The Preliminary Exploration and Analysis of Bamboo Industry in the Macro and Micro Environment of

By: Bo Lin

Supervisor: Syed Afraz Gillani

Supported by:

April 2018

Content

Acknowledgments ...... III List of Tables ...... V List of Figures ...... VI List of Abbreviations ...... VII

1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Background of the Research ...... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ...... 2 1.3 Research Questions ...... 3 1.4 Research Objectives ...... 3 1.5 Significance of the Research ...... 4 1.6 Scope and Structure ...... 5 2. Literature Review and Preliminary Research ...... 5 2.1 Profiles of Bamboo Resources ...... 6 2.2 Basic Introduction to Ghanaian Bamboo Industry ...... 9 2.3 Important Institutions ...... 11 3. Theory and Framework ...... 13 3.1 PESTEL Analysis ...... 13 3.2 Five Forces Analysis ...... 14 4. Methodology ...... 16 4.1 Method of Data Collection ...... 16 4.1.1 Collection of Secondary Data ...... 17 4.1.2 Collection of Primary Data and Samplings ...... 17 4.1.2.1 Interview and Coding ...... 17 4.1.2.2 Survey ...... 19 4.2 Method of Data Analysis ...... 20 4.2.1 Qualitative Method ...... 20 4.2.2 Quantitative Method (SPSS) ...... 21 5. Analysis of the Macro Environment in Ghana...... 22 5.1 Political Factors ...... 22 5.2 Economic Factors ...... 24 5.3 Social Factors ...... 31 5.4 Technical Factors ...... 34

I

5.5 Legal Factors ...... 37 5.6 Environmental Factors ...... 39 6. Analysis of the Micro Environment of the Bamboo Industry in Ghana ...... 42 6.1 Bargain Power of Suppliers of Raw Bamboo ...... 43 6.2 Rivalry Among Existing Producers ...... 44 6.2.1 Rivalry in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle ...... 44 6.2.2 Rivalry in Industry of Bamboo Furniture ...... 47 6.3 Threat of New Entrants...... 50 6.3.1 Threat of New Entrants in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle ...... 50 6.3.2 Threat of New Entrants in Industry of Bamboo Furniture ...... 53 6.4 Threat of Substitutes ...... 55 6.4.1 Threat of Substitutes in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle ...... 55 6.4.2 Threat of Substitutes in Industry of Bamboo Furniture ...... 58 6.5 Bargain Power of Buyers ...... 59 6.5.1 Bargain Power of Buyers in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle ...... 59 6.5.2 Bargain Power of Buyers in Industry of Bamboo Furniture ...... 61 7. Conclusion and Recommendations ...... 63 Reference ...... 65 Appendix I: Questionnaire for interview with bamboo plantations ...... 73 Appendix II: Questionnaire for interview with producers of bamboo composite products ...... 75 Appendix III: Transcripts of Interviews ...... 78 Appendix IV: Results of the Survey ...... 126 Appendix V: List of bamboo endowed areas in Ghana ...... 128 Appendix VI: Picture Gallery...... 131 Authorship Information ...... 139

II

Acknowledgments

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the institutions and persons that provide important supports to the research conducted in Ghana and to my supervisors that provide valuable academic guidance . For the successful researches, I sincerely thank the supports provided by Mr. Michael Kwaku from West Africa Reginal Office (WARO) of International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) that makes important contributions to the research. I wish to express my thankfulness to multidimensional supports from the officials Ms. Faustina B. Awuah, Mr. Samuel Sarbah, Ms. Victoria Neizer, etc. from Secretariat of Bamboo and Rattan Development Program of Ghana (BARADEP) that ensure the conducting of research on Ghanaian bamboo industry. I would like to express my thankfulness to Dr. Mark Dadebo from Forestry Commission of Ghana. For the writing of research thesis, I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my supervisors Mr. Syed Afraz Gillani from Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences who not only provides valuable academic guidance on the writing of the thesis but also plays important role in my academic pathway. I sincerely thank the program German- African- Entrepreneurship, Mr. Alexander Demisse and Mr. Moritz Weigel from company China-Africa-Advisory, University of Cape Coast, and Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences that provide me golden opportunity of meaningful research that combines academy and practice in Africa. What’s more, I would like to express my thankfulness to the interviewed managers of various enterprises in Ghana, including Mr. Solomon from the Bamboo Bikes Initiative, Mr. Danso from the Booomers International, Ms. Gloria from the Global Bamboo Product Limited, Mr. Dela from the Seek Yee Cane & Bamboo, Mr. Mensaa from the Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited, Mr. Egger from the Ankobra Farms, Mr. Eldad from the Kwamoka Farms& Processing Limited, Mr. Gabrel from Gabrel Cane & Bamboo Furniture; they cooperate with the surveys with enthusiasm and offer valuable informational supports.

III

List of Tables

Table 1: 7 main species of bamboo in Ghana and corresponding industrial applications ...... 7 Table 2: 14 introduced species of bamboo in Ghana and corresponding applications ...... 8 Table 3: Typical industries of bamboo in Ghana ...... 9 Table 4: The acreage of bamboo plantation since 2014 and the future target 2017-2020 ...... 10 Table 5: Questionnaire for potential consumer ...... 20 Table 6: Comparison of the GDP per capita and the GDP per capita (adjusted by PPP) between Ghanaian and World’s average level ...... 28 Table 7: Sectors of FDI ...... 32 Table 8: Descriptive statistics of survey results ...... 60

IV

List of Figures

Figure 1: Geographical distribution of bamboo in Ghana...... 7 Figure 2: KFC Index of Ghana in African countries ...... 27 Figure 3: Trends and forecast of balance of trade in three-year period 2015- 2018 and period of the decade 2008-2018 ...... 30 Figure 4: Comparison of Ghanaian, German and world’s population structure ...... 33

V

List of Abbreviations

BARADEP Bamboo and Rattan Development Program BOT Balance of trade CEO Chief Executive Officer CPI Consumer Price Index etc. et. cetera EUR Euro FDI Foreign Direct Investment FORIG Forestry Research Institute of Ghana GDP Gross Domestic Product GHS IBM International Business Machines Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund INBAR International Network for Bamboo and Rattan MOFCOM Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China NPP New Patriotic Party PPI Producer Price Index PPP Purchasing Power Parity SPSS Statistical Product and Service Solutions TI Transparency International USD US Dollar

VI

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Research

Over the past 15 years, plenty of African countries experienced sustained economic growth, with growth rates exceeding 5% per year.1 Nowadays, Africa as a continent of entrepreneurship, opportunity, change, and hope, is drawing the attention of the world. Due to the positive prospect of development, the capital investment of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa increased by 40% to 92.3 billion USD in 2016.2 Among African countries, the West African country Ghana also performs well. Located along the Gulf of Guinea, The Republic of Ghana is one of the most prosperous countries in both economy and culture in Africa. Ghana is rising with relatively high growth rate. According to IMF, Ghana has a projected real GDP growth rate of 5.9% in 2017, which is higher than the world’s average growth rate of 3.6% and the African countries’ average growth rate of 3.5%.3 In Ghana, there is an emerging industry― the bamboo industry. From bamboo plantation to bamboo composite products processing, the bamboo industrial chain integrates the sectors of , energy and manufacturing. The bamboo possesses a series of advantages in economic, social to ecologic aspects, such as offering economical materials, creating employment, alleviating sharp deforestation in Ghana, etc. A young Ghanaian enterprise that stands on the frontier of bamboo products manufacturing produces bamboo bicycles successfully and was honored by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2013. The production of bamboo bicycle contributes to saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, creating jobs and improving local economic growth; hence, in the inspection Ban Ki-Moon tried a bamboo bike and expressed his enthusiasm and admiration for the innovation.4 Due to the bright prospect of bamboo industry, not only domestic Ghanaian investors are now in action, but also global investors have interest in Ghana and consider whether and how to be entrants, such as a German-based consulting company China- Africa- Advisory.

1 Lonel Z., Africa's economic growth: Taking off or slowing down, 2016, pp.1. 2 Cf. FDI Markets, The Africa Investment Report 2017. 3 Cf. International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook, 2017. 4 Kofi D., Modern Ghana, UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon rides on Ghana bamboo bike, 2013. 1

The Ghanaian bamboo industry catches the attention of domestic and global investors, national and local government and international non-profit organizations such as International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). The interests of multiple parties lead to the necessity of multidimensional demonstration of bamboo industry. Besides, the environments for the development in Ghana are examined to provide a basis for existing enterprises to adjust strategies, for global investors to develop entering strategies and for national and local government to decide relevant policies.

1.2 Problem Statement

Bamboos are large perennial plants of temperate and tropical Poaceae5, with hard, woody and hollow stems. 6 Tropical types of bamboo possess the characteristic of growing fast in a climate of full sun and hot, humid summers7 as a favorable growing environment. As one of the world’s fastest-growing plants, the growth cycle of certain bamboo lasts just 60 days8. Due to relatively short growth cycle, cultivation of bamboo can bring high economic efficiency. Nowadays, bamboos are widely used as materials in various fields and industries, from construction, food and paper industries to pharmaceutical and biochemical industries.9 For instance, serving in construction industry, bamboos are low-cost building materials, which are lightweight, durable, flexible, and easily cultivated and processed.10

In Ghana, the cover of forests has been depleted from about 8.5 million hectares to 1.8 million hectares in the last 100 years till 2013, published by Timber Industry and Development Division of Forestry Commission Ghana.11 To relieve deforestation and find sustainable ways, the initiated a series of campaigns and programs to support bamboo sector. 12 Whether the bamboo industry in Ghana has experienced rapid development in

5 Cf. Kelchner S., Higher level phylogenetic relationships within the bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) based on five plastid markers, 2012, pp.404. 6 Cf. Wise Geek, What is Bamboo, 2017. 7 Cf. Bamboo Garden, Frequently Asked Questions about bamboo, 2017. 8 Cf. Lewis Bamboo, How does bamboo grow, 2017. 9 Cf. Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana (BARADEP), Bamboo Resources, 2017. 10 Mauro S., Anna F., Linda G., and Mario P., Structural Solutions for Low-Cost Bamboo Frames: Experimental Tests and Constructive Assessments, 2016, pp.1. 11 Cf. Peter Z., Ghana will import timber in five years, 2013. 12 Cf. Metropolitan Assembly’s Investment Promotion Office, Investment opportunity in Kumasi Ghana bamboo cultivation and processing, 2013, pp.1. 2

recent years is unproven yet. Hence, the on-site investigation and preliminary research are necessary for figuring out practical information and current basic situation about Ghanaian bamboo industry and the macro and micro environment.

1.3 Research Questions

In order to reach the purpose of the research, a series of core questions are discussed in the thesis: 1) How is the current situation of bamboo resources in Ghana? 2) What are the influences that bamboo industry brings to Ghana? 3) How is the macro environment for Ghanaian bamboo industry? 4) What are the current main bamboo composite products in Ghana? 5) How is the basic situation of Ghanaian bamboo industrial chain, including suppliers of raw bamboo materials, manufacturers of bamboo composite products and consumers in bamboo products markets 6) How is the future tendency of Ghanaian bamboo industry? 7) What are recommendations and suggestions to relevant stakeholders?

1.4 Research Objectives

The research objectives provide basic directions to answer the research questions correspondingly: 1) To figure out the profiles of bamboo resources, including species, geographical distribution and main places of the supplies of bamboo resources in Ghana; 2) To explore social and economic importance of bamboo industry at local and national levels; 3) To analyze whether the Ghanaian macro environment is favorable for bamboo industry, regarding political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors; 4) To explore the micro environment of Ghanaian bamboo industry, including suppliers of raw bamboo materials, manufacturers of bamboo composite products and consumers in bamboo products markets; 5) To predict the future tendency of Ghanaian bamboo industry;

3

6) To provide recommendations for existing enterprises, potential entrants and national and local governments.

1.5 Significance of the Research

The research is commissioned and requested by consulting company China- Africa-Advisory, launched by German-African University Partnership Platform (for the development of entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises)13, supported by Bamboo and Rattan Development Program of Ghana (BARADEP) and International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). The research benefits various stakeholders and meet the needs of multiple parties, including but not limited to: 1) Global investors that possess solid financial resources and intend to invest in Ghanaian bamboo plantation or manufacturing of bamboo composite products: a basic overview about bamboo industry in Ghana is provided for them; 2) Global entrants that possess technical advantages or solid financial resources and have intention to cooperate with or start up bamboo plantation or manufacturing of bamboo composite products in Ghana: the basic situation about bamboo industry in Ghana is provided for them; 3) Ghanaian suppliers of raw bamboo materials and manufacturers of bamboo composite products: the research reveals the current situation of bamboo industry, which helps them adapt their strategies to the existing environments; 4) Relevant international non-profit organization such as International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), research institutions and industry associations: the research provides a basis of information to help them organize relevant activities; 5) Ghanaian national and local governments: the research offers a decision basis for them to adjust the relevant administration and policies of bamboo industry such as the Bamboo and Rattan Development Program of Ghana; 6) The development of Ghanaian bamboo industry: the research introduces Ghanaian bamboo industry to the external world outsides Ghana and shows its existing potential;

13 Cf. German-African-Entrepreneurship, German-African University Partnership Platform, 2017. 4

7) China-Africa-Advisory: the fundamental information is obtained and referenced for further analysis in its advisory services.

1.6 Scope and Structure

Serving for domestic enterprises, global entrants, non-profit organizations, research institutions, national and local governments, the scope of the research of this thesis include basic investigation of Ghanaian bamboo resources, examination of main influencing factors that impact the development of bamboo industry, preliminary analysis of Ghanaian bamboo industrial chain and suggestion for these stakeholders above. In chapter 1, background, objectives, and significance of the research are explained. In chapter 2, profiles of bamboo resources, current basic situation of Ghanaian bamboo industry and important institutions are introduced through literature review and researcher’s preliminary exploration in Ghana. In chapter 3, theories applied in analyzing the macro and micro environment for Ghanaian bamboo industry’s development are clarified. In chapter 4, methodology of collecting data and information is explained. In chapter 5, macro environment of Ghanaian bamboo industry is examined in multiple aspects of political, economic, social, technical, environmental and legal factors. In chapter 6, combined with Five Forces Analysis, the current bamboo industrial chains including suppliers of raw materials, manufacturers of bamboo composite products and consumer market are presented. In chapter 7, conclusions of the research are drawn and basic predictions and suggestions are given by the researcher. In the appendixes, the useful and practical data and information are provided; the enterprises, external entrants, research institutions, non-profit organizations, and governments can conduct their further researches through this information.

2. Literature Review and Preliminary Research

In this chapter, the basic and current situations of Ghanaian bamboo industry are presented according to literature review and researcher’s preliminary exploration in Ghana, including profiles of bamboo resources in Ghana, their corresponding industrial usages, current development of Ghanaian bamboo

5

industry and relevant essential institutions which influence Ghanaian bamboo industry.

2.1 Profiles of Bamboo Resources

As raw materials for bamboo industry, the profiles of bamboo resources are introduced including geographical distributions, reserves, forms of reserves, current species and corresponding applications in Ghana. As INBAR revealed, currently explored bamboo reserves in Ghana are approximately 400,000 hectares.14 In comparison, the total cultivated bamboo in plantations since 2014 has been merely 14100 hectares, further discussed in chapter 2.2. Most of bamboo plants exist in Ghana in the form of natural forests, according to BARADEP. The distribution rule of bamboo plants is concluded by INBAR as ‘‘Bamboo occurs throughout Ghana.’’15 The regions of high density of bamboo plants are , , and as the district of red color in distribution map below given by INBAR.16 The specific distribution in areas explored and provided by BARADEP of bamboo raw bamboo materials is reported in Appendix V for further reference if needed by enterprises of bamboo plantation and bamboo composite products.

