C. Bowman, C. Whalen, E. Rivera-Gonzalez, J. Tanuska, M. Linstead, M.

Drotos

Professor Mercado

International Marketing

November 19, 2020

Marketing Plan

Ghana

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 Executive Summary

The XO Laptop is an extremely durable and energy-efficient device first introduced by a non-profit

organization, One Laptop Per Child. The laptop is suitable for hot and humid climates like Ghana.

Durability is an essential feature, since children tend to not know how to carefully handle computers. The

original price of the laptop before the adjustment was $250.

The population of Ghana is very young, with over a half of the population being under the age of 25.

The growing and youthful market provides great marketing and business opportunities for foreign

investment, but also penetration into the Ghanian market could be a “gateway” to the total market of

Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion.

Our goal is to sell the XO Laptops to public and private high schools in Accra and Kumasi. These two

cities are the largest and most developed in Ghana, therefore we expect the sales to be higher than other

areas. The specific sales goal is to sell one laptop per every three students in each high school of Accra

and Kumasi.

Since the laptop will be marketed to high schools, design adaptations need to be made. The childish

green/white color is not appropriate for high school students, therefore we decided to change the color of

the laptop to a sleek dark silver. Also, the antenna will be removed and replaced by powerful hidden

receptors. We also plan to remove the D-pad, which is an unnecessary source of distraction. A limited

4-year warranty will be offered.

Our plan is to advertise through a local sales force and targeted Google advertising. A sales force of

Ghanians selling the laptops to the high schools will have a high credibility, since both the seller and

buyer will be Ghanians. Targeted advertising through Google will be utilized in the cities of Accra and

Kumasi, specifically aimed at teachers. Once we successfully penetrate the market of Accra and Kumasi,

we will be able to expand to other cities and eventually other countries.

The main costs that influence the price of the product are the shipping and insurance fees. The import

taxes/duties do not apply to these laptops, because they are made for educational purposes. After taking

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all the costs into consideration, and our desired gross margin of 28%, we will price the laptops at 140$

each leaving us with a cushy 36.07% margin.

The laptops will be shipped by water, since it is the cheapest shipping option. Faster methods of

shipping will be considered once the sales goals are met. The harbor we will be using is located in Tema,

a city nearby Accra. If we decide to utilize airplanes for the distribution of our product, the Kumasi

international airport will be the best choice.

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 Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Table of Contents 4
Introduction 4
Part 1: Market Audit and Competitive Market Analysis 5
The Product 6
The Market 7

Part 2: Preliminary Marketing Plan 11

4
 Introduction

The purpose of the marketing plan is to provide the XO laptop to public high schools and

private schools. The XO laptop is a device for low income areas that allows the user to browse

the Internet as a standard laptop would but with limitations such as memory storage and

processing power. The XO laptop offers many benefits for high school students which allows

them to further enhance their educational experience. One of the benefits of the XO laptop is that

it easily grants access to resources that the Internet provides. Ghana is known for having one of

the highest literacy rates in West Africa and being one of the educational leaders in all of Africa.

Accra and Kumasi have the highest concentration of high schools and therefore will be the

targeted cities. Accra and Kumasi make up almost 25% of Ghana’s total population and both

cities have achieved great strides in their technological advancements.

Accra, being the capital city of Ghana, has increasing quality access to the Internet as

does Kumasi and both cities, as mentioned above, contain a substantial portion of the target

market that the team has established. The target market is high schools as an entity rather than

individual students. This strategy of selling directly to the schools will help us develop a greater

market presence. Once the schools have acquired the laptops, their students are able to pursue

their educational careers and provide an increased benefit to society. Introducing the laptop may

create costs that will affect the quantity purchased from the schools but the effect on the market

will be substantial enough to allow benefits to occur. The additional costs for the laptops will be

reduced over time as more laptops are purchased and market share increases. By selling to

schools, we will be able to expand our market to every school in Ghana and create full market

penetration.

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 Part 1: Market Audit and Competitive Market Analysis

The Product

The XO Laptop is an innovative computer designed by a nonprofit group, One Laptop

per Child. The laptop is designed to be exceptionally durable and weather resistant which is an

important feature to have when the NGO’s target consumers can be from rural, and less

developed areas. The durability is essential not just because of the location, but also because it is

meant for children. The laptop is energy efficient with an option to be charged with alternative

sources of energy, such as car batteries or solar panels. A fully charged XO will last for as long

as 10 hours. A secondary battery comes with the laptop. The energy efficiency and secondary

battery comes handy in Ghana, since a large fraction of the population does not have regular

access to electricity. The XO is considered the greenest laptop in the world.

