Doing Business in Africa: The California Bike Coalition Comes of Age

Five years ago, the California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) set out to create a sustainable commercial supply of good quality bicycles with reputable dealers in Africa. The goal was to create a self-financing venture. This article discusses the CBC's work and the challenges it has faced. The CBC first designed a trendy, affordable bicycle and established a network of independent bicycle dealers (IBDs) in four African countries to sell the bicycle. CBC also provided business and technical training programs to its IBDs. To convince IBDs to try the bicycle, bicycles were sold on consignment. Employee purchase programs were successful in selling large volumes of bicycles to companies who then in turn sold them to their employees. Two new bicycle models later were introduced to meet customer demand. Despite some success, the CBC project has not achieved all its goals. Cash flow and inventory lead time have been persistent problems. The CBC also has not yet met its goal of convincing the global bicycle industry to take Africa seriously as a long-term market opportunity rather than viewing it as a charitable mission.

• Record URL:
  https://go.itdp.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=54888232
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/31056686
• Authors:
  • Schroeder, Bradley
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: pp 18-21, 30
• Serial:
  • Sustainable Transport
  • Issue Number: 19
  • Publisher: Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
  • ISSN: 1536-2523
  • Serial URL: http://www.itdp.org/ST/index.html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Case studies; Coalitions; Developing countries; Financing; Inventory; Nonprofit corporations; Retail trade; Sales; Specialized training; Vehicle design
• Identifier Terms: California Bicycle Coalition
• Geographic Terms: Africa
• Subject Areas: Design; Finance; Freight Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01084510
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 28 2008 8:08AM