14 Cf. INBAR, Bamboo and rattan utilization in Ghana, 2016, pp.2. 15 Cf. Michael K., Bamboo & Rattan livelihood development in Ghana, 2011, pp.11. 16 Cf. Michael K., Bamboo & Rattan livelihood development in Ghana, 2011, pp.11. 6

Figure 1: Geographical distribution of bamboo in Ghana

Multiple enterprises express in interviews that although their factories are located in , their supplies of raw materials for them are from other Regions such as Central Region. According to interviews, the reason is that as the capital of Ghana, Accra can provide favorable industrial conditions for factories, whereas the soil of Accra is actually not suitable for natural or cultivated bamboo. Currently, seven main species of bamboo exist in Ghana. According to officials of BARADEP, different species of bamboo possess respective characteristics, which vary in hardness, height, and color, etc. Therefore, different species serve as diverse usages mainly from construction materials, furniture materials to decorative plants in Ghana.17 The species and their corresponding usages are shown below:

Species Applications Bambusa arundinacea or Bambusa Shoot, construction, paper, furniture, etc. Bambusa multiplex Ornamental, fencing, handicraft, shoot,

17 Cf. Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana, Bamboo Resources, 2017. 7

furniture, flute, etc. Bambusa pervariabilis Furniture, charcoal, etc. Bambusa vulgaris (the green type) Charcoal, furniture, etc. Bambusa vulgaris var vitata Decoration, urban forestry, charcoal, (the yellow type) furniture, etc. Oxythenanthera abyssinica Ornamental, charcoal, handicraft, furniture, etc. Dendrocalamus strictus Household utensil, laminated board, mat, musical instrument, furniture, woven ware, agricultural implement, etc.

Table 1: 7 main species of bamboo in Ghana and corresponding industrial applications

Beside the main species above, aiming at providing plantation developers with adequate planting materials private and commercial bamboo, Ghanaian government introduced exotic 18 species of bamboo in 2003. These species were distributed to some selected institutions and non-governmental organizations that monitor their growth conditions and adaptability in Ghana and multiply them. 18 Further, the enriched planting materials can benefit the production of bamboo composite products. 14 species of them and their corresponding applications are shown below:19 Species Applications Gigantochloa albociliata Shoot and weaving (can be bent like rattan) Weaving Bambusa edulis Weaving, boards, furniture, shoots, roof purling Dendrocalamus brandisii Construction Bambusa oldhanmii Furniture, shoot, construction, Windbreak Dendrocalamus asper Shoots, furniture, panel Guadua angustifolia Construction Dendrocalamus strictus Weaving, board, furniture, shoot, roof purling Guadua chacoensis Construction

18 Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana, Bamboo Resources, 2016. 19 Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana, Bamboo Resources, 2016. 8

Dendrocalamus Furniture, paper pulp, construction light membrenaceous Thyrosostachis siamensis Weaving, handicraft, shoot, paper pulp Dendrocalamus latiflorus Weaving, shoot, furniture, board Bambusa textilis Weaving, shoot Bambusa ventricosa Ornamental Bambusa burmanica Construction (light)

Table 2: 14 introduced species of bamboo in Ghana and corresponding applications

2.2 Basic Introduction to Ghanaian Bamboo Industry

Among the industrial applications above, current main and typical applications in Ghana are20:

Agricultural uses such as fences, tools, rafts, trellises, water pipes

Ornaments in landscape

Bamboo charcoals and briquettes

Light and strong materials for crafts, handicrafts, and furniture

Bamboo bicycles

Table 3: Typical industries of bamboo in Ghana

As researcher’s observation on the structure of Ghanaian bamboo industrial chains such as bamboo furniture and bamboo bicycle industry, at the upstream end stand the suppliers of raw bamboo materials; then forwards stand the producers of bamboo composite products and forwards further stand the retailers or consumers at the downstream end. Ghana possesses abundant natural bamboo resources as raw materials, which is also the reason that INBAR established its regional office INBAR West Africa in Kumasi.21 Beside the natural bamboo as main supply of raw materials in Ghana, while in recent years, the plantations have been rising as the table below provided by INBAR.

No. Institution Location Total Target planted 2017-

20 Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana, Bamboo Resources, 2017. 21Cf. Yomi L., Bamboo: Vehicle for poverty alleviation in west Africa, 2010, pp.9. 9

since 2020 2014 (hectar (hectare) e) 1 Eco-Planet Bamboo Ashanti Region 3400 5000 2 Kwamoka Farm and Processing Ashanti Region 100 2000 Limited 3 Darlow Company Western Region 1000 5000 4 Sustainable Land and Water 4000 5000 Management Project Environmental Protection Agency EPA 5 Global Bamboo 100 5000 6 Forestry Commission (Ghana Nationwide 500 10000 Forest Plantation Strategy 2016-2040) 7 Private and Individuals Nationwide 5000 10000 8 New Patriotic Party Manifesto Nationwide - 4000 Pledges (Ruling Government) TOTAL 14100 46000 Table 4: The acreage of bamboo plantation since 2014 and the future target 2017-2020 The hectares from 2014 to 2020 demonstrate the growing tendency of Ghanaian bamboo plantations; whereas, compared to the amount of currently explored natural reserve, which is approximately the 28.4 times of plantation; even if the target of expansion can be realized in 2020, the hectares of natural reserves are still the 8.7 times of plantations. The limited influence of plantations is also proved by the enterprises. Among five interviewees as producers of bamboo bicycle and furniture, all the five express that their main sources of raw materials are supplied by natural bamboo stands. The mainstream position of natural bamboo is also proven through the researcher’s informal discussion with the official of Forestry Commission.

The typical bamboo industries in Ghana are bamboo furniture, bamboo bicycle, and bamboo charcoal, etc. The number of producers of bamboo composite products is still in small quantity in Ghana as researcher’s exploration. There are estimated ten bamboo handicraft furniture producers and merely one bamboo machine-produced furniture enterprise in the capital Accra; in bamboo bicycle industry, there are merely two enterprises in Ghana according to the official of INBAR. The officials of BARADEP express in an interview that the manufacturing of 10

bamboo furniture started in Ghana as lately as the 1990s and before the 1990s people almost didn’t know about bamboo’s application and merely applied bamboo as fences. Since the 2000s, people have started to utilize bamboo as furniture but was still in relatively low technical level in processing with limited sorts. It is since the 2010s that the production of bamboo furniture grew gradually at a considerable technical level. The industry of bamboo charcoal also begun its development merely 4 to 5 years ago, expresses BARADEP. Bamboo furniture industry in Ghana includes two main forms in Ghana, the handicraft and the machine-produced bamboo furniture. Ghanaian bamboo furniture industry is profoundly influenced by Chinese technologies and keeps learning from Chinese technologies. The interviews with bamboo furniture producers in Accra also proved the immaturity of development: bamboo handicraft furniture producers are faced the challenges of low processing skills, while the bamboo machine-produced furniture enterprise are faced more technical challenges such as difficult operation of machines, high failure rate, high wastage rate and the lack of highly skilled technicians. Bamboo charcoals as bio-energy are protecting the environment in reducing emission of ashes,22 whereas there are merely estimated no more than five enterprises in Accra researching and producing bamboo charcoal and briquettes, such as Ankobra Farms, Global Bamboo Product Limited, according to researcher’s exploration and interviews with the two enterprises. On the contrary, the Ghanaian typical bamboo bicycle industry grows in a progressive path. The top two enterprises Bamboo Bikes Initiative and Booomers International in Kumasi are not only Ghanaian but also the world’s representative leaders that are developing successfully in production, marketing, research, image campaign and international business, discussed in further chapters.

2.3 Important Institutions

As important and influential institutions in Ghanaian bamboo industry, BARADEP and INBAR are introduced in this part. In 2002, Cabinet of Ghana approved the adoption of Bamboo and Rattan Development as a national program to response president’s initiative.

22 Yomi L., Bamboo: Vehicle for poverty alleviation in west Africa, 2010, pp.10. 11

Subsequently, the Secretariat of Bamboo and Rattan Development Program (BARADEP) was established under the then Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to coordinate the activities under the program. The overall and long-term goal of BARADEP is by supporting the development of bamboo industry to ensure sustainable management of Ghanaian bamboo resources and contribute to poverty alleviation, economic development and improvement of the environment. 23 The concrete functions of BARADEP’s five departments demonstrate how BARADEP influences and promotes the bamboo industry directly: 24 1. Nursery and Plantation: promoting the establishment of bamboo and rattan nursery in order to provide suitable planting material, which is a backbone to the bamboo and rattan industry and supply raw materials for both traditional and industrial processing. 2. Natural Stands Management: providing technical expertise to conserve natural bamboo and rattan stands, training and educating various communities on proper management of natural bamboo and rattan resources and carrying out inventory of bamboo and rattan resources in Ghana. 3. Processing and Craft Industry Operations: facilitating the establishment of processing factories and production lines for various bamboo products. 4. Marketing and Research: promoting bamboo and rattan products “made in Ghana” and collaborating with Ghanaian research institutes including the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) to conduct researches in various disciplines including cultivation and utilization of bamboo and rattan. 5. Monitoring and Evaluation: forming an integral part of management to effectively assess the progress of BARADEP, providing annual work plan, identifying critical implementation constraints and evaluating new opportunities. It can be concluded that BARADEP’s promotions are all-dimensional and lie in the whole bamboo industrial chain, from the part of management and supply of raw material resources, to the part of manufacturing of bamboo composite products and the part of sales of bamboo composite products. As an intergovernmental organization, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) was established in 1997 in order to provide innovative solutions to environmental sustainability and poverty. According to INBAR, in

23 Cf. Bamboo and Rattan Development Program, 2016, About the program. 24 Cf. Bamboo and Rattan Development Program, 2016, About the program. 12

the nearly 20 years, INBAR devoted itself to and made progress in the improvement of livelihoods in rural areas and communities, capacity building, training and knowledge popularization in more than 80 countries. INBAR attaches importance highly to Ghana. Hence Ghana is not only one of its 43 members but also one of its four regional offices around the world. INBAR has launched new ‘‘2015-2030 Strategic Plan’’ to work with countries in the applications of bamboo and rattan as strategic resources in order to support their sustainable development and green economy.25 The plan is expected to exert significant influence on the development of Ghanaian bamboo industry in future decades.

3. Theory and Framework

The theories that are applied in the analysis of macro and micro environment of Ghanaian bamboo industry are clarified in this chapter.

3.1 PESTLE Analysis

The Ghanaian macro environment for bamboo industry is examined by PESTLE Analysis. The PESTLE provides a framework to investigate the external environment by asking questions in each aspect and considering the implications. It is often used to launch a new product or service, to explore a new route to market, and to enter into a new country or region. The aspects are political factors, economic factors, social factors, technological factors, legal factors and environmental factors.26 The political factors are related to government policies, regulations, and legal issues that impact the organizations in their own countries. 27 The political factors include stability of government, operational laws, restrictions of trade, policies on employment and tax, leadership of government, corruption level and bureaucracy issues, etc.28 The economic factors require the organizations to create strategies that fit the changes in macroeconomic situations and financial situations and have

25 International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, About us, 2016. 26 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 7-9. 27 Cf. Tomayess L., Vanessa C.,Theodora I., Sustainable business strategies and PESTEL framework, 2010, pp. 75. 28 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp.12. 13

resonating long-term direct effects on companies. 29 The economic factors include inflation, GDP, tax rate, exchange rate, cost of living and globalization, etc.30 The social factors take into account the events that influence the community and market socially. 31 The social factors include citizens’ lifestyle, attitudes, population pyramid, education and demographic characteristics, etc.32 The technological factors are related to innovations in technologies that influence the operations and direction of industry and market. 33 The technological factors include production efficiency, patent and license, rate of change, and knowledge management system, etc.34 The legal factors take into account the current and impending legislation that affect the industry. The legal factors include the regulations and laws on taxation, employment, trade, advertisement and safety, etc.35 The environmental factors take into consideration the natural surroundings and the environmental protection. The environmental factors include the weather, climate and geographical conditions, ecological consequences, disposal of wastes, etc.36 In the factors above, the main factors that have significant influences on the environment for the development of Ghanaian bamboo industry of are chosen to analyze in chapter 5.

3.2 Five Forces Analysis

In structure, the investigation and introduction of Ghanaian bamboo industry are organized by the framework of Five Forces Analysis. In theory, the research and analysis of Ghanaian micro environment of bamboo industry are also based on Five Forces Analysis. Published by Harvard Business Review, the Five Forces Model of Michael E.

29 Cf. Nitank R., Trivedi M., PESTLE Technique - a tool to identify external risks in construction projects, 2016, pp.385. 30 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 13-14. 31 Cf. Nitank R., Trivedi M., PESTLE Technique - a tool to identify external risks in construction projects, 2016, pp.385. 32 Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 15. 33 Cf. Nitank R., Trivedi M., PESTLE Technique - a tool to identify external risks in construction projects, 2016, pp.385. 34 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 16. 35 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 18-19. 36 Cf. Team FME, PESTLE Analysis strategy skills, 2013, pp. 20. 14

Porter has started a revolution in the strategy field, which helps comprehension of the structure of an industry. 37 The five forces in the industry of bamboo composite products include the bargain power of suppliers, the rivalry among existing producers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitutes and the bargain power of consumers.38 The suppliers are powerful if: 1) It is more concentrated than the industry it sells to; 2) The supplier group does not depend heavily on the industry for its revenues; 3) Industry participants face switching costs in changing suppliers; 4) Suppliers offer products that are differentiated; 5) There is no substitute for what the supplier group provides; 6) The supplier group can credibly threaten to integrate forward into the industry, etc.39 The intensity of rivalry is great if: 1) Competitors are numerous or are roughly equal in size and power; 2) Growth of the industry is slow; 3) Rivals are highly committed to the business and have aspirations for leadership; 4) Products or services of rivals are nearly identical; 5) Few switching costs for buyers; 6) Fixed costs are high and marginal costs are low; 7) The product is perishable, or the storage costs are high; 8) The competitive advantages are sustainable through innovation, etc.40 The threat of new entrants is high; namely, the barriers to entry are weak if: 1) Accesses to distribution channels are equal; 2) Capital requirements are low; 3) Customer switching costs are high; 4) Supply-side economies of scale are low; 5) Government policy is not restrictive;41 6) The existing products in the industry are undifferentiated, etc.42 The threat of a substitute is high if:

37 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.25. 38 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.27. 39 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.30. 40 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.32. 41 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.27. 42 James W. Intensity of new entrants (one of Porter’s Five Forces), 2013. 15

1) The buyer’s cost of switching to the substitute is low; 2) It offers an attractive price-performance trade-off to the industry’s product;43 3) The functions, attributes, or performance of the substitute product are equal or superior to the industry’s product;44 4) The propensity of buyers45, etc. The buyers are powerful if: 1) There are few buyers, or each buyer purchases in large volumes compared to a single vendor; 2) The industry’s products are standardized or undifferentiated; 3) Buyers face few switching costs in changing vendors; 4) Buyers can credibly threaten to integrate backward and produce by themselves; 5) The quality of buyers’ products or services is little affected by the industry’s product, etc.46 In the criterion above, the main criteria that have significant influences on Ghanaian industry of bamboo composite products are chosen to analyze in chapter 6.

4. Methodology

The acquisition of data and information is fundamental for analyzing and examining the Ghanaian macro environment and micro environment for the bamboo industry. Especially, in order to collect primary data with reference value not only for this thesis but also for further researchers’ references, the researcher conducted on-site investigations in Ghana from October to December 2017.

4.1 Method of Data Collection

A series of methods of are employed to obtain secondary and primary data and information from various sources.

43 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.31. 44 James W. Intensity of rivalry (one of Porter’s Five Forces), 2013. 45 Porter M, Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance, 1985, pp.6. 46 Porter M., The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, 2008, pp.31. 16

4.1.1 Collection of Secondary Data

The collections of secondary data bring advantages of convenient, quick and economical,47 which is collected from existing external literature published by relevant journals and organizations. The various papers and journals are published by Elsevier, Harvard Business School, Bloomberg, etc. The organizations are mainly research institutions, non-profit organizations and administrative institutions, including but not limited to International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Trading Economics, Transparency International (TI), Ghana Statistical Service, Internal Revenue Service of Ghana, Ghana Investment Promotion Center, African Forum, INBAR West Africa, BARADEP of Ghana, Forestry Commission of Ghana, etc.

4.1.2 Collection of Primary Data and Samplings

The on-site investigation in Ghana as primary method is core characteristic and important basis of this research. The significance lies not only in direct exploration for this research but also in creating original primary results for future further researches on the newly emerging Ghanaian bamboo industry.

