SME Records Bank
The SME Records Bank Project, initiated by Hypersoft in collaboration with IBM, seeks to roll-out a CLOUD COMPUTING platform across Ghana (with possible adaption in all developing nations) that will facilitate proper records management for businesses (small & large) with special emphasis on SMEs towards sound growth i.e. better credit rating, less risky environment, faster access to funds, etc...
About You
About You
First Name
Lonlon
Last Name
Tekpa
Website
Your Organization
Hypersoft Ghana Limited
Country
Ghana, GA
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Hypersoft Ghana Limited
Organization Website
Organization Phone
+233-241-765084
Organization Address
52 Ring Road Central, Suite La14 inside BusyInternet Building, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, P.O. Box La463, La - Accra
Organization Country
Ghana, GA
Organization Type
Private Institution
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Your solution
Name Your solution
SME Records Bank
Describe Your Solution
The SME Records Bank Project, initiated by Hypersoft in collaboration with IBM, seeks to roll-out a CLOUD COMPUTING platform across Ghana (with possible adaption in all developing nations) that will facilitate proper records management for businesses (small & large) with special emphasis on SMEs towards sound growth i.e. better credit rating, less risky environment, faster access to funds, etc...
Country your work focuses on
If multiple countries, please list them here. If your solution targets an entire region, please select it below
All developing Nations worldwide
Region(s) your solution focuses on:
Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, North America.
Range of turnover in your target firms, in USD
Less than $1 Million, $1-5 Million, $6-10 Million, $11-20 Million, $21-50 Million, More than 50 Million.
Average turnover in USD of your target firm
Number of employees in your target firms
Fewer than 5, 5-24, 25-49, 50-74, 75-99, 100-150, More than 150.
Average number of employees of your target firm
Specify the size, average and range of expected loans or investments in each target firm
The SME Records Bank project does not require business to prior access loans or investment facilities before joining the platform. Once the business is operational and able to pay monthly token data processing FEE charged by the project, then we are in business.
What stage is your solution in?
Idea phase
Innovation
What makes your innovative solution unique?
The SME Sector is faced with many challenges. Any attempt to well position this sector for sound growth must reciprocally deliver sound solutions to the challenges that confront the sector. The SME Records Bank Project, initiated by Hypersoft Ghana Limited in collaboration with the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), did extremely that and beyond. The challenges include:
- Absence of easy and fast access to finances from commercial banks and/or investors due to the high risks that are associated to the sector;
- Difficulties reporting financials towards better credit rating which may have been caused by the informal nature of the sector (i.e. one does not need high education to start an SME business) coupled with the inability on the part of SME owners to balance Core Business Focus with further skills development in areas such as Proper Record Management (e.g. Basic Accounting Principles), Business Plans & Proposals writing, ICT, etc...
The SME Records Bank Project did address all risks-associated challenges to the sector through the rolling-out of a Cloud Computing platform that allows daily processing of businesses' data on-the-go for all businesses into sophisticated Cloud Software Solutions (e.g. SAP, ERP) towards:
- Proper Record Management and fully audited financial statements
- Affordable and easy access to technological innovations to run businesses
- Meeting Regulatory Compliance e.g. right taxes
- Creating very stable and hassle-free Jobs for the country’s unemployed youths – which in turn will reduce CRIME
- Turning the SME Sector into a SOUND and sophisticated engine of growth
How does your proposed innovation leverage public intervention in catalyzing private SME finance?
Governments all over the world are very much aware of the fact that the SME Sector is a major contributor to a country’s GDP; coupled with this, the sector is known to be the highest employer in most developing nations. Our proposed solution seeks to help ERASE the risks that are associated to the sector by using technological innovations to better position the sector to easily access private finances from banks, investors and institutions such as IntEnt Ghana at the lowest possible lending rates. Once successfully implemented, advanced Biometric data will be collected on all SMEs, their owners and directors. Location-awareness will then be created into the Cloud Platform allowing the project to better CREDIT RATE our SMEs so as to provide them Financing Facilities’ Guarantees (i.e. guarantors to SMEs for business loans from commercial banks) whenever needs arise.
