay. It works on the principle of evaporation. It takes 10 people to make a fridge in one day. Made from clay, the refrigerator can store water, fruits, vegetables for 8 days and milk for one day. Mitti Cool Refrigerator weighs 20 kg (height:18.5 and width of 11) and the way it works is very simple. Water from the upper chambers drips down the side, and gets evaporated taking away heat from the inside , leaving the chambers cool. The top upper chamber is used to store water. A small lid made from clay is provided on top. A small faucet tap is also provided at the front lower end of chamber to tap out the water for drinking use. In the lower chamber, two shelves are provided to store the food material. The first shelf can be used for storing vegetables, fruits etc. and the second shelf can be used for storing milk etc. Cool and affordable, this clay refrigerator is a very good option to keep food, vegetables and even milk naturally fresh for days.

SALIENT FEATURE:

This clay fridges is priced at Rs 2,500 It does not require any electricity or any artificial energy and therefore no recurring cost Better preserves the original taste of fruits and vegetables. Very good alternative for the rural people who may not afford the conventional refrigerator due to high initial cost and its maintenance cost. It does not require any maintenance. Can be used to store drinking water as well as keeping vegetables, fruits, milk etc

ACHIEVEMENTS
Got National award from President Pratibha Patel in 2009 Got Green Conclave award Received handicraft award 2004 Covered by Discovery channel Mitticool was showcased at a conference organized by the Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK in May 2009 Bosch and Siemens Hausgerte(BSH), Germany, has also showed interest in Mitticool. Many units of Mitticool have been exported to the other countries also

INDIAN MARKET
Mitticool's products have captured the imagination of the rural areas. Today it has revenues of around 30 lakh and has sold over one lakh products in just six years since it started off. The products are mostly available in Gujarat and in some stores in Mumbai and Pune only. With 70% of population residing in rural India, it has got huge potentials. Affordability is the key factor for the rural market. This product is offered at almost one-tenth of the basic refrigerator models from LG, or Whirlpool providing an affordable option to the consumers. Also, electricity shortage is a major problem in India especially in rural areas where power cuts are the story of the day. Providing a product that does not require electricity, helps the rural population to solve their problem of keeping food fresh without dependence on electricity. As the concern for keeping the environment clean grows, people in urban areas will also shift towards greener and cleaner technologies. This would boost the growth of these Miiticool products in urban areas too.

OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD
There are around 144 developing nations in the world which have low income and faces similar problems like energy crisis, as India. Most of these countries have majority of population in rural areas similar to India. These markets are the best opportunities for such products as MittiCool where they are affordable and where electricity is the problem. One such continent is Africa where poverty and health issues are a huge problem. Though abundant in resources, countries in these regions dont have the big power plants to supply their power needs. Besides, low literacy levels and political conditions have led to low income growth in this region. These countries will be best suited for Mitticool products. Looking from export point of view low tariffs in these regions would keep the cost low and affordable to their population which would beneficial for both the country and the company. Another prospect could be developed countries where the drive for greener technologies could create opportunities for such products but it is highly unlikely to happen.

Overview of Kenya
Internal boundary covers 583,000km Population Approximately 30 million people with an annual growth rate of around 3%. Females are approximately at a par. Location Kenya is located astride the equator on the East Coast of Africa. It borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan in the North, Uganda in the West, Tanzania in the South and the Indian Ocean in the East. Capital City Nairobi: Approximately 2 Mio inhabitants Other main cities: Mombasa: 2 500,000 Nakuru, Kericho, Thika, Kisuru, Eldoret, Kitale Languages Kiswahili is the national language of Kenya, while English is the official language. Many Vernacular languages such as Kikuyu and Luo are spoken . Currency / Banking The Kenya Shilling is fully convertible. Foreign currency can be exchanged from the Central Bank, Commercial banks, Forex Bureaux, licensed hotels and tour operators. Time East Africa Standard Time: 3 hours ahead of GMT. Climate Tropical and hot in coastal regions; temperate, with four seasons, on the plateau and in highlands. Long rains from March - June and short rains October / November. Temperatures in Nairobi range from 11-25 degrees Celsius in July and 13-30 degrees Celsius in February.

