The case describes the Ghanaian electric mobility company Wahu’s efforts to become at the same time a large, profitable company, a company that contributes to indigenous African business and economic development, and a company that contributes to global environmental sustainability. The company has spent several years prototyping a successful product (e-bikes) with add-on digital platform services for its riders and other business partners. It has proven that the prototype can succeed with 250 riders. In so doing, it has started to innovate in terms of planning for other e-mobility product lines, in terms of planning and enabling the independent local production of heretofore Chinese-produced e-bike parts (so that Wahu can accomplish a “for Africans, by Africans” production model), and in terms of essentially creating a new type of digitally-connected, entrepreneurial occupation for socioeconomically-disadvantaged riders in Ghana.
At the same time, Wahu is seeking to jump over a number of difficult hurdles. Most importantly, the Ghanaian government has elements of a plan for supporting the e-mobility sector (including e-bikes) but has delayed in passing the plan through the Ghanaian parliament. In the absence of that plan, the Ghanaian government charges very high tariffs on imported Chinese bicycle parts and China is the sole low-cost part supplier, even when tariffs are factored into the equation. It will take additional time to produce locally-manufactured e-bike parts. As of the time frame of the case, Wahu has created a great deal of value, but has given most of it to the customer (both the riders and the other business partners as customers). Doing so has likely generated a great deal of goodwill, which can potentially be converted into profits upon the arrival of supporting industry legislation from the Ghanaian government. But in the meantime, Wahu has a few near-term strategic choices to make in terms of the details of its product and service offerings, as well as possible optimizations within its supply chain.