Due to the high risks that confront the sector, commercial banks tend to raise lending rates – and this approach is another weakening factor of the sector. SME owners, once they fail to fully repay a Loan facility due to high lending rates, tend to hide away from their creditors leading to bad business performance if not complete shutdowns. The SME Records Bank Project also seeks to make available to the SMEs the services of certified Auditors and Management Accountants FREE-of-charge to audit and certify their operations in our quests to make available to SME Financiers, audited financial statements as well as Summary Business Plans at the click of a button.
Once the above Cloud Platform measures (i.e. advanced Biometric Registration, Location-awareness, proper record management, audited final accounts, SMEs websites online, Summary Business Plans to financiers, sophisticated Financial Reporting Solutions such as SAP Business Suites, Orable, and Highly tested Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions, coupled with High-speed Broadband Internet Connectivity, etc…) have been put into motion, proper records management will be carried out, lending risks will be drastically minimized and financiers will be very much willing to design sound financing products to the sector at the lowest possible rates. SME Business Owners will concentrate on core business operations towards high growth.
Governments will also be better positioned to statistically forecast tax revenues to be generated annually from the sector and plan real growth strategies towards it. In a country like Ghana, this project seeks to create some 50000 very stable and hassle-free jobs for the country’s unemployed youths (e.g. University Students will have the opportunity to work part-time to generate extra income to support their studies). Hassle-free Jobs, because employees’ maintenance will not be dependent on public coffers. The project maintains itself for life through monthly data processing FEEs of US$5 – US$500 charged SMEs subject to category they fall within.
What barriers does your proposed solution address?
Asymmetry of information, Informality, Lack of collateral, Lack of SME access to skills / knowledge / markets, General barriers to SME development related to investment climate.
If you checked any of these barriers, describe how your solution addresses them
1. Asymmetry of information:
Proper Record Management and fully audited financial statements coupled with auto-generated Summary Business Plan and free development of basic websites for all SMEs will mean readily available information on the click for all authorized financiers to make informed financing decisions quickly on requests. Governments will be up-to-date with sound statistical indexes and forecasts to better plan for growth. Cloud Platform auto-submit to tax agencies very accurate tax returns on-time. Once we get all commercial banks also signed onto the Cloud Platform, secured online buying and selling (e-Commerce) can easily kick-start to boost the way business is done in the hosting country.
2. Informality:
The SME Sector is an informal sector – nothing is going to change that soon. Our project seeks to allow the SME Owners to really concentrate on core business operations – and never to worry much about becoming technology savvy or financial expert. Those headaches are ours – while they pay a token monthly for Cloud data processing. This will mean real growth.
3. Lack of collateral:
Once we get all SMEs well registered and location-awareness created, the bigger risks will gradually fade away and the project will be in the position to stand-in for SMEs by providing trusted collateral or guarantees whenever require.
5. Lack of SME access to skills / knowledge / markets:
Our project will recommend core business operations’ skill-sets for SMEs and their owners while we take over technology savvy requirements off their shoulders. The project will develop basic marketing as well as ON-DEMAND e-Commerce websites to help with visibility and easy market access in one way or the other for the SMEs.
11. General barriers to SME development related to investment climate:
The Hypersoft SME Records Bank Project’s ultimate goal is to help remove major risks that are associated to the SME sector through the use of technological innovations. Aside performance indexes, the prime challenge for better credit rating is the ability to easily access the subject in question at anytime and on-time. This is coupled with available of proper corporate data to fast-track financing approval processes. Our project will make available required information that financiers need to quickly make informed decisions on funding applications. The Project Governing Board will also be providing some forms of collateral to SMEs during such financing applications.
In Ghana for instance, the SME Records Bank Project will derive a lot of support from the IntEnt Ghana Foundations programme on the 'Ghana Enterprising Support Programme -GESP'. Both projects will seek to complement each other’s efforts i.e. building the capacity of the over 1,500 starting entrepreneurs to be selected, trained, incubated and assisted through the Equity Funds.
Impact
Provide empirical evidence of your proposed solution's success/impact at present. If your project is in the idea phase, please provide evidence that speaks to its potential impact
The SME Records Bank Project is a new idea being developed by Hypersoft Ghana Limited in collaboration with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) for implementation considerations by all developing nations. The project documents had just been submitted to the Government of Ghana for same (to be the pilot country). The documents are currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Communications and that of Trade and Industry of the republic of Ghana who will be representing Government Interests on the Project.
