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Workbook

Work through these exercises with your own crop, market and numbers. Use the worked example as a guide, not a copy. Review your answers with a mentor, an incubator or a business adviser. Print this page to fill it in by hand.

Exercises in this module

Part 1 · The opportunity: post-harvest loss is a business problem

Exercise 1.1 · Find high-loss crops near you

  1. Pick three perishable crops in your region that are often lost after harvest.
  2. For each, ask farmers and traders how much is usually lost and when losses are worst. Write down what they tell you and who said it.
  3. Note the price a farmer gets when the crop sells and what happens when it does not.
  4. Note whether the crop could be dried, ground or otherwise made stable. You will screen these crops in Part 3.

Part 2 · Sourcing: a dual-stream plan

Exercise 2.1 · Map your supply chain

  1. Who are the farmers? How many are within a distance you could realistically collect from?
  2. When is the harvest season, and how long does the surplus window last?
  3. What prices do farmers receive during peak surplus compared with the off-season?
  4. Could you find a handful of farmers willing to agree a forward contract or coordinated supply?
  5. If your base crop is out of season, which other base vegetable could you switch to?

Part 3 · Processing: from perishable to stable, and the platform model

Exercise 3.1 · Screen your own vegetable

  1. Does your chosen vegetable meet the seven criteria? Be honest about any it fails.
  2. What do you know, or need to measure, about its moisture, powder yield, colour and taste after drying?
  3. Would it be a standalone base, or would it need blending with a lower-carbohydrate base?
  4. What additive, if any, would you add?
  5. Which equipment do you already have, and what would you rent or buy?

Part 4 · Brand: from commodity to consumer product

Exercise 4.1 · Write a one-page brand brief

  1. Three possible brand names and a tagline.
  2. Your target customer: who, where and why they would buy.
  3. What the product replaces in their meals.
  4. How you want them to feel when they eat it.
  5. Your masterbrand structure, and a name and short positioning for each variant.

Part 5 · Customers and digital acquisition

Exercise 5.1 · Plan your first 90 days of digital selling

  1. Which platform will you start on, and why?
  2. What are the first five pieces of content you will make?
  3. Who are three micro-influencers you could approach?
  4. How will you take orders and receive payment?

Part 6 · Funding, partners and your pitch

Exercise 6.1 · Research support available to you

  1. Which programmes above, or others you find, are open to your type of business right now?
  2. What are the deadlines and eligibility rules for each?
  3. Which documents would you need to prepare?
  4. Who is the contact person or office at each one?

Part 6 · Funding, partners and your pitch

Exercise 6.2 · Write your one-page pitch

  1. Use the six parts above and fill in each with your own facts and numbers.
  2. If you cannot fill a part, treat that as a research task. Do not leave it blank or guess.

Part 7 · Compliance in Ghana: what to check before you sell

Exercise 7.1 · Prepare before your first commercial batch

  1. Find the FDA Ghana registration guidance and the G-FIRMS portal, and note which documents are current.
  2. Identify a laboratory that the FDA accepts for your product.
  3. Draft your label and check it against every labelling item above.
  4. Decide which variant you will launch first, and plan the order for the others.
  5. Contact FDA Ghana, and ask about current fees, timelines, inspection and the Progressive Licensing Scheme.

Part 8 · Unit economics: the numbers that matter

Exercise 8.1 · Work out your unit economics

  1. Complete the cost table with your own measured or carefully estimated figures.
  2. Find at least three competing products and record their prices, shops and dates.
  3. Work out your gross margin at a price that is competitive. If the margin is thin, revisit your cost assumptions before you spend on branding.
  4. Measure the powder yield for your chosen vegetable from a real drying trial.

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