Make the competition irrelevant, drive away from the Red Ocean- where opportunity is dwindling by the day, discover uncharted territories, these are the underlying principles Blue Ocean Strategist live by. With growing concerns of scare/limited resources, blue oceans strategist come onto the scene with the knack to create and capture new demands. If businesses are going to stay in business and remain relevant to shareholders, creating and capturing new demands should be of great concern to the managers. Blue Oceans Strategists should be at the helm of this drive to perpetuate this growth.
One Blue Ocean Strategist making the inroads in this regard in Information Communication Technology is Regina Honu. Regina runs a software development company and a non for profit Soronko Foundation with projects such as Growing STEMS, Tech Needs Girls, and Apps for the Disabled. A graduate of an institution which leverages on Blue Ocean Strategies-Ashesi University, Regina also founded Tech Needs Girls Interactive Workshop, a movement to get more girls to code and create technology. This movement seeks to bridge the gender gap in Technology. With a promising career with Fidelity Bank after school, and a 2013 World Economic Forum Global Shaper- Accra Hub, Regina acquired the relevant expertise and built the necessary networks before venturing to assist girls to code and use technology.
Organizations that excel at strategy execution and achieve remarkable results know how to create sustainable value for customers, employees and shareholders. A feature of such organizations is their ability to define key organizational capabilities – that produce observable value to customers. In this case of Soronko and Regina, the key clients were the girls who are being taught to code and use technology. The organizational capability-teaching girls to code and use technology have made Regina gain many awards and accolades at home and in abroad. She is currently the brand ambassador for Vlisco Ghana. She just launched a new campaign #stylewithcode. The aim is to empower more girls to pursue their dreams and learn new skills by learning to code.
At the creation stage of the Blue Ocean Strategy, the strategist revolutionizes- introduce revolutionary products, creates, educate, inspire and coach. Regina excels in these regard by empowering, educating and mentoring with the help of other role models, young girls to code and get a meaning out of life. Soronko is a real definition of Social Entrepreneurship with a purpose; it shows that one can do well for society by revolutionizing the way ordinary things can be done. Non-Governmental Organizations have been around for some time, the never-ending debate as to whether they are real catalysts to growth and development continues unabated. But a Blue Ocean Strategist, Regina with Soronko, jumps unto the scene, changes the narrative and makes a more meaningful impact in the lives of these girls, the direct beneficiaries of her toil and ingenuity.
In Value Innovation, Regina examines what constitutes real value for the girls? Is it the same old skills training in artisanal works or shift the focus to a more revolutionary approach, the game-changer in the 21st century-ICT? What can be eliminated to ensure that the clients (girls) derive the best out of the trainings? Her focus is right on the customer (girls) not the competition (the business of NGOs) and she’s getting it right. Regina through Soronko Solutions identified a need in society (Blue Ocean Strategy- operating in uncontested markets), and create a synergy with the customers (girls) to meet that need. What the girls need in the 21st century to be able to compete in the global marketplace as professionals is the ICT education- through coding and the use of technology. Regina positions herself and Soronko her company to serve this need. This terrain is not contested, it’s fresh with so much potential and everyone wins from shareholders to the clients.
Author: Paa Swanzy-Essuman || p.swanzy@ghanatalksbusiness.com