4.1.2.1 Interview and Coding

The interviews with multiple enterprises in Ghanaian bamboo industrial chains are conducted. The sampling includes three bamboo furniture producers, two bamboo bicycle producers, two bamboo charcoal producer and two enterprises of bamboo plantations. These enterprises possess considerable scales, or are recorded in BARADEP’s lists of enterprises, or possess good popularity and vitality, or are the rare enterprises in their newly developing industry. For instance, as mentioned, the interviewed two bamboo bicycle enterprises are the only two existing enterprises as bamboo bicycle producers in Ghana. The Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited is highly probably the sole pioneer machine-produced furniture producer. Hence, to a certain extent, the results of interviews with these enterprises are

47 Cf. Johnston, M., Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come, 2014, pp.619-626. 17

representative to demonstrate current Ghanaian bamboo industry, due to the still small total quantity of enterprises of this industry they lie in. The researcher divided enterprises into two categories according to relevance to agriculture or manufacturing and their position in the industrial chain: supplier of bamboo raw materials or user of bamboo raw materials. One category is bamboo plantation; another is producer of bamboo composite products. Two sorts of questionnaires are designed correspondingly for them (complete questionnaires are enclosed in Appendix I and Appendix II).

For the enterprises of bamboo plantations, combining the objectives of research, the questionnaire was designed: •Objective 1: to figure out profile of bamboo resources, including species, agro- bio-geographical distribution, such as: What species of bamboo do you cultivate? How do the natural conditions facilitate your bamboo cultivation? •Objective 2: to explore social and economic importance of bamboo at local and national levels, such as: How many jobs does your plantation offer? What are the changes in your and other involved people’s daily lives after growing bamboo? •Objective 3: to analyze whether the macro environment favorable for bamboo industry in Ghana, including political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental factors, such as: How do the relevant policies facilitate your bamboo plantation? How the agricultural technologies facilitate your cultivation? •Objective 4: to analyze the micro environment of bamboo industry in Ghana, including raw material suppliers, main producers and main products, buyers, such as: Do you and how much do you export your bamboo? How do you comment the competition between plantations? •Objective 5: to predict the potential of bamboo industry in Ghana, such as: How will your yields of bamboo develop in the future as your prediction? What are your comments on the future of bamboo agriculture?

For the producers of bamboo composite products, combining the objectives of

18

research, the questionnaire was designed as: •Objective 1: to figure out profile of bamboo resources, including species and agro-bio-geographical distribution, such as: How do you purchase your bamboo raw materials? What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase? •Objective 2: to explore social and economic importance of bamboo at local and national levels, such as: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? What were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? •Objective 3: to analyze the Ghanaian macro environment for bamboo industry, such as: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How is the labor condition of your factory? •Objective 4: to analyze micro environment of bamboo industry in Ghana, including raw material suppliers, main producers and main products, buyers, such as: Do you have a plan to set up plantations or why not set up plantations by yourself? Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? What are the advantages of your products? •Objective 5: to predict the potential of bamboo industry in Ghana: How will your strategy develop in the future as your prediction? What are your comments on the future of bamboo industry?

The corresponding transcripts of above 9 interviews are reported in Appendix III.

Besides, plenty of valuable documents as data and information are obtained in the interviews and meetings with BARADEP, Forestry Commission and INBAR West Africa. Their public or internal materials also benefit the research to a large extent.

4.1.2.2 Survey

In order to analyze the buying behaviors and attitudes of Ghanaian consumers

19

on bamboo furniture and bamboo bicycles, the survey was conducted in Accra Ghana. Regarding the acceptability of interviewees, the survey was in the form of oral inquiry and the answers were recorded by the researcher in survey sheet. The sampling of survey result includes 55 valid samples as interviewees. The questionnaire of the survey was designed as:

Questions Evaluation (1-5)

1. To what degree do you know about 1. Never know it 2. Heard of it 3. Know it bamboo furniture? 4. Know it well 5. Quite familiar with it 2. To what degree do you use bamboo 1.Never 2.Seldom 3.Middle 4.Usually furniture now in your house? 5.Heavily 3. How strong is your intention to buy and 1. Never want 2. Don’t tend to 3. Middle use bamboo bicycle? 4. Tend to 5. Intense intention 4. To what degree do you know about 1. Never know it 2. Heard of it 3. Know it bamboo bicycle? 4. Know it well 5. Quite familiar with it 5. To what degree do you use bamboo 1.Never 2.Seldom 3.Middle 4.Usually bicycle now in your house? 5.Heavily 6. How strong is your intention to buy and 1. Never want 2. Don’t tend to 3. Middle use bamboo bicycle? (price: ordinary 4. Tend to 5. Intense intention bicycle 300-400 Cedi, bamboo bicycle 1600 Cedi) 7. How strong is your intention to buy and 1. Never want 2. Don’t tend to 3. Middle use bamboo bicycle? (price: ordinary 4. Tend to 5. Intense intention bicycle 300-400 Cedi, bamboo bicycle 300- 400 Cedi equally) Table 5: Questionnaire on buying behaviors and attitudes of potential consumer

Aiming at collecting quantitative information, the survey provided results that applied in the analysis of behaviors and attitudes of a certain group of citizens in a quantitative way. The corresponding result sheet of the survey is recorded in Appendix IV.

4.2 Method of Data Analysis

The qualitative and quantitative methods are employed in the thesis to analyze the collected data and information from various sources. The interviews with multiple enterprises and institutions in Ghanaian bamboo industry correspond to the qualitative method, while the survey on the buying behaviors and attitudes of citizens corresponds to the quantitative method.

20

4.2.1 Qualitative Method

The qualitative study describes the diversity of certain behavior or cognition in a certain group through semi-structured interviews with a small sample of members.48 In this research, the qualitative data and information collected by the interviews with enterprises and institutions provide important fundamental for the analysis in the thesis. The exploration of the Ghanaian micro environment of bamboo industry is mainly based on the qualitative method of analysis. The enterprises and institutions gave their subjective evaluation more than revealing concrete quantitative data, which could influence the accuracy of the analysis to a certain extent, whereas the advantage of the qualitative data and information is pointing out the main factors that impact the bamboo industry and enterprises significantly.

4.2.2 Quantitative Method (SPSS)

Focusing on gathering numerical data and generalizing data in groups of people,49 the quantitative research explains particular phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. 50 The quantitative data and information in this research are collected through researcher’s primary surveys and secondary sources. The examination of Ghanaian macro environment of bamboo industry is mainly based on the quantitative information. Besides, the analysis of the data of consumers’ evaluations is conducted based on the application of Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) provided by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).51 The flexible and scalable SPSS platform offers advanced statistical analysis and good integration of data of high complexity and large sizes to help improve efficiency. 52 Through the analysis by mean of SPSS, the descriptive statistics is acquired, which uses numerical techniques to summarize and display the information

48 Cf. Harrie J., The Logic of qualitative survey research and its position in the field of social research method, 2010, pp.1. 49 Babbie, R., The Practice of Social Research, 2010. 50 Given, M., The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods, 2008. 51 Cf. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), IBM SPSS Software, 2017. 52 Cf. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), IBM SPSS Software, 2017. 21

contained in the dataset of the survey.53 The descriptive statistics are applied in analyzing buying behaviors and attitudes of potential consumers in chapter 6.

5. Analysis of the Macro Environment in Ghana

In this chapter, the Ghanaian macro environment for the bamboo industry is introduced and examined through PESTEL- Analysis. In the six aspects, the factors that significantly influence Ghanaian macro environment for the bamboo industry are discussed.

5.1 Political Factors

The stability of political environment and favorable policies are two cores to examine the political environment for the development of an industry. The favorable policies are demonstrated in the direct and indirect policies launched by government, the establishment of supportive institution and the financial support of government. Besides, the positive political environment is also reflected in the external political factor and the corruption level.

1) The stability of political environment. Especially when referring to Africa, the political turmoil or turbulence is necessary to be considered. In 1956, the Republic of Ghana declared independence.54 With new constitution entering into force in 1992, Ghana became a democratic state with presidential and parliamentary elections.55 From that on, Ghana took on a relatively stable and peaceful path of development. Ghana is at present one of the most stable countries in Africa. Ghana is ranked 40th the safest countries in total 160 countries and ranked 3rd in 51 African countries according to the ranking of world’s safest countries.56 With safety index of 72.8%, Ghana is more stable than its neighboring countries, including Burkina Faso with a safety index of 40.8% and Togo with a safety index of 69.1%.57 The Government of Ghana is capable of creating and also attempts to

53 Cf. Jessica U., Seeing Through Statistics, 2005. 54 Cf. Thomas P., British set March 6th as date of freedom for the gold coast, 1956, pp.1. 55 Cf. Constitution Writing & Conflict Resolution, Ghana 1992, 1992. 56 Cf. Safe Around, World’s Safest Countries, 2017. 57 Cf. Safe Around, World’s Safest Countries, 2017. 22

create safe and protective developing environment for all industries. Besides, the political stability is also demonstrated in the consistency of favorable policies, which are not influenced by the changes of ruling parties. In spite of the transfers of power between different parties, the Ghanaian government sets and implements policies consistently to support the development of industries including the bamboo industry. 2) Favorable policies of Ghanaian government. The current governing party in power is New Patriotic Party (NPP). In the manifesto by New Patriotic Party in 2016, the objective of economic policy was: ‘‘to build the most business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa, which will create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians’’. To achieve the economic objectives, the concrete direction of policy was also announced by NPP’s government: ‘‘restoring macroeconomic stability, shifting the focus of economic management from taxation to production, managing the economy competently’’. Besides, NPP’s government promised to reduce the cost of business, maintain fiscal discipline, and decrease interest rates in order to spur private sector investment.58 Laying emphasis on bamboo industry, the NPP’s government listed the support for bamboo and rattan plantations especially and directly as one of the government’s key points in the manifesto of 2016: ‘‘It is projected that 50,000 hectares of these plantations would be required to augment the supplies from natural stands over the next 25 years.’’ 59 The NPP’s government promised 1,000 hectares of bamboo and rattan plantations as annual establishment and encouraged private sector to be involved through providing subsidized planting materials. The NPP’s government aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and transformation of economy through raw materials’ value addition.60 These signs above reflect that the Government of Ghana attaches importance to create a beneficial environment for the development of bamboo industry. 3) Favorable policies of Ghanaian government: the establishment of supportive institution. The establishment of a supportive institution can be recognized a milestone of the supports of government. Since BARADEP was launched, Ghanaian

58 New Patriotic Party, Change, an agenda for jobs, 2016, pp.13-14. 59 New Patriotic Party, Change, an agenda for jobs, 2016, pp.90. 60 New Patriotic Party, Change, an agenda for jobs, 2016, pp.13, 90. 23

bamboo industry has embarked on the path of consistent development under supports of BARADEP including communities’ education conducted by BARADEP on cultivation and nursery of bamboo plants and training courses on bamboo furniture processing co-organized BARADEP, according to researcher’s interviews with BARADEP and bamboo furniture producers. 4) Favorable policies of Ghanaian government: the financial support of the government. The Ghanaian government also gives vigorous supports on bamboo industry in monetary aspect. Taking the financial appropriation that Ghanaian government provides BARADEP as an example, according to researcher’s investigation and calculation based on BARADEP’s work plan, the budget of 2018 reaches up to 1,287,600 GHS, of which the most amount (1,229,600 GHS) is planned to be funded by the Ghanaian government. 5) Positive political environment: external political factor. Apart from favorable policies by Ghanaian government, as an external political factor, the significant influence from Chinese government of is also in special status for Ghanaian bamboo industry. In recent years, BARADEP has achieved cooperation with the Chinese government in a series of training programs for Ghanaian artisans to learn processing technology on bamboo composite products. According to researcher’s interviews with BARADEP and bamboo furniture producers, In 2016, a 3-month training course ‘‘Innovation and Processing Technology on Bamboo and Rattan Products for Ghana’’ was sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) and held in China. Not only in technological aspect, but also in financial aspect, the Chinese government has already provided a grant of 2 million USD as a non-profit foundation to Ghanaian government to support the development of bamboo industry, according to implementation report of BARADEP. To sum up, the political environment in Ghana is favorable for the development of bamboo industry to a large extent.

5.2 Economic Factors

To analyze and examine the Ghanaian economic environment in this chapter, the factors around production and consumption are focused and discussed.

24

In general, Ghana has realized rapid economic progress in the past decade. The real GDP growth rate of Ghana in last decade from 2008 to 2017 averaged at 7.0%, which was much higher than the world’s average growth rate of 3.3% and African countries’ average growth rate of 4.2% in same period.61 In spite of the economic crisis in 2009, in which the world’s average real GDP growth was -0.1%, the real GDP growth rate of Ghana maintained at 4.8%. 62 In 2017, Ghana has a projected real GDP growth rate of 5.9%, which is higher than the world’s average growth rate of 3.6% and African countries’ average growth rate of 3.5%.

1) GDP per capita. GDP per capita is an important indicator on economic performance and a useful unit to make cross-country comparisons of economic wellbeing and average living standards.63 In spite of the rapid growth of Ghanaian real GDP, the GDP per capita of Ghana (1513.5 USD) has great gap from the world’s average level (10150.1 USD) in 2016.64

2) Purchasing power parity (PPP). To analyze the purchasing power of Ghanaian consumers, the index based on purchasing power parity such as the intuitive tool Big Mac Index published by the Economist.65 Yet due to lack of most African countries’ data in Big Mac Index, the researcher applies the KFC Index instead.66

61 Calculation based on International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook: real GDP growth, Oct, 2017. 62 Cf. International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook: real GDP growth, Oct, 2017. 63 Cf. Focus-Economics. What is GDP per capita, 2017. 64 Cf. World Bank, World Bank Open Data, 2016. 65 Cf. The Economist, Interactive currency-comparison tool the Big Mac index, 2017. 66 Cf. Sagaci Research, The KFC Index measuring PPP in Africa, 2016, pp.4. 25

Figure 2: KFC Index of Ghana in African countries

This figure demonstrates the middle position of purchasing power of Ghanaian consumers among the African countries. The currency of Ghana is undervalued compared to the USA and is one of the relatively undervalued currencies in the world. This is a positive factor to relieve the pressure of consuming to some extent.

3) GDP per capita in PPP. According to International Monetary Fund, there is a large gap between nominal GDP and PPP-based GDP in emerging market or developing countries; yet the gap is much closer for developed countries.67 After discussing the purchasing power parity, the GDP per capita can be examined further by considering the influencing factor PPP. The researcher compared the GDP per capita and the PPP-based GDP per capita of Ghana and the world’s average level.

2016 (in USD) Ghanaian World’s average Absolute Difference (World’s average level — Ghanaian level )

GDP per capita 1513.5 $ 10150.1 $ 8636.6 $

67 Cf. International Monetary Fund, GDP (nominal) vs GDP (PPP), 2016. 26

GDP per capita 4293.6 $ 16143.5 $ 11849.9 $

(adjusted by PPP)

Table 6: Comparison of the GDP per capita and the GDP per capita adjusted by PPP between Ghanaian and World’s average level

In the comparison, it is quantitatively illustrated that the gap of GDP per capita between Ghanaian and World’s average level increases after adjusting by PPP. Ghanaian undervalued currency increases Ghanaian GDP per capita not significantly. Through the relatively low living standard that the GDP per capita shows, it is estimated that consuming ability of citizens is also limited in the consumer market including the bamboo market to a certain extent.

4) Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Ghana has shown an upward trend with high growth rate in last decade. The CPI of Ghana has increased 233% approximately from 60 points to 200 points from 2008 to 2017.68 By contrast, the Consumer Price Indexes of some countries of G20-members have stable trends upwards under effective control. For instance, the CPI of Germany increased approximately 12% from 97.5 to 109.5 points in the same period;69 the CPI of Japan increased approximately merely 3% from 97.5 to 100.5 points in the same period.70 The tendency of rapidly rising CPI may probably become a factor that hinders the growth of Ghanaian citizens’ consuming power at present and in the future in the overall market including the bamboo market.