ECONOMY OF KENYA
The macroeconomic performance of the Kenyan economy improved significantly in 2010 compared with 2009. While the economy grew by 2.6% in 2009, it is estimated that the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) nearly doubled to reach 5.0% in 2010. The increase in growth can be attributed to the good rainfall during 2010 and higher prices for Kenyan exports on world markets. The abundance of agricultural output, coupled with increased competition in some key services, helped contain inflation in 2010. However, the Kenyan economy faces two challenges: diversification and the reduction of its dependence on the vagaries of nature. The outlook for 2011 is promising and a combination of trends could contribute to ensure positive prospects in the short to medium term. The approval of the constitution continued investment in infrastructure and government policies targeting development in the private sector should all enhance Kenyas business environment and reinforce a dynamic private sector. Second, deepening regional integration and the launch of the East African Community common market are creating a single trading and investment environment in which Kenyan firms to have access to a larger market. Last, prudent monetary and fiscal policy is expected to reduce inflation and keep interest rates low, creating a credible and stable macroeconomic environment. Given these prospects, the Kenyan economy is forecast to grow by 5.3% in 2011 and 5.5% in 2012.

Macroeconomic Indicators 2009 2010 2011 2012 Real GDP growth CPI inflation Budget balance % GDP Current account % GDP 2.6 10.5 -5.4 -5.3 5 4.1 -5.8 -7.8 5.3 9.8 -6.8 -8.5 5.5 7.6 -7.1 -9.1

SWOT ANALYSIS OF KENYA

Strength Kenya is a natural hub for regional services and regional headquarters due to its high quality manpower and its amenities. Many foreign investors based in Kenya sell services to the region. This position has not been actively promoted, however, and comparative advantages remain under-exploited. Export-led agribusiness has developed international competitiveness, in significant part due to FDI. The industry has flourished notwithstanding the infrastructure and policy difficulties that have undermined the traditional industrial base. With a deep-sea port and a well-developed airport Kenya has significant potential as a regional logistics hub. It is the main entry point for the Great Lakes Region, one of the few 26 African regions with outstanding agricultural potential, and also serves Uganda and the Western regions of Tanzania (currently trade from Arusha, to Mwanza, both in Tanzania, passes through Kenya). Weaknesses Kenya's industrial sector operates under old-fashioned management and production processes that have been made obsolete by more recent structures based on the concepts of Lean Production/World Class Manufacturing. These flexible forms of production organization provide significant and low-cost returns through, among other things, production-pulling, total quality control or cellular layouts. These forms of organization have been applied not just in high-income countries, but also in a variety of low-income economies (Kaplinsky, 1994). Visits to Kenyan manufacturing plants show that much of this organizational revolution has passed Kenyan industry by. Ironically, the very outdated nature of Kenyas factory system could provide potential for investors, notably foreign investors, for output expansion and cost reduction at attractive incremental capital cost. Opportunities Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing livelihood to approximately 75 percent of the population. There is considerable scope for diversification and expansion of the agricultural sector through accelerated food crop production and increase of non-traditional exports. There are also opportunities for improvement in technology infrastructure such as packaging, storage, and transportation. Intensified irrigation and additional value added processing are marketable areas for investments. Tourism is Kenya's third largest foreign exchange earner. The tourism industry is growing as a result of the liberalization measures, diversification of tourist generating markets and continued Government commitment to providing an enabling environment, coupled with successful tourism promotion and political stability. Enormous opportunities exist for investment in film production; recreation and entertainment facilities in the following areas: Conference Tourism, Cultural tourism, Cruise ship Tourism, Aviation/tour and travel Tourism, Eco-tourism