There is currently no success or recorded impact since the project is yet to be implemented by a Host Country. Cloud Computing is business. The SME record Bank project anticipate to generate annual turnovers of $1 billion. With such performance, the project will be able to outdoor SME-focused commercial bank that will be in a position to grant members facilities at 2% - 10% lending rates. Government will also be entitled to excellent annual dividends that can be directed to other developmental programs.
How many firms do you expect to reach?
The SME Records Bank Project seeks to reach out to all businesses (small & large) in Host Countries with specific emphasis on the SMEs for sound growth. This project will be highly useful to all businesses, organizations and institutions. Cloud Platform can also be extended to educational setups.
What is the volume of private SME finance you aim to catalyze?
It is estimated that the initial implementation cost of this project will be around US$50million of which we invite the host country’s Government to bear 10% while Hypersoft and its Financiers bear the remaining 90% deployment cost.
What time frame will be required to reach these targets?
All things being equal, the implementation of the SME Records Bank Project can start immediately once funding is released for it and the hosting Government positions the SME Sector for proper record management through the passing of Legislative Instrument or an Act of Parliament.
Does your solution seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
What would prevent your solution from being a success?
The following may cause project failure:
- The inability of the hosting country to pass a Legislative Instrument or Act that will compel all businesses (small & large) to do proper record management and to adopt standardized financials reporting;
- The unsuccessful roll-out of the Cloud Platform in the hosting country will mean project failure;
- The inability of SMEs to pay the monthly data processing FEEs to the project board;
- The inability of employees to process successfully clients data;
- The inability of auditors to audit transactions may contribute to a component failure of the project; etc…
This Entry is about (Issues)
Describe the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
We anticipate some 50000 hassle-free well-paid jobs will be created by this project by the 5th year of implementation in Ghana. Good and well-paid jobs will mean wealth creation and better living standard for the employees and their relations – hence large direct social impacts. SMEs will be well positioned to access funding easily and faster – making direct positive impacts on their businesses and families. Government is not left out on the impact list – right taxes will be paid on-time by all businesses, better forecasting and future development planning, standardized financials reporting, better economic development, etc… Cloud Computing is a GREEN and Energy efficient way of doing business. No more would there be a need for businesses to run server farms on their own – a single Cloud Platform would house all the computing needs of businesses which will in turn be provided as pay-as-you-go services. The Project will train all Cloud Job Seekers in ICT and Cloud Data Processing – the impacts are: IT Infrastructure and Solutions, Youth development, Girls/women empowerment; etc… All businesses will be put into gears to paying the right taxes to Government. No more tax evasion. Transparency of the systems in place brings about accountability – hence less corrupt practices.
Sustainability
List all the funding sources that are required for the sustainability of this solution
Financing:
Estimated project implementation cost is US$50million – of this, the project’s host country Government will be expected to bear 10% while Hypersoft and its Financiers take over the remaining 90%.
Sustainability:
The project will maintain itself with funds generated from within. For this reason, the project will not be depending on funding from public coffers. Cloud Computing is business! The SME Records Bank Project will be self-sustained. SMEs will be required to pay monthly data processing FEEs. Out of this pool of turnover, Cloud employees will be paid – and the entire project sustained.
Demonstrate how your proposed solution has the capacity to graduate from dependence on public finance. What is the time frame?
Cloud Computing is business. The SME Records Bank Project is a public-private partnership project in nature. It only requires that the Host Country contributes at most 10% into its implementation. This is the only funding request that the project seeks from the Government of the Host Country. This is to get the Host Country publicly involved in the project towards greater success. After this initial public investment, Government only sits behind to receive dividends annually – which can be geared towards other developmental programs. Ownership of the project will be as follows:
- Host Country Government: 20%
- Hypersoft and Financiers: 80%
Demonstrate how your proposed solution will survive a potential loss of its largest private funding source
Again, the SME Records Bank Project is a self-sustained one in nature. Prior to the project’s roll-out, all finding sources above are vital. The withdrawal of our Initial Financiers will mean NO-WAY the Project can be implemented. Once the initial funding is secured and the Cloud Computing Platform being successfully rolled-out, there will be no need for further external funds to sustain the project – hence the loss of the largest private funding source will really pose any critical threat – except appealing for ample time to settle this private financier over time. Demonstrating Revenues Generation: In a Host Country where 5million SMEs registered into the Cloud Platform and paying an average monthly FEE of US$10, the monthly turnover will be US$50million -- implies US$600million yearly turnover. Cloud Computing is a self-sustainable Business. With these reasons, we see no critical impacts being wrought on the project due to a potential loss of the largest funding source– except during project implementation stages (i.e. project initiating through to closing).