The XO Laptop comes with a wireless antenna which connects with other nearby laptops

therefore, children sitting close to each other can utilize collaborative apps without being

connected to the internet. The laptop is very light (no heavier than a lunchbox) and contains a

feature that allows it to “transform” into several configurations: standard laptop use, e-book

reading, and gaming. The estimated lifetime of the laptop is four years. The long lifetime is a key

attribute when selling a product in a less developed or least developed country because neither

the citizens or the government can afford to buy electronics frequently. This laptop comes with a

500MHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD and a dual-mode display that allows a user to switch

between black-and-white and full-color-mode. The operating system is Linux, and the laptop has

multiple USB ports. The system is WiFi and cell service enabled. The hardware configuration of

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the laptop is below-average for 2020, but the price is reasonable and even the weaker hardware

should be enough for performing average tasks. The XO’s retail price is $250.

The XO Laptop is in the growth stage of its product life cycle. According to

Owusu-Ansah, the Ghanian government has bought laptops for schools therefore, we can infer

that the laptops in developing countries are now in the growth stage of the product life cycle.

XO Strengths:

● Charging capabilities/battery life

● Durability

● Wireless antennas

● User-friendly operating system

● Adaptability

XO Weaknesses:

● Hardware

● The retail price

The Market

Situated off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Western Africa, Ghana consists of

approximately 30 million residents which is made up of a very young age structure with around

57% of the population being under the age of 25 years old. With its fast growing and youthful

population, Ghana provides a diverse market with various opportunities for sales of imported

products and services. They set an excellent foundation for market entry into the other 55

countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, which has a total population of 1.3 billion people. Many

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citizens of Ghana have very strong business ties to the United States with their growing interest

in American brands, designs and technology. According to the International Trade Admission,

the United States accounts for 12.9% of Ghana’s imports to date.

The products will be manufactured in Mexico and then shipped to Ghana via ships and

will arrive at Tema Harbour, which is the largest port in Ghana. Since this harbor is set in such an

industrial area, it serves as a logistic point for activities involving warehouses, haulage

companies, freight forwarders and related service centers. According to Ghana’s Port Authority,

most of Ghana’s trade is done through ports, both in Tema and Takardi, due to their shipping

routes and services.

When it comes to the consumer market, we can safely say that Ghana has a very young

population. The young generation is also more educated than the elderly as the youth’s literacy

rate is exceeding 90% against 76% for the adult population. In a recently conducted Nielson

Survey, Ghanaian’s youth are willing to test out brands that are better connected with the media.

They are very much attracted to foreign products and show a larger interest in shopping in

general. Even though their purchasing decisions are based on affordability and trust, they show a

larger interest in the promotion and attractiveness of a product compared to other African

countries.

Ghana has become a leader when it comes to education in Africa. Since English is their

primary language in the educational environment, it is not uncommon these days to see non-

English speakers from other countries traveling to Ghana to learn English and further their

academic careers. In addition to the numerous public schools in this region, Ghana also has an

enormous range of private schools situated throughout the country. These private schools are

very sophisticated as they consist of mostly international schools. For example, the American

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International School in Accra is an American curriculum Christian School that is an authorized

SAT exam center, offers AP programs and provides the students with a United States high school

diploma when they graduate.

There are many different perks that make investing in Ghana very attractive. According

to CNN, Ghana is the future of Africa. In 1992, they were the first sub-Saharan African country

to launch a mobile network. In 2019, Google opened its first center in Africa which is located in

Ghana’s capital city, Accra. The government has invested a substantial amount of money in

strengthening the academic institutions with robust networks by implementing a fiber optic

backbone in Accra. This led to Ghana’s internet speed being comparable to the speed in

California.

The currency exchange rate from the Cedi to the Dollar turns out to be very favorable for

the US. For every 1 US dollar, there is 5.70 Ghanaian Cedi. In addition to that, Ghana has one of

the most open economies when it comes to foreign equity ownership and foreign capital

participation. The US investors in Ghana are treated the same way as any other investor. There is

no overall limit or discrimination against foreign owned businesses. In fact, the Ghana

Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) focuses on the entry, admission and protection of investors.

It emphasizes investment laws that protect investors against expropriation and nationalization,

and it is also guaranteed that all profits made can be transferred outside of Ghana to investors’

home countries. Ghana had also entered into a tax agreement to protect investors, who come

from global tax jurisdictions, from the burden of double-taxation. Ghana is also one of the

wealthier nations in Africa as they are endowed with rich natural resources, such as timber,

diamonds, gold and oil.

