EMP Africa, one of the largest private equity companies targeting Africa with over one billion dollars under management used Columbia MBA assistance to help one of their portfolio companies in Cameroon to grow its market share and eventually become a dominant player in the region.
This company was a new entrant that sells a safer type of cylinder for cooking gas as well as selling the cooking gas itself. EMP Africa aimed to ensure that this company is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing supply of natural gas in West Africa over the next 10 years; to convince people to use cooking gas instead of firewood, as gas is both more efficient and environmentally-friendly.
The company planned to roll out its coverage in all of Cameroon using mobile filling stations that are eventually replaced by stationary medium-sized filling plants. A Columbia Business School MBA team determined just what this roll out strategy should looked like. The strategy included customer segments, geographic analysis, marketing and advertising suggestions, and advice on competition with existing companies.
Deliverables: A marketing and distribution study that KCC can use to expand its operations within Cameroon.
The MBA student consultants helpd Ola Verde to determine an expansion strategy including decisions on timing and breadth of restaurant expansion, the possibility of franchising and alternatives for the production and distribution of packaged products. They then analyzed the investment required to implement the carried on strategy, as well as the projected profitability.