5) Inflation rate. Ghana has a long history of suffering from high inflation rate since the foundation of the state. In last decade from 2008 to 2017, the inflation rate of Ghana fluctuated between 6.7% and 17.5%, which was higher than the world’s average inflation rate 2.7% - 6.3% and African countries’ average inflation rate 6.7% - 12.7% in the same period.71 The excessive inflation rate could hinder the consumption of Ghanaian citizens in overall consumer market including the

68 Cf. Ghana Statistical Service as cited in Trading Economics, Consumer Price Index, 2017. 69 Cf. Federal Statistical Office as cited in Trading Economics, Consumer Price Index, 2017. 70 Cf. Statistics Bureau Japan as cited in Trading Economics, Consumer Price Index, 2017. 71 Cf. International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook: Inflation rate, Oct, 2017. 27

bamboo market to some extent, especially when the citizens possess relative low consuming power.72

6) Exchange rate of Cedi. The Ghanaian currency Cedi (GHS) has been devalued 56.8% approximately in recent five years in fluctuation. On 4th January 2013, the exchange rate was 1 USD=1.90 GHC, after the rapid depreciation, on 3rd November 2017, the exchange rate was as low as 1 USD=4.40 GHC.73 It is probably beneficial for foreign new entrants to invest into Ghanaian bamboo industry and Ghanaian bamboo enterprises to export to a certain extent, yet it could probably depress the confidence of domestic investors and increases risk and instability of Ghanaian economy.

7) Balance of trade (BOT). The BOT compares the value of exports of goods and services with imports of a country. In usual cases, nations prefer to sell more in order to create favorable BOT as profits for nations and capital for residents, which means higher living standards. By producing the export, companies gain competitive advantages in expertise, create more jobs for people, reduce unemployment and generate more incomes. 74 Ghana has suffered a long period of trade deficit. From 2003 to 2017, the Ghanaian balance of trade averaged -623.66 Million USD. In the third quarter of 2017, Ghana recorded a trade deficit as high as 406.79 Million USD.75 The deficits of BOT influences the health of Ghanaian economy. The nations with deficits of BOT mainly import consumer products and export raw materials. The domestic businesses do not gain the experience of creating value-added products and thus domestic economies become more dependent on global commodity, which depletes natural resources in the long run and harms the healthy development of economy. 76 It is estimated by the researcher that unfavorable BOT could be related to the current high inflation rate, severely depreciation of currency and high unemployment rate. Yet as the prediction by research institution Trading Economics according to the tendencies in short three-year period and long ten-year period, in the future, the

72 Cf. The Economist. Ghana: the mighty fallen, 2015. 73 Cf. Bloomberg Market, USDGHS spot exchange rate, 2017. 74 Cf. Kimberly A., Balance of trade: favorable vs unfavorable, 2017. 75 Cf. Trading Economics, Ghana balance of trade, 2017. 76 Cf. Kimberly A., Balance of trade: favorable vs unfavorable, 2017. 28

Ghanaian high deficit could be relieved gradually.77

Figure 3: Trends and forecast of balance of trade in three-year period 2015-2018 and period of the decade 2008-2018

Besides, the Ghanaian authorities have been taking measures to reduce the debt stock, according to World Bank.78 The BOT influences the health of the overall economy, to which the bamboo industry adheres as well.

8) Producer Price Index (PPI). The Ghanaian Producer Price Index has increased excessively in last decade. From 2008 to 2017, the PPI of Ghana has increased 318% from 135.8 points to 567.7 points.79 By contrast, the PPI of the United States increased merely 13% from 100.2 points to 113.4 points from 2009 to 2017. 80 Hence, the rising tendency of PPI can be predicted, which could harm the expansion of production and investment of producers in bamboo industry continuously in the future.

9) Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in Ghana has been on the rise from 4.1% to 5.8% in recent five years from 2012 to 2016.81 According to the prediction by research institution the Trading Economics, from 2017 on, the unemployment rate tends to increase sharply to a high level of 9% approximately and stays at such high level for at least six years.82 The high unemployment is one of the serious challenges confronting Ghana,83 which is discussed further in chapter 5.3.

10) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

77 Cf. Trading Economics, Ghana balance of trade, 2017. 78 Cf. World Bank, The World Bank in Ghana: overview, 2017. 79 Cf. Ghana Statistical Service as cited in Trading Economics, Producer Price Index, 2017. 80 Cf. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as cited in Trading Economics, Producer Price Index, 2017. 81 Cf. Knoema, World data atlas: Ghana unemployment rate, 2017. 82 Cf. Trading Economics, Ghana unemployment rate forecast, 2017. 83 Cf. Ghana Web, Where are the jobs - unemployment rate soars, 2016. 29

Although the depreciation of Cedi hinders the Ghanaian enterprises’ investment aboard, it attracts the foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ghana. The proportion of net inflow of FDI in GDP has increased from 3.12% to 8.16% from 2006 to 2016.84 According to the latest data revealed by Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the newly registered FDI has increased 1118.54% from 249.49 USD to 3040.13 USD compared the Q1 of 2016 with the Q1 of 2017. 85 The figure below demonstrated that manufacturing sector accounts for most value in total FDI 86 and shows an attractive environment in Ghanaian manufacturing sector for foreign investors. It is a positive sign for Ghanaian producers of bamboo composite products to attract foreign investments or for foreign entrants to start up the manufacturing of bamboo composite products in Ghana.

Table 7: Sectors of FDI

To sum up, overall Ghanaian economy has made progress in recent years and shows growing vitality, whereas a large gap still exists between Ghanaian and world’s advanced level. The deficits in the balance of trade, excessive and increasing inflation, prices of consumption and production and severely depreciating currency could be negative factors to the problematic health of economy, which is reflected in the lagging indicator of economy 87 -- high unemployment. On the other side, the depreciating currency could be a positive factor to the foreign investment in Ghana and export of Ghanaian enterprises to a certain extent. The bamboo industry and market are influenced by these economic factors related to production and consumption.

84 Cf. World Bank, Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP), 2017. 85 Cf. Ghana Investment Promotion Center, GIPC quarterly investment report, 2017, pp.2, pp.3. 86 Cf. Ghana Investment Promotion Center, GIPC quarterly investment report, 2017, pp.2. 87 Cf. Kuczynski M., Unemployment rate is a lagging indicator, 2013. 30

5.3 Social Factors

To examine Ghanaian social environment for bamboo industry, the discussions are mainly around three fundamental aspects: the demographical characteristics, the citizens’ attitudes towards bamboo composite products and the social significance of the bamboo industry. The Ghanaian demographical characteristics influence the supply of workforce to enterprises; the citizens’ propensities and attitudes towards bamboo composite products influence the consuming of bamboo products. The bamboo industry and Ghanaian social welfare are related tightly and impact mutually strongly.

1) Demographical characteristics: sufficient workforce. With the development of economy liberating its people gradually from poverty, Ghanaian population has been rising rapidly in last decade as well. From 2006 to 2016 the Ghanaian population has increased from 21.5 Million to 28.2 Million with an annual growth rate of 3.1% approximately.88 Ghana possesses a much higher proportion of labor force in population pyramid compared to representative G20-member country Germany and world’s average level. The sharp contrast is demonstrated in the figure below.

Figure 4: Comparison of Ghanaian, German and world’s population structure89

The population with ages of below 55 years old reaches up to 46.1% in Ghanaian society, much higher the 32.3% in German society and slightly higher than world’s average level of 42.3%. Although Germany has an advantage in the educational level of labors, the enterprises of bamboo industry in Ghana such as plantations and producers of

88 Calculation based on World Bank, Total population Ghana, 2017. 89 Population Pyramid Net, Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100 of Ghana, Germany and World, 2017. 31

bamboo composite products need not rather high educated workers but focus more on labors with certain skills of processing and favorable labor cost, according to researcher’s interview.

2) Demographical characteristics: favorable labor costs. The relative lower labor cost in Ghana is a positive factor for enterprises. The Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of Ghana has increased 10 percent in daily minimum wage of workers since 2018.90 However, The upward tendency of labor cost can merely exert slight and limited pressure on enterprises. The minimum wage in Ghana in 2017 is as low as 8.8 Cedi/h91 (=approximate 1.7 EUR/h 92 ), by contrast, the minimum wage of the G20- member Germany has reached up to 8.84 EUR/h since 2015.93

3) Propensities and attitudes of consumers. As for the propensities and attitudes of consumers, the lack of awareness of using bamboo is one of the greatest challenges that the enterprises face in bamboo industry. According to researcher‘s interviews with multiple enterprises including bamboo furniture, charcoal and bicycle producers, the answers of enterprises are remarkably similar or identical: currently, people know little about bamboo composite products or haven’t realized the advantages of bamboo composite products. Such situations that the enterprises reflect are proved by the interviews with the citizens; besides, a proportion of citizens tend to look down upon the usages of bamboo, such as bamboo furniture. Hence, the enterprises hope the advertisements should be conducted by authorities to arouse consumers’ attitudes of using bamboo composite products. This part is further discussed in chapter 6, the micro environment of the bamboo industry.

4) The social significance of bamboo industry: creating jobs and training qualified workers. In spite of high proportion of young citizens in population pyramid, the problem of high unemployment rate stands out. As discussed in chapter 5.2 above, the unemployment rate in Ghana has risen 41.5% in recent five years.94 A high

90 Anita A., Government increases minimum wage by 10%, 2017. 91 Cf. Africapay Org/Ghana, Minimum Wages in Ghana with effect from 01-01-2017, 2017. 92 Calculation based on XE Currency Converter, GHS to EUR, 05/11/2017. 93 Cf. Wage Indicator, Mindestlöhne in Deutschland nach Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG) / Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) / Arbeitnehmer Überlassungsgesetz (AÜG) / Tarifvertragsgesetz (TVG), 15/06/2017. 94 Knoema, World data atlas: Ghana unemployment rate, 2017. 32

unemployment rate can impede the stable growth of income and improvement of livelihood of citizens. For instance, the bamboo bicycle enterprise the Bamboo Bikes Initiative has created jobs and trained workers more than 35 and the number of the Booomers International is more than 50. The bamboo plantations improve the livelihood in rural districts as well. The plantation Global Bamboo Products Limited applies an innovative system ‘‘Inter-cropping’’. In the Inter-cropping system, the plantation trains local farmers relevant skills and pays them piece wages instead of hiring them and pay fixed salaries to keep their motivation. It integrates the local workforce and our requirement on human resources in a free and easy way with less restriction. The local farmers can learn more skills and make good use of free time to create extra incomes besides their own cultivating. The highly efficient business model benefits the livelihood of local farmers, incentives their working efficiency, saves our costs and makes sure the cultivation and harvest of our plantation.

5) The social significance of bamboo industry: providing sustainable ways of development. The modern bamboo plantations improve the local agricultural conditions and provide sustainable ways of development. According to the interview with the plantation Global Bamboo Products Limited, the local farmers had to carry water from long distances and the rain was the primary source of water for agricultural uses previously. Currently, after the cultivation of bamboo, the water was restored in the area and the developed irrigation system provides water for local living and agricultural activities. The agriculture of bamboo combines the natural and social environments organically for the sustainable development of rural districts.

6) The social significance of bamboo industry: social welfare programs. For instance, the Booomers International has been contributing directly and indirectly to social welfare programs and has supported plenty of programs for public welfare such as scholarships on educational development, Literacy Development Programs, Bike to School Program and Yonso Project, 95 etc., which improve the conditions of education and transportation in poor rural

95 Cf. Booomers International, Social commitment, 2017. 33

districts in Ghana.

To sum up, the Ghanaian macro social environment is significantly favorable for the development of the bamboo industry. In factors of demographical characteristics, the Ghanaian population structure is providing sufficient workforce with relative lower labor cost for enterprises. It shows that the population structure with a high proportion of young citizens is a positive factor to keep vitality in the economy. Yet the negative attitudes of consumers towards bamboo composite products hinder the sales of them. In the factors of social significance, the enterprises in the bamboo industry create jobs, train qualified workers, improve livelihoods, provide sustainable ways of development and contribute to the social welfare programs. Due to the considerable significance that bamboo industry brings to society, the bamboo industry has a promising future under the supports from the benefited stakeholders.

5.4 Technical Factors

To examine Ghanaian technological environment for bamboo industry, the discussions are mainly around two fundamental aspects: the overall technological level of Ghana and the technological level of bamboo industry, including bamboo resources management, bamboo furniture manufacturing and bamboo bicycles manufacturing.

1) Overall technological environment. To illustrate the overall technological level in Ghana, the researcher takes into account the number of the published citable academic papers in multiple subjects. 96 In 2016, 1804 citable scientific documents published in Ghana, ranked the 74th among total 233 countries or districts around the world. By contrast, the number of the published citable academic papers of the United States was 532297 in 2016 and this number of Germany was 149645. The enormous gap demonstrates that Ghana as a developing country generally provides relative weak environment in science and technology. As for the tendency of growth, from 2011 to 2016, Ghana has risen in the

96 Cf. Scimago Journal and Country Rank, Country Rankings, 2016. 34

ranking from the 82nd to 74th and the annual number of the published citable academic papers has increased from 886 to 1804 as well. These changes demonstrated that despite the general level of Ghanaian science and technology has still a huge gap to the world’s top level, Ghana is now taking on progressive path gradually.

2) Technological level of bamboo resources management. The management of bamboo resources is currently still in low technological level. As discussed above, the modern plantations play a limited role in Ghana. According to BARADEP, in most cases in the world including Ghana, the cultivation and harvest of bamboo are in the form of natural bamboo stands. The extensive management or the lack of management of natural bamboo resources lead to low efficient utilization and high degrees of spoilage and wastage. The undeveloped and not professional management of bamboo resources is also reflected by a producer of bamboo furniture manufacturing in researcher’s interview: the rural citizens tend to cut the bamboo plants from outer layers of forest, however after many times of such random and easy cuttings, they cannot or hard to access to the bamboo plants in dense thickets. By contrast, the modern plantations in China are applying advanced management systems and technics of “selective harvesting”. At present, there is a huge gap in the technology of bamboo resources management between Ghana and the world’s top level such as China. To change the current situation and educate rural citizens in the technologies of the nursery of bamboo resources, the BARADEP has been launching and organizing the Community Training.97

3) Technological level of the bamboo furniture manufacturing. Bamboo furniture includes handicraft and machine-produced furniture, which are both late starters and at present at a low level of development. In industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, the low level of development is demonstrated in low quality and simple design of products, low efficiency of production and low degree of mechanization in production. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the undeveloped technology in the utilization of machines is currently one of the greatest

97 Cf. Cynthia K., Bamboo and rattan resources and industry development in Ghana, 2016, pp.13. 35

challenges that severely deter the production and is also the reason of the extremely limited number of producers of machine-produced bamboo furniture in Ghana. As the rare pioneer in this industry, the Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited is attempting to overcome the difficulties in production but facing high wastage rate, high failure rate due to the lack of knowledge on the utilization of machines purchased from China. The enterpriser of Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited expressed in researcher’s interview that they are now trying to introduce high-skilled technicians from China and that is the fundamental issue that decides the success of the enterprise. To change the current situation and improve Ghanaian technology level of bamboo handicraft furniture processing, as introduced above, in 2016, a 3- month training course ‘‘Innovation and Processing Technology on Bamboo and Rattan Products’’ was held in China. The training course was sponsored by MOFCOM and organized and co-organized by the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (ICBR) and INBAR respectively in ICBR’s Training Base in Qingshen, Sichuan Province, China. The Participants include 18 artisans and 1 government official of BARADEP. The training course consisted of training tours, classroom lectures and workshop training, etc. These artisans and the official of BARADEP Samuel Sarbah in researcher’s interview stated that the course not only improved Ghanaian artisans’ skills of processing bamboo furniture but also widened the horizon of Ghanaian producers on the technology of utilization of bamboo and illustrated the great potential of bamboo industry. It is also proven by researcher’s further investigation and interviews; after the 18 trainees brought the advanced knowledge, technics, and skills back to Ghana, most of them not only served as artisans but also started up their enterprises of bamboo handicraft furniture and hired local workers and taught them skills. The trainees were the early group of people that spread skills in Ghana and contributed to the development of technics of processing.