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 Recently, Ghana has been selected to host the Secretariat of the African Continental

Free Trade Agreement. This is expected to go into effect in January 2021 with the main goal

being eliminating tariffs on a range of various goods and services. This new title can cause many

companies to view Ghana as the commercial hub of West Africa and as a “springboard” for entry

into other parts of the African market.

Even though there are countless benefits from investing in Ghana, there are also some

constraints that we should be aware of. Since we are looking to start a business in an African

country, we have to be mindful of the cultural and regulatory differences. They also have an

overall underdeveloped infrastructure, ambiguous property laws and difficult financial services.

Due to the lack of internet access throughout some parts of Ghana, many procedures that would

be done electronically would require lots of paperwork that would generally need to be stamped

by hand. Another major challenge is uncertainty. Because of global debt and recent economic

struggles worldwide, uncertainty seems to be more pronounced today than in the past. In addition

to those, corruption and bribery still exist in Ghana even though the GIPC tries their best to

protect investors. Once we are knowledgeable of all the ways we may face difficulties and focus

on the ways we can thrive, we should be okay.

Ghana has fantastic local advertising agencies such as Origin 8 and Aquity Media. They

provide numerous services, such as web development, public relations and interactive media, all

of which we will need to spread awareness. As we mentioned earlier, Ghana’s youth population

has a good eye when it comes to the promotion and attractiveness of a product and that is why

investing in a proper advertising agency will be very important.

As of today, there are no locally- owned laptop brands in Ghana. This benefits our

product since it implies that there is a decreased chance of Ghanaians supporting the “home”

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brand. However, we still face the challenge of foreign competition, such as Dell, HP and Lenovo.

While these laptops have their strengths, XO was specifically designed with the purpose of

distributing it to Ghana which means that we have taken the market and economy into

consideration. Amongst all of the XO’s strengths, the battery life and its user friendly operating

system are the most important. In developing the product, a lot of consideration went into the

environment and infrastructure in Ghana. Although some places are equipped with a lot of

charging ports, there are some places that are very limited. The long-lasting battery life of the

XO will allow users to not have to charge it very often. In addition, a user-friendly interface will

allow users to understand the laptop in little to no time. When we compound these aspects with

the durability and aggressive promotion of the product, we should have no problem gaining a

competitive advantage assuming our design and accessibility are up to par.

According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report 2019, Ghana is one of the

fastest growing economies in the world. They have also been ranked the most stable political

environment in the West African sub region. All of this compounded with the perks mentioned

above, lays the foundation for a successful business venture.

Part 2: Preliminary Marketing Plan

Marketing Objectives

The XO laptop has the potential to be a breakthrough product for the technological

industry in Ghana. Ghana is relatively well developed in terms of technological infrastructure

and the ability to support a system of laptops and everything the XO laptops require to function.

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 Our plan is to market to the high schools as institutions rather than market to the high

school students themselves. We chose this route due to the fact that not all families in Ghana

have the necessary disposable income in order to afford a laptop for their high school student(s).

By marketing to high schools it provides us the best chance for our product to be widely

accepted and utilized. It also provides high schoolers with a better understanding of how to

properly treat technology compared to younger generations. This allows us to offer a longer

warranty than would be offered if children were the main users without fear that the integrity of

the laptops will be compromised as easily. High schoolers also have the ability to talk and spread

the word of the product fairly quickly whether that is by word of mouth to their parents and

extended family or by using communication via social media or other platforms. This gives us

the chance to reach a larger market, quicker, than using traditional marketing techniques.

By marketing these laptops to the public and private high schools in the larger cities,

Accra and Kumasi, we can almost guarantee that every highschool student will have access to

the benefits that the XO laptops provide. We chose the high school audience because high

schoolers tend to have a better understanding, versus the younger and older generations, of how

technology works as well as how to treat technology in order to make the product last longer and

continue to perform the functions it was designed for. We chose to go with the choice of all high

schools rather than just private schools because having access to both markets provides a wider

target market and also has the potential to increase sales numbers.

During the beginning part of the process we hope to have sold the high schools enough

XO laptops to cover at least one third of the population of each high school. This number is on

the conservative side as we do hope to sell more than enough for a third of each high school. The

ultimate goal, funding permitting for the schools, is that every student in the system of high

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schools in Accra and Kumasi have a laptop they can use while they are in class. This will allow

an ease of access to the internet for students, that would not necessarily have the privilege

outside of school, as well as make it easier for students to complete their assignments.

