Business model, strategies and performance of baobab enterprises: Insight for the NTFPs industry

Abstract

While non-timber forest products (NTFPs) hold global significance, their integration into global value chains remains limited. However, baobab production and marketing stand out as an exception, thus offering insights for developing potential competitive NTFPs-based industries. This study assesses the business model, and strategies of baobab enterprises and its effect on performance to inform the advancement of NTFPs commercialisation. Analysing firm level data from 137 baobab enterprises, we describe the main business model architypes and the essential features that characterise the value proposition, value creation/delivery, and value capture of the baobab enterprises. Our findings further reveal reactor strategy as the most prevalent among the four identified business strategies (defender, analyser, prospector, and reactor), while overall, business strategy did not influence enterprises’ performance. The dominance of the reactor strategy demonstrates that the baobab industry is still in the developmental stage, low tech, and predominantly microscale. Drawing on the findings, the paper highlights critical implications for policy, practice and research essential for the development and sustainability of the baobab industry and NTFPs-based industries.

Keywords

• Adansonia digitata L.
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
• Micro
• Small and medium enterprises (MSME)
• Bioeconomy
• Africa