4) Technological level of bamboo bicycles manufacturing. The current technology of production of bamboo bicycle in Ghana is at an advanced level. The two tycoons in Ghanaian bamboo bicycle industry, the Booomers International and the Bamboo Bikes Initiative are both early starters in the world, which started their productions of bamboo bicycles respectively in

36

2010 and 2014. In comparison, the representative pioneer in China, the Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond begun its production in 2013-2014. 98 Besides, the Bamboo Bikes Initiative has won the “100 Innovations for Sustainable Development Award” by African Forum as early as 2013 because its bamboo bicycle was “reliable and flexible in use, and suited to the terrain in rural areas”.99 In comparison of the ability of production, for instance, the Booomers International now produces more than 2500 units of bamboo bicycles and bicycle frames, 1200 tricycles, 1000 bamboo bicycle stands, 15000 bamboo phone speakers and over 2000 bamboo bicycle baskets per year,100 while the Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond produces merely 400 bicycles totally from 2013 to 2017.101 The long history of production and a large amount of production make the Ghanaian bamboo bicycle producers accumulate experience and improve their technology continuously. Besides, the two producers expressed in interviews that they attached importance to the development of producing technology and possessed experts in their teams to keep advancing their producing technology.

To sum up, the Ghanaian macro technological environment is not favorable for the development of bamboo industry, on the other side, at present, it is taking a turn for the better gradually. Due to the low technological level, the plantation or bamboo resources management and the bamboo furniture industries have not received adequate supports from such unfavorable technological environment; whereas the technology in bamboo bicycle developed well exceptionally. Whether the enterprises can get technological supports in Ghana depends on which concrete industry it is; from an objective perspective, the general technological environment is currently weak in Ghana.

5.5 Legal Factors

To examine Ghanaian legal environment for bamboo industry, the discussions take into account the influential regulations related to bamboo industry: corporate tax for enterprises of bamboo composite products and regulations on

98 Cf. Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond, About us, 2017. 99 Cf. African Forum, 100 Innovations for Sustainable Development, 2013. 100 Cf. Booomers International, Who we are, 2017. 101 Cf. Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond, Products & Service, 2017. 37

bamboo forests.

1) Corporate tax in bamboo industry. The Ghanaian general corporate tax rate has been maintained at 25% (on profits in the year)102 for at least a decade stably.103 In detail, if the corporate is located in Accra or Tema, the corporate tax rate is 25%; if the corporate is located in all other Regional Capitals (except Accra/ Tema), the corporate tax rate is reduced to 18.75%; if the corporate is located outsides any Regional Capitals, this corporate can enjoy a lower corporate tax as low as 12.5%.104 Compared to a part of G20-members such as United States (35%), Japan (30.86%) and India (30%), 105 the Ghanaian general corporate tax rate is relatively low. Besides, to encourage the “Agro-processing” enterprises, there are even lower tax rates favorable for the enterprises in bamboo industry such as bamboo furniture and bamboo bicycle producers. For the Agro-processing companies established in Ghana after 1st January 2004, if they are located in Accra/ Tema (after 5 years tax holiday), tax rate is reduced to 20%; if they are located in other Regional Capitals (excluding Tamale, Wa, Bolga), tax rate is as low as 10%; if they are located in Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions, they can enjoy even free tax.106 The supportive policies discussed in the above chapter is proved in this chapter by the implementing regulations. The Ghanaian government attempts to create a favorable environment with low tax for bamboo industry.

2) Regulations on bamboo forests. To achieve sustainable growth in economy and employment, Ghana embarked on policies to place high priority on secondary or tertiary processing of wood products as exports. These policies’ implementation led to the ban on export of logs in the mid-1990s. 107 The ban on log exports is also proven by the Forestry Commission of Ghana. There are limitations to the total amount of timbers which can be taken from the forests in support of exports. These limitations aim at sustainable forest

102 Cf. Internal Revenue Service, corporate tax rates, 2017, pp.2. 103 Cf. Trading Economics, Ghana corporate rate, 2017. 104 Cf. Internal Revenue Service, corporate tax rates, 2017, pp.2. 105 Cf. Trading Economics, Ghana corporate rate, 2017. 106 Cf. Internal Revenue Service, corporate tax rates, 2017, pp.2. 107 Cf. Amoah M., Becker G., Nutto L., Effects of log export ban policy and dynamics of global tropical wood markets on the growth of timber industry in Ghana, 2008, pp.2. 38

management according to the Forestry Commission: promoting the efficient use of the wood timbers, minimizing the wastage, encouraging the further processing to provide exports in floorings, furniture components, dowels and similar added value items and encouraging greater collaboration with overseas manufacturers. 108 More revenue can be generated through exporting timber products instead of merely raw materials. Moreover, the intention of the ban of logs exports is to reduce the exploitation of forest resources.109 According to researcher’s interview with an official of the Forestry Commission, bamboo is now considered as non-timber forest resource. The raw bamboo materials can be exported by permit, but not encouraged. It is also proven in the interview with a bamboo clumps treating enterprise, the Global Bamboo Products Limited. The direct export of raw bamboo materials in practice is not allowed; raw bamboo materials should be processed in any form at least. The enterpriser expressed that the regulation was reasonable because processing means added value. According to interview with BARADEP, currently, there is few restriction on bamboo industry. Bamboo can be cut when it is needed; after cutting, some token fees are charged as a conveyance. As analyzed by the researcher, the regulation aims to allow Ghanaian citizens to utilize natural bamboo with lower costs.

To sum up, the legal environment is favorable for the bamboo industry. In the industry of bamboo composite products, the reduced corporate tax provide an environment with low pressure for the bamboo furniture and bicycle producers. The regulations of corporate tax reflect the supportive policies in detail. In the regulations on raw bamboo materials, the currently few restrictions provide a relative loose environment for the utilizers of bamboo resources. The trend can be predicted that government will also guide the utilization of bamboo resources to a healthy path of development through regulations and laws.

5.6 Environmental Factors

To examine Ghanaian environmental factors for bamboo industry, the

108 Cf. Forestry Commission of Ghana, Policies, 2011. 109 Cf. Amoah M., Becker G., Nutto L., Effects of log export ban policy and dynamics of global tropical wood markets on the growth of timber industry in Ghana, 2008, pp.2. 39

discussions are around two fundamental aspects: the favorableness of natural environment and the ecological significances of bamboo industry. The relationship between the two aspects are interactive; the bamboo industry and the natural environment benefit mutually.

1) Favorableness of natural environment. As the distribution rule discussed in chapter 2.1, there are at present approximate 400,000 hectares of bamboo forests across Ghana. The high amount of bamboo reserves demonstrates in an aspect the favorable natural condition. BARADEP advises that the cultivation of bamboo should consider the conditions of land with good drainage, adequate rainfall, appropriate soil, etc. and Ghana can provide ideal conditions above. The interviews with the enterprises proved the favorable condition for bamboo and sufficient reserves in another aspect as well. All three interviewed enterprisers of bamboo handicraft furniture expressed that due to sufficient natural bamboo resources, suppliers of bamboo raw materials cut bamboo from villages from Regions such as Western, Central and Ashanti Region and needn’t grow more as a supplement.

2) Ecological significances of bamboo industry: relieving deforestation. In the last 100 years, the cover of forests in Ghana has been decreased approximately from 8.5 million to 1.8 million hectares in 2013.110 According to the data revealed by INBAR West-Africa, 20% of original tropical forest areas are now left and the annual rate of deforestation is 750 hectares since 1981.111 INBAR West-Africa pointed out that the deforestation in Ghana not only disrupts important environmental functions, but also affects livelihoods of local people and severely disturbs biological integrity of original forest ecosystem. Besides, the concerns about soil erosion, large-scale desertification, and climatic change have become severe.112 To relieve deforestation and find sustainable ways, the government of Ghana started to realize the importance of bamboo sector and initiated campaigns to supporting it.113 This is one of the reasons for the establishment of BARADEP. 3) Ecological significances of the bamboo industry: protecting water bodies. The BARADEP has been initiating community education on the necessity to

110 Cf. Peter Z., Ghana will import timber in five years, 2013. 111 Cf. Michael K, INBAR bamboo & rattan livelihood development in Ghana, 2011, pp.7. 112 Cf. Michael K, INBAR bamboo & rattan livelihood development in Ghana, 2011, pp.8. 113 Cf. Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly’s Investment Promotion Office, Investment opportunity in Kumasi Ghana bamboo cultivation and processing, 2013, pp.1. 40

plant bamboo along water bodies to safeguard water supply, due to the remarkable function of bamboo plants in protecting water bodies. 114 As in chapter 5.3 discussed, according to the plantation Global Bamboo Products Limited, the agriculture of bamboo cultivation can be organically combined with the improvement of water supply and irrigation systems.

4) Ecological significances of the bamboo industry: minimized emission and damage to the environment. According to the researcher’s interviews with multiple bamboo furniture and bamboo bicycle producers, in the processes of production, there are almost no waste gas, residue and water discharged to pollute the environment. The wastage in the process of bamboo products is low as well. For instance, the enterpriser of Seek Yee First Cane & Bamboo Works expressed in the interview that “there is no waste of bamboo”: after the production of bamboo furniture handicrafts, the leftover bits and pieces were applied into the production of bamboo artworks to sell. Besides, the enterpriser of Global Bamboo Products Limited expressed that the leftover bits and pieces of bamboo can also be converted to bamboo charcoals. The high coefficient of utilization of bamboo reduces significantly the wastage of bamboo resources and highly minimized the residues to the environment.

4) Ecological significances of the bamboo industry: serving as biological fuel. One typical ecological factors that motivate the development of bamboo industry is that the bamboo charcoals are environment-friendly fuels. Bamboo chips can provide similar calorific value like wood charcoals while lower ash and sulfur content. The bamboo chips can also serve as a source of biomass for power generation similarly with other forms of bio-energy. 115 This advanced characteristics of bamboo give incentives for development of bamboo charcoal enterprises.

To sum up, the environmental factors are favorable for the development of bamboo industry. The natural environment provides ideal conditions that lead to sufficient reserves of natural bamboo. Due to ecological significances of bamboo industry in relieving deforestation and protecting water bodies and the advantage in minimizing emission and damage to the environment, the

114 Cf. Bamboo and rattan development program, Bamboo and rattan resources and industry development in Ghana, 2016, pp.13. 115 Yomi L., Bamboo: Vehicle for poverty alleviation in west Africa, 2010, pp.10. 41

government attached importance to bamboo industry. The bamboo industry and the natural environment interact and benefit mutually in healthy and sustainable ways.

6 Analysis of the Micro Environment of the Bamboo Industry in Ghana

In this chapter, the introduction to Ghanaian bamboo industry is structured through Five Forces Model and based on results of interviews with multiple representative bamboo enterprises including bamboo plantations and producers of bamboo bicycles, bamboo furniture, bamboo charcoals. As chapter 4.1.2 mentioned, to a certain extent, the sampling of interviewed enterprises is representative to demonstrate current Ghanaian bamboo industry, because the total quantity of enterprises in this industry is relatively small as well. As chapter 2 introduced, the bamboo industrial chain is: supply of bamboo raw materials - production of bamboo composite products - consumer market of bamboo composite products. Correspondingly, the bargain power of suppliers of raw bamboo materials, rivalry among existing producers and bargain power of consumers are analyzed; besides, the threat of new entrants and substitutes are discussed.

6.1 Bargain Power of Suppliers of Raw Bamboo

The supply of raw bamboo materials in Ghana has two forms: natural bamboo stands and bamboo plantations. According to estimation by an official of Forestry Commission, currently, the natural form of bamboo supply is mainstream; although the acreage of plantations is rising, nowadays plantations play a limited role in the supply of bamboo raw materials. In interviews, most bamboo producers also state that their raw materials are purchased from rural residents.

Due to the sufficient natural bamboo plants and the lack of awareness and motivation of bamboo cultivation and nursery, there are seldom plantations and the management of natural bamboo forests is not professional and in disorder. In spite of the currently low level of bamboo resources management, most of the interviewed enterprises comment on the price of bamboo materials are relatively cheap, because of the sufficient natural bamboo resources.

42

To analyze the bargain power of the raw bamboo suppliers, the main aspects are taken into account: 1) Concentration of suppliers. According to researcher’s interviews with bamboo furniture and bicycle producers, their supplies are natural bamboo from bamboo stands or residents that live near to bamboo forests. The producers expressed that due to the abundant reserves of bamboo across the Western, Ashanti, Central, Eastern Regions, etc., the number of suppliers can be large and their demands can be well covered. Hence, suppliers are abundant while buyers are limited; suppliers are not concentrated, compared to buyers. 2) Switching cost for buyers. In interviews, most of the bamboo raw material buyers, namely the producers of bamboo composite products state that they have relatively stable relationships with the raw bamboo suppliers because the suppliers know their detail requirements such as the size and shape. Yet the relatively stable relationship does not mean that they rely on the suppliers. On the contrary, if they change their suppliers, their new suppliers can also meet their detail requirements soon. For some buyers, they possess more than one but several suppliers to choose from. Hence, there is almost no switching cost for buyers. 3) Dependence of bamboo suppliers on certain buyers. For the residents that live near to bamboo plants and cut natural bamboo to sell when needed, the transactions rely on buyer’s need. For the bamboo stands, they have multiple buyers to sell their bamboos to, so they do not depend on a certain buyer. 4) Differentiation of supplies. The most common species supplied, purchased and used in the industries from bamboo furniture, bamboo construction to bamboo bicycle is Bambusa Vulgaris, according to the interviews with diverse bamboo enterprises. The degree of differentiation of raw bamboo materials is quite low. The difference between the raw bamboo materials always only lies in size and shape. 5) Threat of forward integration. The possibility of forward integration depends on the scale of the production, the financial power of the enterprises and the necessity or added benefits of forward integration. For small enterprises with a not large scale of production, such as the small 43

enterprise Seek Yee First Cane & Bamboo Works that produced 50 pieces of handicrafts of bamboo furniture in three years, there is no necessity, no apparent added benefits and not enough financial power to integrate forwards. For large-scale enterprise, such as Booomers International that produces more than 2500 units of bamboo bicycles and bicycle frames, 1200 tricycles, 1000 bamboo bicycle stands, 15000 bamboo phone speakers and over 2000 bamboo bicycle baskets a year, it’s necessary to build its own plantation to reduce the transport fees and actually Booomers International possesses now plantation with 50 acres. Hence, the forward integration of producer is possible and feasible if necessary or when conditions are fulfilled.

To sum up, low degree of concentration of suppliers, low switching cost of buyers, inapparent dependence of bamboo suppliers on certain buyers, low differentiation of supplies, and the existing threat of forward integration are the factors that contribute to the limited bargain power of suppliers. In Ghanaian bamboo raw materials market, the supplies are sufficient to cover the needs, due to abundant natural resources and wide distributions of bamboo resources. The production of bamboo composite products is currently not completely developed. Therefore the needs of bamboo raw materials are correspondingly at a low level. The raw bamboo materials market is currently close to a buyer’s market, and the bargain power of suppliers is limited.

6.2 Rivalry among Existing Producers

Among the industrial applications, two bamboo industries in Ghana are representative and typical, namely bamboo furniture and bamboo bicycle industry. Bamboo furniture industry is a frequent industry in countries with bamboo industry; bamboo bicycle industry is Ghanaian bamboo industry‘s unique feature. Hence, the micro environments of the two industries are worth focusing and introducing. Through analysis of the two representative and typical industries, readers can acquire and deepen their comprehensions over Ghanaian bamboo industry.