Manufacturing sector is an area where investment opportunities exist. Initially developed under the import substitution policy, there has now been a shift to export oriented manufacturing as the thrust of Kenya's industrial policy. The sector plays an important role in adding value to agricultural output and providing forward and backward linkages, hence accelerating overall growth. The manufacturing sector now comprises of more than 700 established enterprises and employs directly over, 218,000 persons as at the year 2000. A wide range of opportunities for direct and joint-venture investments exist in the manufacturing sector, including agroprocessing, manufacture of garments, assembly of automotive components and electronics, plastics, paper, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metal and engineering products for both domestic and export markets. Threats Productivity is not only low relative to strategic competitors like China and India, but it is also falling behind. Kenyas formal manufacturing firms have not seen gains in productivity in more than a decade. Meanwhile China and India have been making huge gains in firm productivity.With the exception of the textiles sector, firms propensity to export actually fell between 1999 and 2002. AGOA helps, as it has already in textiles, but in other sectors Kenya has to compete against China and India

Reason for introducing Mitty cool in Kenya (South Africa)

POWER CRISIS COVERS ALL OF EASTERN AFRICA NOW Drought conditions in parts of the East African region, poor maintenance and aged equipment and even non -payment of dues to independent power producers have taken their toll on the availability of electricity in the entire region, with load shedding or power rationing the order of the day now in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In Kenya power cuts have gotten more frequent again of late, and fellow Facebook friends write acid remarks on their walls about the power company being powerless. Long term weather forecasts in areas critical to feed water into the reservoirs of the hydroelectric dams are also not encouraging for the time being, leaving the East African countries again to generate added demand through expensive thermal plants using heavy fuel oil and diesel, as a result of which power distributors are demanding yet higher tariffs from a population hit by food shortages and inflation like not seen for decades. HEALTH PROBLEMS IN KENYA Other infectious diseases prevalent in South Africa include; Bacterial Diarrhea, Typhoid Fever, and Hepatitis A. These infectious diseases are generally caused when the food or water consumed by an individual has been exposed to fecal material. South Africa is an under developed nation and because of this the sanitation facility access in urban areas is 16% unimproved while in rural areas the sanitation facility access is 35% unimproved. SAFE DRINKING WATER IN KENYA Drinking water in South Africa is safe to drink and cook with when taken from taps in urban areas. Safe drinking water would induce people in South Africa to purchase Mitty Cool as it is a refrigerator and not purifier and the vegetables are kept fresh with help of water which is very safe in the country.

 LESS DISPOSABLE INCOME Nairobi's poor and those in rural areas are experiencing inflation rates as high as 17.2 per cent and 17.4 per cent respectively, considerably higher than the country's average of 16.9 per cent. The two income groups captured by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the government agency charged with collecting and analyzing economic data, as "Nairobi lower" and "Rest of the Country" spends most of their income -- 50 to 60 per cent -- on food, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). In contrast those who earn more are suffering less, with Nairobi's middle and upper classes facing less pressure on their disposable income from relatively low inflation rates of 11.3 per cent and 12.9 per cent respectively. The two groups spend a smaller portion of their income on basics like food, transport and energy

CONCLUSION
The continuing growth of the middle class in key African markets provides the private sector with growing opportunities. In response to the growing aspirations and increasing spending power of the consumers in Africa, the presence of international retailers is on the rise. The shopping mall concept, already in its maturity in South Africa, is being developed dynamically in other parts of the continent with new malls entering operation or nearing completion in several cities, including Nairobi and Kampala in the East to Accra and Dakar in the west The requirements of international business occupiers are challenging to fulfil. Infrastructure remains underdeveloped in a great deal of the continent and high levels of congestion blights many city centres, resulting in the outward migration of businesses from traditional CBD locations. Markets are opaque, with reliable information difficult to come by and the need to build relationships on the ground is essential. The value of the resources held in Africa is reflected in the growing relationship between China and Africas governments, as the Chinese seek to secure raw materials for its own rapidly expanding industrial sector.