The ultimate goal for our product, the XO laptop, is to have complete market penetration

of high schools in Ghana. Our first step in achieving this is to market it to the major cities that

were mentioned before, Accra and Kumasi, and have the product get a good foothold in that

market first. This will allow the product to establish a good reputation with the locals as well as

the school systems within those cities. After a successful launch in the major high schools in

Accra and Kumasi we can then start penetrating the markets of smaller institutions within those

cities. With coverage of Accra and Kumasi we can then move on to the next step of marketing to

slightly smaller cities in the same fashion as we did in the previous step. We hope to continue

this process throughout Ghana until we have full market penetration and majority market share

within the country as well. We hope to achieve this by keeping our price point low, showing

Ghanains the value of the XO is worth far more than the price, and utilizing word of mouth as

well as other marketing strategies to continue our product growth inside the country’s school

systems.

Product Adaptation:

The XO Laptop is designed for children which is why it is colorful and has buttons suited

for playing games. Beyond that it is also very durable in part because children tend to be heavier

with use, but also to accommodate the harsher environments of less developed areas.

The main adaptation we will make is to the design of the laptop itself. Since we are

marketing it to high schools and therefore it will be primarily used by young adults ages fourteen

to nineteen, it must not take on the look of a child’s computer. If high school aged teens are

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doing their work on computers that look like they are meant for children, it will interfere with

their ability to take their work seriously. The technology aspect of school must not be seen as

comical, but as a powerful learning tool to further their education.

The first aspect that needs to be changed is the color. It will no longer be green and white,

instead it will be a sleek dark silver. Many companies have decided to use black, but we believe

that black is too normal and want to stand out from any competition. Beyond this Ghana has an

extremely high focus on education and also happens to have one of the best education systems in

Africa. Students are highly motivated to succeed and move on to college and then their

professional lives. Due to this we believe that sleek dark silver is the best color the computer

could be to give students an enhanced professional experience throughout their high school

development.

The second aspect that will be changed is the antennae. Having these stick up off the

computer hinders the sleek and professional look of the device. By removing these and installing

powerful hidden receptors the laptop will not lose any connectivity capabilities but will look far

sleeker and more suited to young adults aspiring to further their knowledge and skills.

An additional aspect of the design that must be changed is the controls meant for the use

of games such as the D-pad. Controls such as these encourage distractions from classes and work

that high schoolers need to be focusing on. In the future, we may have a special edition of this

laptop with the gaming controls still installed. This laptop would be included in shipments of the

main laptop to high schools in order to allow for rewarded free or play time. Certain schools may

want to have a set of the laptops with gaming capabilities in order to give students a break or

reward for working hard.

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 The final adaptation we will make is offering a four-year limited warranty. It will be

contingent on the laptop not being severely damaged or tampered with. Computers occasionally

break through normal use and we don’t want to impede the education of one or more students

due to technical failures of our product. The reason we will limit the warranty and not provide a

complete one is because there are specific instructions on what a student or faculty member can

and cannot do with the computer (such as not removing the watch battery from the motherboard)

and beyond that we have experienced difficult students in the past who will purposefully damage

devices either through anger or rebellion. This will not be tolerated under our warranty, but

normal issues that arise such as broken keys or overloaded motherboards and even spilled drinks

will be assessed on a case by case basis and generally covered under our four-year warranty.

Promotion Mix

We currently have a relatively low price point set for our adaptation of the XO Laptop.

This is both an advantage for our product but also a downside as well. Low product price points

can lead buyers to be skeptical when considering the product a potential candidate for purchase

because many people associate quality with a higher price. On the other hand, since we are

marketing to high schools they will be excited about our price point and we will show them the

quality that comes with it.

In order to be successful with a product at a low price point our promotion mix needs to

be very strong and needs to fit our target market like a glove. Our idea is that selling directly to

the school systems in the two main cities in Ghana, Accra and Kumasi, is going to give us the

traction we need to expand into the school systems throughout the rest of Ghana. In order to start

marketing to these schools, we need to build rapport with the locals and eliminate any doubt that

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they might have about our product. We can do this by using a sales force composed of locals that

we hire. By using locals to help us spread awareness, the school systems are more likely to trust

the company because they are hearing about it from the community that they serve. Once the XO

laptop gains a foothold in the school systems in Accra and Kumasi we will be able to bring it to

other school systems throughout the country with the positive testimonials surrounding our

company.