6.2.1 Rivalry in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle

In the bamboo bicycle industry, to analyze the rivalry among existing producers,

44

the main aspects are taken into account: 1) Growth of the market. The phases of markets depend on districts. In North America and West Europe, the bamboo bicycle market is now finishing the introduction phase and entering into a rapid growth phase. According to the interviews with the largest two bamboo bicycle tycoons, 70%-90% of their bamboo bicycle products were sold to North America and West Europe; the sales started to grow these years rapidly, according to two interviewees of the two bamboo bicycle enterprises. Nowadays, the fundamental technology of producing bamboo bicycle has also finalized. On the contrary, because of the relatively high price of bamboo bicycle and the local consumers’ limited consuming power, the Ghanaian bamboo market remains in introduction phase and may still stay in the introduction phase for long according to the producers’ prediction. 2) The number of competitors and the equality in size and power. Currently, there are two bamboo bicycle enterprises as the two tycoons in Ghanaian bamboo bicycle industry, namely Bamboo Bike Initiative and Booomers International. The two bamboo bicycle enterprises are the earliest that started to produce bamboo bicycles and have the largest scale of production in Ghana. Apart from the two tycoons, there is almost no other bamboo bicycle enterprise that can be found. Although the two enterprises are roughly equal in size and power, due to the small amount of enterprises in the industry, the competition is not intense. 3) Differentiation of products. Actually, all bamboo bicycles are identical or similar in general, because the fundamental technologies of bamboo bicycle’s production are identical. As for spectrum of products of the two enterprises, their main products are similar, which range from city bikes, kids bikes, and mountain bikes. To avoid direct competition, the two enterprises develop their features and styles in bicycles respectively. Besides, they develop not identical spectrum of products. For instance, Bamboo Bike Initiative develops female mountain bikes; while Booomers International develops bamboo accessories such as bicycle stands. The bamboo bicycles are fundamentally similar, but the two enterprises develop own features and are keeping differentiating their spectrum of products. 45

4) Strategic focus of the competitors. The two magnates have developed their differentiated strategies in products respectively. Bamboo Bike Initiative chooses a way of cost leadership; it provides relative cheap bamboo bicycles with high quality. The prices of its bamboo bicycles are approximately 350 USD and the price of its bamboo bicycle frame is 250 USD in 2017, while the Booomers International is providing unique or even luxurious bamboo bicycles with much higher prices. Its German distributor’s prices of bamboo bicycles range approximately from 1780 to 4750 USD and the price of its bamboo bicycle frame is approximately 1130 USD. Besides the two enterprises’ different positioned strategies in production, another differentiation of the two enterprises’ products lies in sales. The main target markets of the two enterprises are both North America and West Europe. Bamboo Bike Initiative produces complete bicycles and bamboo bicycles frames to export to target markets, while Booomers International focus more on producing bamboo bicycles frames to export to the distributors in North America and West Europe and the distributors there assemble the bamboo frames to complete bamboo bicycles to sell. 5) Switching cost of customers. For customers, the switching of products makes no apparent difference in their usage due to the similarity of bamboo bicycles. 6) Fixed costs and marginal costs. The concrete data of fixed and marginal costs are lack due to the protection of them; therefore merely surmises are provided as the researcher’s estimation. Fixed costs for starting up a factory of bamboo bicycle includes costs for developing producing technology, renting or purchasing costs for workplace, costs for developing markets, costs for online advertisement homepages, especially the training costs for skilled workers before they are qualified enough for processing bamboo bicycles. Among the costs above, the development of technology and the training of qualified workers not only require a certain amount of investment but also take relative long period. Compared to fixed costs, marginal costs include merely the costs for bamboo materials, the salaries for workers and costs for routine management, etc. The considerable fixed costs and the not significant marginal costs could be factors contributing to increasing rivalry among producers. 7) Sustainable competitive advantages through innovation. 46

According to the interviews with the two bamboo bicycle enterprises, they attach much importance in keeping innovating more new features or new products and improving the technology of production to maintain competitive advantages.

To sum up, low degree of differentiation of bamboo bicycles themselves, low switching cost of customers, relative high fixed costs, relatively insignificant marginal costs, and continuous competition in innovation could combine to strengthen rivalry among producers. However, vast and growing market in North America and West Europe, limited number of current competitors, and differentiated strategic positions of these enterprises’ products are factors that weaken significantly rivalry among producers.

6.2.2 Rivalry in Industry of Bamboo Furniture

The Ghanaian bamboo furniture industry is divided into two main sorts: the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture and the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture. As above introduced, both industries of bamboo handicraft and machine- produced furniture started to develop in recent years under the influence of Chinese technologies. The industry of bamboo handicraft furniture was promoted in recent years; especially under the training program held in China: the artisans broadened horizons on the processing of bamboo furniture and acquired practical skills and a part of them applied knowledge in starting up their own bamboo furniture businesses in Ghana. Whereas, according to researcher’s interview, industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture remains in low level in technology and production, because the production based on machines requires higher technology, but till now, such enterprises in Ghana face problems of high failure rate and high wastage rate in production but cannot solve their technological challenges effectively. To analyze the rivalry among existing producers, the main aspects are taken into account: 1) Growth of the market. The market of bamboo furniture is not yet adequately developed according to interviews with enterprises; all interviewed enterprises express identically that the awareness of of using bamboo furniture is not aroused and thus needs are not effectively stimulated so that the market is still growing 47

slowly. The enterprises are appealing that government should better take measures in educating people on environmental benefits of bamboo furniture and motivating people on trying bamboo furniture. The Ghanaian bamboo furniture market is widely evaluated by enterprises and institutions as ‘‘promising and with great potential’’, but currently the market potential is not realized. 2) The number of competitors and the equality in size and power. In the bamboo handicraft furniture industry, there are now existing approximately 10-15 workshops as tiny enterprises with similar size as researcher’s on-site observation and interview. These tiny enterprises are concentratively distributed in a gathering area on the Switchback Road in Cantonment District, Accra. The researcher inquired prices of similar bamboo tables and chairs of about ten close located enterprises and then found that they charge highly identical prices. It could be inferred that the number of enterprises does intensify competition. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the number of producers is limited. Due to the higher requirement of technology and Ghanaian lower level of technology, in Accra, there is merely one currently explored enterprise Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited that is trying producing bamboo furniture by machines but now is facing plenty of challenges in the technology of production. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the small number of competitors contributes to a low pressure of competition.

4) Differentiation of products. There is no apparent difference among bamboo furniture regarding the feature and quality of products in Ghana as researcher’s observation. Ghanaian bamboo furniture industry as a late starter has not developed plenty of sorts and features mutually. 5) Switching cost of customers. In bamboo handicraft furniture, products and distribution channels are highly identical. Therefore the switching of products leads to minimal extra costs. In machine-produced bamboo furniture, due to the currently limited number of producers to choose from, the switching of products could be hard to realize.

6) Fixed costs and marginal costs. The concrete data of fixed and marginal costs are lack due to the protection of

48

them; therefore merely surmises are provided as the researcher’s observation. To set up a bamboo handicraft furniture workshop of tiny scale as the interviewed workshops, fixed costs include mainly the costs for acquiring workplace and technics of processing. Whereas the costs for workplace are low because these tiny workshops take advantage of the free vacant lots; that is the reason why the workshops are gathering in the vacant lot on the Switchback Road in Cantonment District, Accra. Compared to fixed costs, the marginal costs are relatively significant: the main parts of marginal costs, as researcher’s estimation, are the salary of worker and costs of bamboo raw materials. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, as researcher’s estimation, include the fixed costs include costs for building up a factory, for introducing machines, for developing processing technology and training costs for skilled workers, etc. In comparison to fixed costs, marginal costs are not significant, which mainly include salaries for workers and costs of bamboo raw materials. 7) Strategic focus of the competitors. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, the enterprises are all small workshops and have almost identical business model, strategy, method of management, and direction of development. In the industry of machine- produced bamboo furniture, the Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited is one of the rare pioneers in Ghana that is trying to produce standard bamboo furniture by production lines of machines with advanced technology; for example, the hard bamboo boards produced under high temperature and high pressure. This enterprise is now aiming at solving its technological challenges by introducing technician from China.

8) Sustainable competitive advantages in the industry through innovation. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, the enterprises are facing sustainable competition through innovation. According to researcher’s investigation, some enterprises have sent their workers to that training program in China in 2016, while some enterprises have not got chance at that time also hope more, but after the trainees came back to Ghana, the learned skilled have spread among the enterprises. It shows that few enterprise wants to leave behind in technology and most enterprises have intentions to improve their technological level of production. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo

49

furniture, the Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company Limited is the rare pioneer and possesses the currently advanced technology in Ghana. Therefore it does not face a high threat of the improvement of technology from other enterprises in the same industry.

To sum up, in the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, slow growth of market, large number of competitors, low degree of differentiation of bamboo handicraft furniture, low switching costs of customers, relative low fixed costs, low marginal costs, highly identical strategies, and continuous innovation in industry are factors that combine to intensify rivalry among existing producers. By contrast, in the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, although market grows slowly and fixed costs are relatively high, small number of competitors determines the not intense rivalry among existing producers.

6.3 Threat of New Entrants

In this part, the threat of new entrants in Ghanaian bamboo industry is analyzed regarding the industries of bamboo bicycle and bamboo furniture as the objectives of entry. The results of the analysis can benefit the potential domestic or global entrants that plan to expand their business spectrums into Ghanaian bamboo industry and the existing producers that draw appropriate strategies to defend.

6.3.1 Threat of New Entrants in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle

In the bamboo bicycle industry, the main aspects are taken into account:

1) Switching cost of customers. Bicycles are products that are used by customers directly and easily without obstacle. Hence, the extra costs caused by changing bicycles are currently not apparent. 2) Economies of scale. According to the interviews, the existing producers Bamboo Bike Initiative and Booomers International are producing in their full capacity. Therefore, they possess almost highest economies of scale in the industry. For instance, the Booomers International produces more than 2500 units of bamboo bicycles and bicycle frames, 1200 tricycles, 1000 bamboo bicycle stands, 15000 bamboo

50

phone speakers and over 2000 bamboo bicycle baskets a year. These are large quantity even compared in the world; for example, one of the leaders in bamboo bicycle producers in China, the Zhufeng, produces merely 1000 bamboo bicycles each year116; another leader in bamboo bicycle producers is Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond, that produces merely 400 bicycles totally from 2013 till 2017. 117 What’s more, with a such large amount of production, the two producers both have their plantations to provide raw materials to reduce the costs and transportation fees. Besides, the two enterprises have both long histories in the production of bamboo bicycle. Therefore they have accumulated plenty of experience. For instance, the Booomers International has begun its production of bamboo since 2010. The accumulated production not only improve the economies of scale but also enhance the existing two producers’ processing technologies. 3) Capital requirement. As discussed in chapter 6.3.1, the concrete data of fixed and marginal costs are lack due to the protection of them, therefore merely surmises are provided as the researcher’s observation. The capital requirements for starting up a factory of bamboo bicycle is relative include costs for developing producing technology, rents or purchasing prices for workplace, costs for developing markets, costs for online advertisement homepages, especially the training costs for skilled workers before they are qualified enough for processing bamboo bicycles. Among the costs, the development of technology and the training workers not only require a certain amount of investment but also take a relatively long period. 4) Access to distribution channels. Currently, most sales of bamboo bicycles are exports (70% - 90%) and the destinations of exports are North America and West Europe. For Instance, the Booomers International has built a wide network of distributors in North America and West Europe and the Booomers International exports its bamboo bicycle frames directly to the distributors in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, the USA, Canada and Switzerland. The distributors assemble the frames to complete bicycles and sell them. As for Bamboo Bike Initiative, it exports its complete bicycles directly to the distributors. If a new entrant starts up its bamboo bicycle factory in Ghana, it should consider how to

116 Du J., Have you ever ridden bamboo bicycle, 2015. 117 Cf. Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond, Products & Service, 2017. 51

set up its distribution channels in North America and West Europe, the main target markets of bamboo bicycles. The difficulty in setting up distribution channels contributes to the barriers for new entrants. 5) Differentiation of products. The nature of bamboo bicycles leads to low differentiation among the products themselves, however, the two existing enterprises have developed strategies respectively to position the products differently. The Booomers International positions its bamboo bicycles as unique or even luxurious products with higher prices; while the Bamboo Bike Initiative focuses its products on a better ratio of price/performance based on its strategy of cost leadership. The new entrants should consider their strategies on positioning their products. Currently, there is still blank room for a new entrant to position its products in differentiated level. The prices of complete bamboo bicycles of the distributor in Germany of Booomers International are as high as 1780 - 4750 USD while the prices of complete bamboo bicycles of Bamboo Bike Initiative is 350 USD. According to the researcher’s recommendation, the new entrant can position its products in a central position with prices from 400 to 600 USD. Although it is hard for the new entrants to develop new features in bamboo bicycles themselves, regarding the differentiation of products among the existing producers, there are currently still room for new entrants to avoid the existing products’ positions. 6) Government policy. The special restriction in policy against new entrants into bamboo bicycle industry is currently undiscovered. 7) Brand effects of existing producers. The existing enterprises possess already good brand reputation and image. The Bamboo Bike Initiative was honored by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2013. Besides, the Bamboo Bike Initiative as one of the pioneers of bamboo bicycle, has gained plenty of awards such as the World Entrepreneurship Award, the UN-Habitat Dubai International Best Practice Award 2014, the AFD 100 Innovations for Sustainable Development Award 2013, and the World Business and Development Award Winner 2012, etc.118 As for the Booomers International, it focuses on social commitment to create a reputation for its

118 Bamboo Bike Initiative, Awards, 2017. 52

brand. The Booomers International has supported plenty of programs for public welfare such as improvement of conditions of education and transportation in poor rural districts. Besides, the Booomers International is shaping its products as ‘‘each bamboo bicycle has a unique story behind it’’. In the interview, the founder & CEO of Booomers International express that some customers in North America and West Europe are willing to pay for unique and environment- friendly products that contribute to social welfare and produced specially by hand. What's more, the two enterprises have long histories in the industry of bamboo bicycles and build the image as the ‘‘experts’’ in bamboo bicycle. For instance, Booomers International started its production of bamboo bicycles as early as 2010. By contrast, the representative enterprise of China, Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond involved in bamboo bicycles in 2013. Although most bamboo industries of China develop at the world’s advanced level, the Ghanaian two producers are pioneers in the bamboo bicycle industry. The good brands, reputations, and images of the existing two producers are barriers that new entrants cannot avoid considering.

To sum up, high economies of scale, high capital requirement, difficulty in establishing distribution channels in global target markets, and brand effects of existing producers are factors that combine to increase the barriers against new entrants and thus decrease the threat of new entrants. The new entrants should consider their products’ competitive advantage and differentiated position in market, compared to existing highly developed products of the two strongest enterprises in Ghana; otherwise, the industrial chain and market of bamboo bicycle could be hard for new entrants to enter successfully.

6.3.2 Threat of New Entrants in Industry of Bamboo Furniture

In the bamboo furniture industry, the main aspects are taken into account: 1) Switching cost of customers. The products are furniture, which is used by customers directly and easily without obstacle. Hence, the extra costs caused by changing furniture are currently not apparent. 2) Economies of scale. 53

The existing bamboo handicraft furniture producers are running their full capacity in production, but their economies of scale are not high because of their tiny scales. The number of these producers is more than ten, but are all tiny workshops that hire merely 2-5 workers and sell approximately three sets of bamboo furniture (a set contains one table and four chairs) per month. For new entrants, it is not hard to reach such level of economies of scale. As for the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the economies of scale are low at present, because the technological problems in production are not jet well solved. 3) Capital requirement. As chapter 6.2.2 discussed, the capital requirements including fixed and marginal costs are not significant to set up a bamboo handicraft furniture workshop of tiny scale as the interviewed workshops. For the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the capital requirement could be significant to a certain extent. The fixed costs include costs for building up factories, for introducing machines, for developing processing technology and training costs for skilled workers, etc. 4) Access to distribution channels. For the industries of bamboo handicraft furniture and machine-produced bamboo furniture, the sales are both through the picking up by customers in workshops or factories themselves. The new entrants can build such existing distribution channels without difficulty. 5) Differentiation of products. There is little difference among the bamboo handicraft furniture of the surveyed workshops. The features, quality, technic of production and prices of the bamboo handicraft furniture are highly identical. As for the industry of machine- produced bamboo furniture, there are currently rare enterprises that try production of standard bamboo furniture by machines in Ghana. Hence, the differentiation of existing bamboo furniture is low and its cause lies in the immature production of bamboo furniture. The low degree of the differentiation of products reduces the barrier to entry. As researcher’s recommendation, the newcomers should enter into Ghanaian bamboo industry with competitive advantages in the producing technologies, which differentiate their products through quality. 6) Government policy. 54

The special restriction in policy against new entrants into bamboo furniture industry is currently undiscovered. 7) Brand effects of existing producers. The existing enterprises in Ghanaian bamboo furniture are all on tiny scales and possess no apparent brand effects or remarkable reputations. Hence, the brand effects of existing producers are not to the extent that can build barriers to entry.

