SWOT Analysis on the Desserts Business of “Not Kelpjuice Confections” founded by the Entrepreneur Naki Dei

By Canchen Wang (Celestia)

Naki Dei is an entrepreneur of Ghana who specializes in “offering irresistible baked goods and sweet treats that cater to both local and continental palates”. Her business name is “Not Kelpjuice Confections”, belonging to the food services industry. The products of her business is “everything desserts” “from classic local favorites to innovative continental recipes”. She describes her skills and business to “deliver high-quality desserts, blending traditional flavors with international influences to create unique and affordable experiences for every customer” and to “provide exceptional value and memorable tastes for all occasions”.

Through the research on www.linkedin.com, we found Naki Dei was ever a student of the University of Ghana from 2019 to 2023. Furthermore, through the research by www.baidu.com, we learned the University of Ghana is the No. 1 top university in Ghana, with more than 30,000 students and a few hundreds of professors and teachers.

Strengths

1. Educational background

Naki Dei was ever a student of the University of Ghana from 2019 to 2023, acquiring management skills and cross-cultural exposure. From her description of her skills in the www.aaeafrica.com, we learned that her English language skills are very proficient so as to enable her to better communicate with her international clients and to better understand the international market trends on the desserts industry.

2. Rapid economic development and market potentials

Through the research by www.baidu.com, we learned that the Republic of Ghana is a country located in West Africa, with population of 33.48 million in 2022. Ghana’s economy is growing rapidly and is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa. Ghana’s economy grew at 3.3% in 2022 (GDP:$71.5 billion), with a population of 33.48 million, indicating strong demand for desserts.

3. Ingredients for the desserts

Ghana has the tropical climate and the temperature throughout the year is from 22 to 31 Celsius degree. The warm climate in Ghana is very good for the production of various agricultural products, such as corn, potatoes, sorghum, rice, millet, sugarcane, peanuts, oil palm, cotton, cocoa, etc. Cocoa is the main economic crop with an annual output of 600000 to 800000 tons. Such ingredients are conveniently available, economic and fresh.

4. Innovation

From the description by Naki Dei, she “delivers high-quality desserts” “from classic local favorites to innovative continental recipes”, through “blending traditional flavors with international influences to create unique and affordable experiences for every customer”.

Weaknesses

1. Insufficient capital to run the business

Naki Dei just graduated from the university two years ago. She might have not yet accumulated sufficient capital to run the desserts business. To make the business more successful, she has to rent a shop in the CBD areas, but the rental is very expensive. In addition, she has to invest a lot money to decorate her shop with modern and attractive designs. She also needs to buy all kinds of modern bakery and food machines, such as, refrigerator, oven, grinder, coffee machine, etc.

If her capital to run the business is not sufficient, such modern decoration and modern kitchen may not be affordable.

2. Intensive competition

Naki Dei’s business will face severe competition from both local shops or international brands. In general, the dessert business is easily to enter into, so there should be hundreds of such desserts shops in one city. The competition will make the price lower, leading to the low margin in the end. In addition, Naki Dei’s business may also face competition from the international brands such as Starbucks, which enjoy higher brand reputation and loyal fans around the world.

Opportunities

1. Resources from the alumni

Naki Dei is one of the alumni of the University of Ghana, which has over 30,000 on-campus students and hundreds of faculty members. More alumni have already graduated from the university and become important and successful business managers, government officials, doctors, engineers. These alumni are the potential clients, investors, sponsors, mentors to Naki Dei’s business.

2. International tourists as potential clients

Ghana is one of the top ten tourist countries in Africa. The main tourist attractions include Abri Botanical Garden, Akosombo, Kumasi Cultural Center, Cape Coast, Ermina Slave Fort, and the gold mining belt. Each year lots of tourists visit Ghana and the capital city. As Naki Dei can provide quality deserts with the international flavors, such tourists can be the potential clients of her business.

Threats

1. Political and social turmoil

In history, Ghana has some disputes with the neighbor countries such as Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. Although the relationships in these years are peaceful and stable, there could be some new disputes over the border or other issues.

In addition, many countries in Africa have some problems in their own domestic political and social stability. The change of the ruling parties may cause social division, economic recession, unemployment, currency depreciation and social turbulence.

2. Natural disaster

Overall, Ghana’s agricultural infrastructure is relatively weak and its ability to resist natural disasters is poor. Once severe natural disasters such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, hail, etc. occur, agricultural output will significantly decrease, and the living standards of local people will be seriously affected. As a result, that will be a serious threat to the business of Naki Dei.

In summary,

The strength to Naki Dei’s business lie in her high education background, the rapid economic development and huge market potential of Ghana, the abundant and fresh raw materials and her skills for the innovative products.

The weakness to her business lies in the limited operational capital to run the business and the intensive market competition.

The opportunity for Naki Dei is the resource from her alumni of the University of Ghana, and the international tourists as her clients.

The threats mainly lie in the sectors such as political and social turmoil and natural disaster.

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