Boat Audit & Recommendations
Through observational research, surveys conducted at the Rutinda market both before and upon arrival, and interviews with villagers, vendors, the Entusi staff, and Ugandan businessmen and businesswomen, the DMBA team gathered diverse perspectives and a considerable amount of information to digest.
Denver MBA
The DMBA team made it a point of emphasis to diligently listen prior to arriving at conclusions. Through observational research, surveys conducted at the Rutinda market both before and upon arrival, and interviews with villagers, vendors, the Entusi staff, and Ugandan businessmen and businesswomen, the DMBA team gathered diverse perspectives and a considerable amount of information to digest.
First, the current operation of the Entusi Boat needs to be streamlined. The team recommends continuing scheduled service during times of high demand (Rutinda market days) and eliminating scheduled service during times of low demand (Tuesday through Thursday, and weekends). During off-peak times, the Entusi Boat should only be used for high capacity rides (special hires, church/funeral services).
Additionally, the team recommends continuing the school children transport service to facilitate trust with villages and give back to the community.
Second, the DMBA recommends implementing a delivery service as an additional revenue stream. The delivery service offers many advantages: (i) It solves a focal pain point of villagers by providing access to hard-to-find goods at an affordable price; (ii) It utilizes current Entusi operations (traveling to Kabale Town to pick up goods for the resort); (iii) It requires relatively little capital investment (the service is recommended to begin as a pilot program, delivering a small quantity of goods to one village); and (iv) The delivery service can occur during low demand times, providing additional income and moving toward a sustainable operation of the Entusi Boat.
In the report that follows, the DMBA provides more detail around the audit and recommendation, and the methodology, research findings, and analysis that led to the team's conclusions.
Phase 1
The first phase analyzes the previous team’s recommendations and provides insight into why the scheduled transportation service was not feasible as initially proposed. This phase begins with a review of the assumptions made in the previous team’s report. This leads into an overview of the research performed by this year’s DMBA team and exploration as to why many of those assumptions were inaccurate. This section concludes with a recommendation for general boat operation.
Phase 2
The second phase explores additional opportunities for the boat. The DMBA team provides a recommendation and implementation strategy for a delivery service on non-market days. This phase introduces a pilot program in a village that the team has identified as an ideal location to test the service. Included is a marketing strategy, a financial analysis, and an outline of key considerations that have been identified by the team.