To sum up, low customers’ switching costs, low economies of scale, low capital requirement, low degree of differentiation of products, inapparent producers’ brand effects, and relative readily and equal access to distribution channels are the factors combine to reduce the barrier to entry and thus increase the threat of new entrants in industry of both handicraft and machine-produced bamboo furniture.

6.4 Threat of Substitutes

In this part, the threat of substitutes in Ghanaian bamboo industry is analyzed by taking the industries of bamboo bicycle and bamboo furniture as examples. The results of the analysis can benefit the existing producers that draw appropriate strategies to defend against substitutes.

6.4.1 Threat of Substitutes in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle

In the bamboo furniture industry, the main substitute is the traditional metal bicycle. The main aspects are taken into account: 1) Switching cost of customers. As discussed above, bicycles are products that are used directly and easily without obstacle. Hence, the extra costs in changing between traditional metal bicycles and bamboo bicycles are not apparent. 2) Price performance. The prices of bamboo bicycles are significantly higher than traditional metal bicycles. The prices of relative cheaper bamboo bicycles are 350 USD; by contrast, the prices of ordinary traditional metal bicycles in Ghana are roughly 300-400 GHS, namely approximately 68-90 USD119 . The metal bicycle has apparent advantage in price. In Ghana, the domestic consumers can hardly to

119 Calculation based on XE Currency Converter, GHS to EUR: 05/11/2017. 55

afford and tend to not pay such high price for a bicycle, according to the interviews with enterprises and local citizens. Therefore, it is feasible for the enterprises to regard North America and West Europe that possess higher purchasing power and willingness as their target markets and the fact is indeed so. 3) The function, performance and attribute. The bamboo bicycle possesses an apparent advantage in weight; for instance, the bamboo frame produced by Booomers International weighs as light as 2.5 - 4kg. The light bamboo bicycle brings agility and dexterity, which facilitate users to a large extent. Although the weight is sharply reduced, the bamboo bicycle is still robust enough to undertake the same task that metal bicycle can, according to the interview with the International Booomers. 4) Propensity of buyers. Bamboo bicycle demonstrates the concepts of environmental protection and the aid to poor African rural districts. These advanced concepts that bamboo bicycle conveys are the reasons of buyers’ propensity to bamboo bicycles in the northern American and western European market. According to interview with the Bamboo Bikes Initiative, bamboo bicycle is organic, non-polluting, recyclable, and sustainable, and requires remarkably less electricity in the production compared to traditional metal bicycle or carbon fiber bicycle. Bamboo Bikes Initiative states that its bamboo bicycles help to reduce 70 percent carbon emissions and avoid up to 5 kg emissions of CO2 that the production of steel bicycle frames releases. 120 According to the spokesman of Booomers International, some northern American and western European customers have propensities to the products with such ‘‘green’’ concept and the bamboo bicycles meet their preferences well. As for the concept of social welfare, for instance, the Booomers International undertakes continuously its social mission to empower vulnerable children, support the social welfare project such as the Yonso Project,121 improve the conditions of education, create employment and train workers in poor districts. The Bamboo Bikes Initiative also devotes itself to create employment and train a highly skilled team of workers to improve their livelihood. As the spokesman of

120 Cf. Bamboo Bikes Initiative, Impact, 2017. 121 Cf. Booomers International, Social commitment, 2017. 56

Booomers International expresses in the interview, the purchase of Ghanaian bamboo bicycle is a form of support to Ghanaian welfare. That is one of the reasons that some customers in the northern American and western European markets purchase Ghanaian bamboo bicycles. Whereas, the Ghanaian domestic potential customers have significantly low interest in or even have no propensity to bamboo bicycle, according to the survey of citizens in Accra conducted by the researcher, with four questions (Question No.4 - No.7 of Table 5 in chapter 4.1.2.2) asked. As the quantitatively analyzed descriptive statistics demonstrate, surveyed citizens rarely know and never use a bamboo bicycle and answer highly identically (low mean value of 1.04 and 1.00 and quite low standard deviation value of 0.19 and 0.00 in Question 4 and 5). Besides, surveyed citizens show apparently and highly identically low interest and no propensity to bamboo bicycle when they are informed current actual price of bamboo bicycle, which is much higher than traditional ordinary bicycle (low mean value of 1.29 and low standard deviation value of 0.57 in Question 6). For comparison and to eliminate the influence of price, the researcher asked extra matched question assuming prices of bamboo bicycle and traditional bicycle are same. Under this circumstance, it shows an apparent improvement in the propensity of surveyed citizens (mean value increases from 1.29 to 3.89 in Question 7). If the disadvantage of bamboo bicycle in prices can be reduced significantly, the propensity of potential customers can increase remarkably.

Table 8: Descriptive statistics of survey results

To sum up, bamboo bicycle has advantages in usage, and some northern American and western European customers have propensity to bamboo bicycle 57

to a certain extent, whereas, the disadvantage of bamboo bicycle in price- performance influences more, reduces competitiveness of bamboo bicycle against traditional metal bicycle and thus increases the threat of substitutes. For producers of bamboo bicycles, the effective way is to improve the technology in production further to reduce costs so that they can compete with traditional metal bicycles.

6.4.2 Threat of Substitutes in Industry of Bamboo Furniture

In the bamboo furniture industry, the main substitute is traditional ordinary furniture such as wood, metal, fabric furniture, etc. The main aspects are taken into account: 1) Switching costs of customers. As discussed above, the product is furniture, which is used directly and easily without extra costs. Hence, the switching costs in the changes between traditional bamboo furniture and wood furniture are not apparent. 2) Price performance. The comparison of the price performances between bamboo furniture and traditional ordinary furniture is hard to conduct due to the wide range of prices of traditional ordinary furniture. 3) The function, performance and attributes. Till now, the development of Ghanaian bamboo industry has started no more than a decade and technologies of the bamboo furniture industry in Ghana are still at a low level of development; by contrast, the traditional ordinary furniture is already highly mature. Hence, the quality of bamboo furniture in Ghana has still gap from satisfactory and has limited competitiveness with highly developed traditional furniture. 4) Propensity of buyers to substitutes. The propensity of buyers influences the sales of bamboo furniture significantly. According to interviews and survey with both sides, producers and citizens, it is found that Ghanaian citizens’ awareness and willingness of using bamboo composite products remain currently in low extent. In survey of citizens in Accra (Question No.1 - No.3 of Table 5 in chapter 4.1.2.2), citizens know bamboo furniture but aren’t familiar with it (middle mean value of 3.76 in Question 1), less citizens actually use bamboo furniture (relative

58

low mean value of 2.53 in Question 2) and even less citizens tend to or plan to buy and use bamboo furniture (low mean value of 2.02 in Question 3). The quantitatively analyzed descriptive statistics demonstrate that Ghanaian domestic potential customers do not show propensity to bamboo furniture. To sum up, the lack of awareness and the not positive attitudes of citizens towards bamboo composite products are main reasons that hinder sales of bamboo furniture, reduce significantly the competitiveness of bamboo furniture against other ordinary furniture and thus increase the threat of substitutes for bamboo furniture industry. These two facts are also proved and widely mentioned by interviewed producers.

6.5 Bargain Power of Buyers

In this part, the bargain power of customers in Ghanaian bamboo industry is also analyzed by taking the industries of bamboo bicycle and bamboo furniture as examples.

6.5.1 Bargain Power of Buyers in Industry of Bamboo Bicycle

In bamboo bicycle industry, the main aspects are taken into account:

1) The number of customers and volume of each purchase compared to a single vendor. Currently, the main customers of bamboo bicycles are in the markets of North America and West Europe. As the observations of the two enterprises, the number of customers has begun to grow rapidly in the recent two years, and the bamboo bicycle market has almost finished the phase of introduction and is now entering into the phase of growth, in which the rapid growth of sales and customers are expected. Besides, if the number of existing producers still keeps on the low level of two in the future, it could be hard for the bargain power of customers to increase. What’s more, the customers are mainly individual consumers, whose purchases are always in a small volume, which also limits the bargain power of customers. 2) Switching costs of customers. As discussed above, the bicycles are products that are used by customers directly and easily without obstacle. Hence, the extra costs caused by changing bicycles are currently not apparent.

59

3) Possibility of backward integration by buyers. The possibility that the individual consumers realize backward integration could be not taken into account due to the highly professional production of bamboo bicycles. The possibility that the two enterprises’ Northern American and Western European distributors realize backward integration is also relative low, due to a series of reasons. For instance, the Booomers International’s German distributor, the My Boo, assemble the bamboo bicycle frames that purchased from the Booomers International to complete bicycles and sell them, however, on the production of bamboo frames, the My Boo lacks professional technologies and skilled team of workers. Besides, the My Boo cooperate highly with the Booomers International, for example, the My Boo builds its image with ‘‘Made in Ghana’’, ‘‘Our every frame has a unique story to tell: each frame is manufactured in 80 to 90 hours lovely handicraft work in Yonso, a rural town in Ghana’’ and ‘‘We have decided to finance educational scholarships with each bike sold and have offered more than 100 scholarships in 2015.’’ 122 Hence, it is hard for the My Boo to set up its production lines of bamboo frames in Germany. It can be concluded that the possibility of backward integration by buyers in the industrial chain is rather low. 4) The degree that the quality of products for buyers is affected by the industry’s product. There are relatively high requirements for robustness and quality to realize the application of bamboo as the fundamental part of a bicycle. For instance, the My Boo has two processes in its production to ensure high quality— the ‘‘Quality Checks’’, which has a checklist with over 50 points and the ‘‘Inspection in Germany’’, which tests the bicycle frames in a German testing institute and ensures 20 years of usage of bicycles. 123 It shows that the distributors or downstream assemblers attach importance to products’ quality because the quality of complete bicycles is fundamentally affected by the quality of bamboo bicycle frames. 5) Differentiation or standardization of the industry’s products. As discussed, despite the two producers are differentiating their products’ spectra to avoid each other, the nature of the product itself and current identical technology of production lead to the standardization or high similarity of bamboo

122 Cf. My Boo, Production: from bamboo to a bicycle, 2017. 123 Cf. My Boo, Production: from bamboo to a bicycle, 2017. 60

bicycles, which contributes to the increase of bargain power of buyers. 6) Degree of dependency upon existing distribution channel. These two representative enterprises have wide networks of distributors. For instance, the Booomers International possesses plenty of distributors, such as the Danso Bamboo bicycles in Canada or cooperating distributors such as the My Boo in Germany. The Booomers International and its distributors depend on each other to a great extent on supply chains and teams of workers. The cooperation between them has already highly developed in multiple aspects. Hence, it is a low probability that the existing cooperation and distribution channels will be dissociated. To sum up, low switching costs of customers, low differentiation of products, growing number of customers, limited number of existing producers, low probability of backward integration by buyers are the factors that could decrease the bargain power of buyers. Additionally, the quality of products for buyers is apparently affected by the industry, and in the existing distribution channels, the producers and distributors depend on each other; these facts also combine to decrease the bargain power of buyers.

6.5.2 Bargain Power of Buyers in Industry of Bamboo Furniture

In the bamboo furniture industry, the main aspects are taken into account: 1) The number of customers and volume of each purchase compared to a single vendor. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, as the producers’ observations in interviews, compared to the number of the slowly growing customers, the number of manufacturers is relatively large, which increase the bargain power of customers to some extent. However, on the other side, the customers are mostly individual consumers with a small volume of each purchase, which limits the bargain power of customers. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the number of Ghanaian producers is quite small compared to the number of customers, for example, the Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company is the rare producer found at present in Accra. 2) Switching costs of customers. As discussed, the extra costs caused by changing furniture are currently not apparent or significantly low.

61

3) Possibility of backward integration by buyers. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, the producers sell products directly to the customers in their workshops. There are currently no retailers or distributors that sell bamboo handicraft furniture. Therefore there is almost no possibility that their productions can be integrated by any downstream enterprise. As for the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the rare producer Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company sells its products to retailers or distributors. However, due to the high technological requirement, it is hard for a Ghanaian furniture store to integrate backward. 4) The degree that the quality of products for buyers is affected by the industry’s product. The producers of both bamboo handicraft furniture and machine-produced bamboo furniture stand on the last industrial chain of production. Therefore the influence of industry’s products on the quality of buyers’ products is not taken into account. As for the consumers, according to researchers survey, the consumers attach importance to the quality of furniture, because furniture is usually expected to be durable and used for long years, however, the quality of Ghanaian bamboo furniture is currently at an identical level for consumers to compare and select. 5) Differentiation or standardization of the industry’s products. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, as discussed, the nature of the product itself and current identical technology of production lead to the standardization or similarity of bamboo handicraft furniture; besides, there are limited sorts of bamboo handicraft furniture at present-- bamboo chairs, bamboo tables and bamboo baskets. These factors contribute to the increase of bargain power of buyers. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, the products ought to meet fixed standards of quality. However, the features and designs of furniture are adequately differentiated by the producers. 6) Degree of dependency upon existing distribution channel. In the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, as the researcher’s investigation, different from the usual situation, the bamboo handicraft furniture are not sold by furniture stores in Ghana. Instead of through intermediary merchants such as retailers or distributors, the producers sell their bamboo handicraft furniture 62

directly to customers in their roadside workshop. Hence, the distribution channels of producers of bamboo handicraft furniture are influenced by other parties to a minimal extent. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, despite the producers sell their products to retailers at present, because the amount of productions and sales is small and it is a better choice for the producers to cooperate with the retailers. It is reasonable to predict that the producers can build up their stores as their distribution channels for higher margin when their productions and sales are in large scales in the future. Hence, the possibility that the producers get rid of the dependency upon existing distribution channels decrease the bargain power of buyers.

To sum up, in the industry of bamboo handicraft furniture, small number of customers, small volume of each purchase, large number of existing competing producers, low possibility of backward integration by buyers, low degree that the quality of buyers’ products is affected by the industry’s product, and low degree of dependency upon existing distribution channel are the factors that could limit the bargain power of buyers significantly. Whereas, low growth of customers, low switching costs of customers, low degree of differentiation, and high degree of standardization of products are the factors that could increase the bargain power of buyers. In the industry of machine-produced bamboo furniture, low switching costs of customers is the factor that increases bargain power of buyers. Whereas, extremely small number of producers, small volume of each purchase, high degree of differentiation to some extent, possibility that the producers get rid of the dependency upon existing distribution channels are the factors that combine to limit bargain power of buyers.

7. Conclusion and Recommendations

With the rapid development of the African and Ghanaian economy and society, the Ghanaian bamboo industry as an emerging industry starts to attract the attention of Ghanaian and global corporations, Ghanaian governmental and administrative institutions, international non-profit organizations and research institutions including enterprises, investors, consultants, researchers, policy makers, etc. 63

The Ghanaian bamboo industries have remarkable social, economic, ecological significance at local and national levels such as relieving unemployment, improving income and livelihood of rural citizens, relieving severe deforestation, providing environment-friendly industrial raw material, etc. Ghanaian bamboo industries provide sustainable ways of development that integrate society, economy and environment organically. Therefore correspondingly, the macro environment is basically favorable for bamboo industry’s development, regarding political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects. Possessing sufficient natural bamboo resources across the country, especially Western, Central and Ashanti Regions, Ghana provides its manufacturing industry of bamboo composite products with readily accessible and abundant raw bamboo materials as supply in the industrial chain; whereas currently, the rising bamboo plantations play limited role in Ghana. The raw bamboo materials market is currently close to a buyer’s market and the bargain power of suppliers is limited. As a late starter, the bamboo furniture industry in Ghana is currently not mature in technology, scales of production and acceptability of market, especially in the awareness of potential consumers. By contrast, another typical bamboo industry in Ghana -- bamboo bicycle manufacturing industry as world’s early starter develops in advanced level in production, whereas its main target market is in North America and West Europe at present and in the future. In the bamboo furniture industry, threats of entrants and substitutes are both relatively strong, whereas bargain power of buyers is relatively weak. The rivalry among bamboo handicraft furniture producers is relatively intense, whereas the rivalry among machine-produced bamboo furniture is weak. According to the discussions in above chapters to provide recommendations, it is important for Ghanaian existing bamboo furniture enterprises to enhance their technologies in production, such as mechanization and automation, to increase the barrier to entrants. Correspondingly, for new entrants, possessing considerably advanced technology in production can help them weaken the barriers to a significant extent. In bamboo bicycle industry, threats of entrants and rivalry among producers are relatively weak whereas threats of substitutes are relatively strong. The bargain power of buyers is relatively weak. According to the survey on citizens in Accra, 64

the researcher recommends that appropriate strategy for existing enterprises is to reduce prices in Ghana, if they also attach importance to Ghanaian domestic market. For new entrants, the direct entrance is not a recommended approach due to significant advantages of the existing two tycoons in Ghana. The foreign new entrants can be cooperators in this industrial chain, such as distributors that import the two existing enterprises’ bamboo bicycles to sell or import bamboo frames to assemble and sell in the countries they are located in. Regarding the reflections of enterprises in interviews, it is recommendable for Ghanaian government and relative administrative institutions to implement more supportive policies for bamboo industry, such as policies on lower taxation and favorable bank loans, restrictions on environment-unfriendly wood charcoal, etc., and educate citizens to arouse their awareness of benefits of using bamboo composite products. Despite the current challenges in technology and market that hinder the development of bamboo industry, under the increasing importance attached by the government to bamboo industry and the advancing international experience drown from the countries with advanced bamboo industry, Ghanaian bamboo industry is expected to have a promising future.