Throughout our research we found that Accra and Kumasi have a well established

technological infrastructure already in place. We can use this to our advantage not only to help

the laptop be on a stable network and be as useful as possible but also to utilize the marketing

capabilities that come along with it. With the infrastructure in place we’re able to take advantage

of online advertising such as demographically targeted google advertisements towards teachers

that appeal to their desire to increase the quality of their students’ education. This allows us to

make the most of who we’re targeting. The advertisements won’t come across the screen unless

the algorithm sees you as a potential customer of the XO laptop. This form of marketing will

become increasingly valuable after establishing the product within the school systems and once

there is a viable entry into the personalized computer market.

Direct marketing to the school systems by way of locals is going to be our best route

when penetrating the laptop market for high schools in Ghana. It will gain the trust of the locals

as well as show that the XO laptop may have a low price point but the value received is far

higher than it is perceived to be. The digital marketing aspect of our mix can be used in

conjunction with the direct sales marketing strategy to help boost market share once there is a

foothold developed within the communities.

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Channels of Distribution

For our channels of distribution, we plan to sell directly to the major schools in Accra and

Kumasi. We will do this by sending our sales team into the area to speak to and inform school

representatives on our laptops. They will explain to the schools decision-makers that these

computers are designed for education and how important it is to have functional computers in

schools now that the area is becoming more developed. We will plan to keep them in Ghana for

around one month to a half year until they make the connections necessary to seal a contract with

at least 75% of the high schools in Accra and Kumasi. This distribution channel will be the

easiest and most cost-effective because we will not lose profit to any extra levels of distribution.

The only cost we will have after the salesmen have been paid, is shipping. Shipping from

Veracruz, Mexico to Ghana is relatively simple. Both economies have shipping infrastructure in

place already so the question that stands is just which option is most cost-effective. Shipping

products via boat is far more economical and is the method we will start with. We will hopefully

be able to ship via plane at some point depending on how successful we are and how much we

can expand. If the product needs to arrive in less than a week we will be forced to ship via plane

but that will increase the price for the school and we don’t believe any school will deem that

worthwhile. The airport that would be most economical is the Kumasi international airport

because it is close to where the target schools are and it receives shipments via plane everyday.

The most effective commercial harbor port for us to ship to is in Tema. This harbor is extremely

close to Accra and it is a large international harbor. Roughly 80% of Ghana’s exports and

imports pass through this port which proves it is large enough to efficiently support our products

coming in.

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 After the salesmen convince the school’s board why they need the laptops, we will design

contracts with each school that provides them with a system that works for them. These contracts

will lay out how many computers they plan to buy over the coming years, a warranty plan for

what happens when the computers break, and what they can expect from our support team.

Business to business selling, in this case, is also hugely effective because we know we will be

dealing with educators who actually care. In other distribution channels, we would have to work

with local wholesalers, retailers, and individuals who may just be money-driven. Working

directly with the school will allow us to talk with people who are passionate about improving

education for their students. We will also be able to offer the schools much lower prices if we

work directly with them as opposed to using more intermediaries. Another key factor to why we

chose to work with the schools directly is because it will give us, and them, the option for mass

customization. If the schools believe something needs to be tweaked or added, it will be much

easier for them to reach us and know we are willing to help if we have a close connection with

them already. This would help our customer satisfaction and show the school, and others, that we

are dedicated to helping schools get what they need and to furthering the education of Ghana’s

young adults.

Price Determination

In order to determine pricing, we need to determine the individual prices for the plethora

of factors that go into getting the XO Laptops into the schools’ hands. Primarily, we must get it

shipped from Veracruz, Mexico to Accra, Ghana. This will cost about $3.40 per computer in

shipping and insurance fees. This price breaks down into the freight charge of $0.65 per

computer ($3400 per container, 5230 computers per container) and $2.75 in insurance per

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computer (each valued at $100). The insurance fee is calculated on the basis that computers are

high risk for theft and that ships can be at risk for rogue ocean events. Additionally, the insurance

cost is higher due to the fact that traveling near certain areas increases the risk of theft. The

customs duties/import taxes are not applicable to our product because educational products are

not subject to them in Ghana. Since we are marketing solely to high schools, the import

taxes/customs duties do not apply to our laptops. The handling costs will come down to about

$0.53 per computer due to transportation and storage fees being around $2750 per shipment.With

our base cost of the laptop being $100 and the transportation/distribution costs totaling $3.93,

that gives us a total cost of $103.93.

Our price will reflect all of these factors along with the fact that we are selling these

laptops to schools for the educational benefit of thousands. Our price will also take into account

that schools will be buying in bulk so our base pricing will be for bulk orders.

Taking all the different variables into consideration with our gross margin goal of

28% we will price the bulk XO Laptops at $140. This falls within the company’s original goal of

selling computers to countries for between $100 and $150 and gives us a margin of 36.07%.

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