Please tell us what kind of partnerships, if any, could be critical to the greater success and sustainability of your innovation
The SME Records Bank project is designed to run as a PPP project (public-private partnership). The project requires and demands the full support of the Host Country in transforming the SME Sector for real growth. The Host Government will be called on to pass and/or enforce laws (Legislative Instrument or an Act of Parliament) that will encourage full patronage. Furthermore, the Host Country must endeavour to create very stable and conducive business environments coupled with excellent investment climate to facilitate the speedy growth of businesses. There would also be some technical partnerships to be entered into prior to project implementation (e.g. collaboration with telecos and ISPs, partnership with Fiber-optic TransCable Routers, etc…) The project may also consider other BPO partnerships with Recruiters, Funds Managers, Accounts Managers, etc… when the needs arise.
Are there non-financial issues that could threaten the sustainability of your proposed solution?
Yes, there are non-financial issues that could threaten the sustainability of our SME Records Bank solution:
- The inability of our key technology partner ,IBM (Cloud Experts), to successfully roll-out the Cloud Platform in the Host Country;
- The inability of our technology partners to properly carried out a complete knowledge transfer of systems in place (i.e. building a stronger local skill-sets to technically support the platform) – OR the inability of our tech-partners to provide 24/7 support services to the platform;
- Host country’s inability to pass laws (i.e. Legislative Instrument or an Act of Parliament) to propel all businesses (especially SMEs) to join the Cloud Platform;
- SMEs deliberately rejecting the project (may be due to lack of adequate education or political diplomacy);
- Host Country being unable to create excellent investor climates;
- High-cost of Bandwidth and bad communication infrastructures;
- Corporate Data and other privacy issues if not properly addressed; etc…
Please tell us if your proposed solution aims to scale up through a high growth sector, expand immediately to multiple sectors, and/or scale up geographically
In Cloud Computing, companies share computer resources – such as servers, software and data storage – through the Internet, instead of setting up such infrastructure at their own end. This kind of computing has become a smart way of doing businesses and such offerings are estimated to have generated about $45 billion in revenues for services providers in 2008, and projected to soar to $150 billion by 2013. Once the Cloud Computing Platform is being rolled-out in a Host Country, all businesses (small & large) can be attended to immediately or ON-DEMAND by the industry. Computing resources can be shared by all businesses in a host country immediately. The cloud is also a green way to do business. Organizations don’t need to set up server banks running lots of software – just pay for what you use. The provider services many users from one set of equipment, halving energy and equipment cost per user.
The public Cloud Platform will invoke new private Cloud Businesses to emerge to specifically focus on particular industries e.g. Banks, Insurance companies, Freights, Manufacturing etc… these private cloud businesses will lean on the public cloud and develop extra-secure industry-specific solutions for their clients. These private cloud businesses will be expected to share financial returns with the public Cloud owners or buy Cloud Spaces annually from the public cloud. We don't need years to scale through high growth sector - this will be immediate.
 | 147 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa said: Dear Bailey, The SME Records Bank project will try and erase all these risk-factors that are associated with the SME Sector in relation ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 147 weeks ago Bailey Klinger said: Hi Lonlon- Interesting idea- one reason banks don't look through business plans and financial statements for SMEs is because many ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 148 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa updated this Competition Entry. |
| 149 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa updated this Competition Entry. |
| 149 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa updated this Competition Entry. |
| 149 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa updated this Competition Entry. |
| 149 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa updated this Competition Entry. |
| 149 weeks ago Lonlon Tekpa submitted this idea. |
