Interested in bringing your business online? Make-IT Africa launches a playbook to support your transition 

Make-IT Africa has launched a new resource, the Business Model Playbook, to support entrepreneurs in the process of bringing your businesses online. Globally, digitization has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading many businesses to launch products and services on digital platforms, begin accepting and sending cashless payments, and marketing to new and existing customers using digital tools like social media. Customers are becoming more familiar with these digital interactions, and if managed well by the business, it can be a win-win for customers and entrepreneurs alike. Unfortunately, it may be hard to know where to start in the process of bringing your business online.  

While Make-IT Africa, an initiative from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), works to promote digital innovation among West and East African entrepreneurs primarily in the digital sector, the playbook can be used by all kinds of businesses looking to bring their businesses online. It explains in detail the different business models that entrepreneurs can use to digitize their products and services and provides specific examples of the models used by popular platforms such as TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Google, and Facebook.   

In addition to helping you understand what kinds of models exist for bringing your business online, the playbook also aims to help you determine how to get there – how to integrate with a platform provider. This includes a toolkit that provides insight into how to adjust existing business models and test assumptions with different business tools like a business model canvas and a strategic roadmap to support you as you map and prioritize objectives and next steps.  

To access the full version of the digital business model playbook, visit Business Model Playbook.