References

African Forum (2013). 100 Innovations for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Document-Multimedia-EN-.pdf

Africapay Org/Ghana (2017). Minimum Wages in Ghana with effect from 01-01- 2017. Retrieved from https://mywage.org/ghana/home/salary/minimum-wages

Amoah M., Becker G., Nutto L. (2008). Effects of log export ban policy and dynamics of global tropical wood markets on the growth of timber industry in Ghana. Elsevier Academic Press. pp.2.

Anita A. (2017). Government increases minimum wage by 10%. City Business News Ghana. Retrieved from http://citibusinessnews.com/index.php/ 2017/07/12/govt-increases-minimum-wage-by-10/ 65

Ankobra Farms (2017). Ankobra Farms. Retrieved from https://www.ankobra- farms.com/projects

Babbie, R. (2010). The Practice of Social Research, 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/title/practice-of- social-research/oclc/662584565; http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/ quantitative

Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana (2016). Bamboo and rattan resources and industry development in Ghana. pp.13.

Bamboo and Rattan Development Program Ghana (2016). Bamboo Resources. Retrieved from https://www.fcghana.org/baradep/ page.php?page=139§ion=29&typ=1

Bamboo Bicycles Beijing & Beyond (2017). Products & Service. Retrieved from http://www.bamboobicyclesbj.com/index.html

Bamboo Bike Initiative (2017). Awards. Retrieved from http://ghanabamboobikes.org/awards-2/

Bamboo Bikes Initiative (2017). Impact. Retrieved from http://ghanabamboobikes.org/impact/

Booomers International (2017). Social commitment. Retrieved from http://www.booomers.com/socialcommitment/

Booomers International (2017). Who we are. Retrieved from booomers.com/who-we-are/

Bamboo Garden (2017). Frequently Asked Questions about bamboo. Retrieved from http://www.bamboogarden.com/FAQ%20general.htm

Bloomberg Market (2017). USDGHS spot exchange rate. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/USDGHS:CUR

Coralie P.(2015). People and corruption: Africa Survey 2015, Global Corruption Barometer. Transparency International. pp.6.

Constitution Writing & Conflict Resolution (1992). Ghana 1992. Retrieved from 66

https://www.princeton.edu/~pcwcr/reports/ghana1992.html

Du J.(2015). Have you ever ridden bamboo bicycle? NetEase News. Retrieved from http://news.163.com/15/0115/05/AFVQJUIE00014AED.html

FDI Markets (2017). The Africa Investment Report 2017. Retrieved from http://forms.fdiintelligence.com/africainvestmentreport/

Federal Statistical Office (2017). Consumer price indices. Retrieved from https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/NationalEconomyEnvironment/Prices/ ConsumerPriceIndices/ConsumerPriceIndices.html

Focus-Economics (2017). What is GDP per capita? Retrieved from https://www.focus-economics.com/economic-indicator/gdp-per-capita

German-African-Entrepreneurship (2017). German-African University Partnership Platform. Retrieved from https://www.german-african- entrepreneurship.org/

Ghana Statistical Service (2017). Consumer Price Index. Retrieved from http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/cpi_release.html

Ghana Statistical Service (2017). Producer Price Index. Retrieved from http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/

Ghana Investment Promotion Center (2017). GIPC quarterly investment report. Volume 13, Issue 1, pp.2, 3. Retrieved from http://www.gipcghana.com/press- and-media/downloads/reports.html

Ghana Web (2016). Where are the jobs: unemployment rate soars? Retrieved from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Where-are- the-jobs-Unemployment-rate-soars-437856

Given, M. (2008). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://www.yanchukvladimir.com/docs/Library/Sage%20Encyclopedia%20of%20 Qualitative%20Research%20Methods-%202008.pdf

Global Bamboo Product Limited (2015). About us. Retrieved from

67

http://globalbambooproducts.com/

Harrie J. (2010). The Logic of qualitative survey research and its position in the field of social research method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, Volume 11, No. 2, Art. 11, pp.1. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative- research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1450/2947

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (2017). About us. Retrieved from http://www.inbar.int/zh-hans/about-inbar/#1

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan Organization (2016). Bamboo and rattan utilization in Ghana. pp.2. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/inbar_sm/bamboo-and-rattan-utilization-in-ghana

International Business Machines Corporation (2017). IBM SPSS Software. Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/analytics/data-science/predictive- analytics/spss-statistical-software

International Monetary Fund (2016). GDP (nominal) vs GDP (PPP). International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook (April-2016). Retrieved from http://statisticstimes.com/economy/gdp-nominal-vs-gdp-ppp.php

Internal Revenue Service of Ghana (2017). Corporate tax rates.pp.2. Retrieved from http://www.gra.gov.gh/docs/info/corporate_tax_rates.pdf; http://www.gra.gov.gh/index.php/tax-information/income-tax

International Monetary Fund (October 2017). World Economic Outlook Dataset. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/ WEOWORLD/AFQ/GHA

James W. (2013). Intensity of rivalry (one of Porter’s Five Forces). The Strategic CFO. Retrieved from https://strategiccfo.com/intensity-of-rivalry-one-of-porters- five-forces/

James W. (2013). Intensity of new entrants (one of Porter’s Five Forces). The Strategic CFO. Retrieved from https://strategiccfo.com/threat-of-new-entrants- one-of-porters-five-forces/

Jessica U. (2005). Seeing Through Statistics, 3rd edition. Duxbery Press,

68

Retrieved from http://www.ucd.ie/statdept/classpages/introquantmeths/ introqmchp1.pdf; http://www.eighbooks.com/lib.php?q=seeing-through-statistics- 3rd-edition

Johnston, M. (2014). Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML). pp. 619-626. Retrieved from www.qqml.net/papers/September_2014_Issue/ 336QQML_Journal_2014_Johnston_Sept_619-626.pdf

Kelchner S. (2012). Higher level phylogenetic relationships within the bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) based on five plastid markers. Bamboo Phylogeny Group, Elsevier Academic Press, pp.404. Retrieved from https://sci- hub.cc/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790313000626?vi a%3Dihub

Kimberly A. (2017). Balance of trade: favorable vs unfavorable. The balance.

Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/ balance-of-trade-definition- favorable-vs-unfavorable-3306261

Knoema (2017). World data atlas: Ghana unemployment rate. Retrieved from https://knoema.com/atlas/Ghana/Unemployment-rate

Kofi D. (December 10th, 2013). UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon rides on Ghana bamboo bike. Modern Ghana. Retrieved from https://www.modernghana.com/ news/507628/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-rides-on-ghana-bamboo-bike.html

Kuczynski M. (2013). Unemployment rate is a lagging indicator. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/ae5e3b40-ff89-11e2-a244- 00144feab7de

Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly’s Investment Promotion Office (August, 2013). Investment opportunity in Kumasi Ghana bamboo cultivation and processing. Millennium Cities Initiative, Earth Institution, Columbia University.

Lewis Bamboo (2017). How does bamboo grow. Retrieved from https://lewisbamboo.com/how-bamboo-grows/

Lonel Z. (January, 2016). Africa's economic growth: Taking off or slowing down?

69

European Parliamentary Research Service, European Parliament. pp.1. Retrieved from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/ 573891/EPRS_IDA%282016%29573891_EN.pdf

Mauro S., Anna D., Linda G., and Mario P. (March 15th, 2016). Structural Solutions for Low-Cost Bamboo Frames: Experimental Tests and Constructive Assessments. Materials 2016, 9, 349 MDPI. Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/9/5/346

Michael K. (September 8th, 2011). Bamboo & Rattan livelihood development in Ghana. INBAR West Africa. pp.7,11. Retrieved from https://localvsglobal.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/6-inbar.pdf

My Boo (2017). Production - from bamboo to a bicycle. Retrieved from http://www.my-boo.com/production-313.html

New Patriotic Party (2016). Change, an agenda for jobs. Manifesto for Election. pp.13. Retrieved from http://newpatrioticparty.org/docs/2016-manifesto-full.pdf

Nitank R., Trivedi M. (2016). PESTLE Technique - a tool to identify external risks in construction projects. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), Volume: 03 Issue: 01, January 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.irjet.net/archives/V3/i1/IRJET-V3I165.pdf

Peter Zormelo, Timber Industry and Development Division of Forestry Commission Ghana (21th November 2013). Ghana will import timber in five years. Retrieved from http://www.ghananewsagency.org/economics/ghana-will- import-timber-in-five-years-67566

Population Pyramid Net (2017). Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100 of Ghana, Germany and World. Retrieved from https://www.populationpyramid.net/

Porter M. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. pp.6. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ academia.edu.documents/43857184/Competitive_Advantage-_ creative_and_sustaining.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A& Expires=1512909683&Signature=IqO9fLq0ogEiqhEXacmUfFHwgwk%3D&resp

70

onse-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DCompetitive_Advantage- _creative_and_sust.pdf

Porter M. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, January 2008 Issue, pp.25-27. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32580687/HBR_on_Strat egy.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1512910240 &Signature=BHCNLiqVmOToz8Lu8ost6rh7fZ4%3D&response-content- disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DHBR_on_Strategy.pdf#page=25

Safe Around (2017). World ’ s Safest Countries. Retrieved from https://safearound.com/danger-rankings/

Sagaci Research (2016). The KFC Index measuring PPP in Africa. pp.4. Retrieved from https://frontera.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Product-KFC- Index-Jul16.pdf

Scimago Journal and Country Rank (2016). Country Rankings. Retrieved from http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php

Statistics Bureau Japan (2017). Consumer Price Index. Retrieved from http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/1581.htm

Team FME (2013). PESTLE Analysis strategy skills. pp. 7-21. Retrieved from www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk-pdf/fme-pestle-analysis.pdf

The Economist (2017). Interactive currency-comparison tool the Big Mac index. Retrieved from www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

The Economist (2015). Ghana: the mighty fallen. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21654648-africas- former-jewel-struggles-regain-its-gleam-mighty-fallen

Thomas P. (September 8th, 1956). British set March 6th as date of freedom for the gold coast, 1956, pp.1. New York Times. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9E02E2DA173EE23BBC4152D FBF66838D649EDE

71

Tomayess L., Vanessa C. and Theodora I. (2010). Sustainable business strategies and PESTEL framework. 73GSTF International Journal on Computing, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 2010. pp. 75-77. Retrieved from http://dl6.globalstf.org/index.php/joc/article/viewFile/429/455

Trading Economics (2017). Consumer Price Index. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/consumer-price-index-cpi

Trading Economics. (2017). Ghana balance of trade. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/balance-of-trade/forecast

Trading Economics (2017). Ghana corporate tax rates. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/corporate-tax-rate

Trading Economics (2017). Ghana unemployment rate forecast. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/unemployment-rate/forecast

Trading Economics (October, 2017). Producer Price Index. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/producer-prices

Transparency International (2016). Global Corruption Barometer: Corruption perceptions index. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/ news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016

Wage Indicator (June 15th, 2017). Mindestlöhne in Deutschland nach Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG) / Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) / Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (AÜG) / Tarifvertragsgesetz (TVG). Retrieved from https://wageindicator.de/main/lohn-gehalt/mindestloehne

Wise Geek (2017). What is bamboo? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-bamboo.htm

World Bank (2017). Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS?locations=GH

World Bank (2017). The World Bank in Ghana: overview. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ghana/overview

72

World Bank (2017). Total population Ghana. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=GH

World Bank (2016). World Bank Open Data. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=GH

XE Currency Converter (2017). GHS to EUR, 05/11/2017. Retrieved from http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=8.8&From=GHS&To=E UR

Yomi L. (2010). Bamboo: Vehicle for poverty alleviation in west Africa. Bamboo development network. pp.9. Retrieved from http://www.worldbamboo.net/3cmb2016/Yomi%20Ige.docx.pdf

Appendix I

Questionnaire for interview with bamboo plantations

Name of the organization: Address: Date: Interviewee(s) profile: Introduction:

•Objective 1: to figure out the profile of bamboo resources, including species, agro-bio-geographical distribution: Q1: What species of bamboo do you cultivate? Q2: Why do you choose these species? Q3: What are the advantages of your chosen species? Q4: What is the size or scale of your bamboo plantation? Q5: What scale does your plantation yield per quarter/ year? Q6: How do the natural conditions (e.g. climate, soil) facilitate your bamboo cultivation?

73

•Objective 2: to explore the social and economic importance of bamboo at local and national levels: Q1: Why do you choose bamboo but not other as your agricultural products in your plantation? Q2: Do you plan to extend to more other species? Q3: How many jobs does your plantation offer? Q4: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders related to your plantation? Q5: What are the changes in your and other involved people’s daily lives after growing bamboo? Q6: How do you view the bamboo agriculture in Ghana in these years?

•Objective 3: to analyze whether the macro environment favorable for the bamboo industry in Ghana, including political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental factors: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your bamboo plantation? Q2: What are your advice to relevant administration institution or government? Q3: Do you feel that your plantation is under influenced by Ghanaian economic situation? Q4: What are the monetary problems with your plantation, if any? Q5: How is the labor condition of your plantation? Q6: How the agricultural technologies facilitate your cultivation? Q7: To what extent is the mechanization of farm tools in your plantation? Q8: How do the environment and your bamboo plantation influence each other according to your opinion? Q9: How is your bamboo plantation influenced by national or local regulations? (Or what are the important regulations influencing your plantation in your opinion?) Q10: How do you comment on the national and local regulations on your bamboo plantation?

• Objective 4: to analyze micro environment of bamboo industry in Ghana, including raw material suppliers, main producers and main products, buyers: Q1: Who do you sell your bamboo mainly to?

74

Q2: Do you think the bamboo raw materials market is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? (Whose bargain power is stronger? Who is influencing the transactions more?) Q3: How many buyers purchase from you? (which is more comparing the number of buyers and plantations?) Q4: Do you and how much do you export your bamboo? Q5: Which countries or regions do you export? Q6: Do your buyers change frequently in these three years? Q7: Do you have a plan to expand your business to bamboo products manufacture by yourself? Why? Q8: What were your sales in these three years? How about other plantations’ sales if you know? (If not concrete, roughly estimating) Q9: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? (If not concrete, roughly estimating) Q10: What were your sale prices in these three years? How about other plantations’ prices if you know? (If not concrete, roughly estimating) Q11: How do you think of the competition between plantations? (Is the competition strong or weak in your opinion?)

•Objective 5: to predict the potential of the bamboo industry in Ghana: Q1: How will your yields of bamboo develop in the future as your prediction? Q2: How will your sales develop in the future as your prediction? Q3: Last but not least, we’d like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of bamboo agriculture?

Appendix II

Questionnaire for interview with producers of bamboo composite products

Name of the organization: Address: Date:

75

Interviewee(s) profile: Introduction:

•Objective 1: to figure out the profile of bamboo resources, including species and agro-bio-geographical distribution: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Q2: How do you purchase your bamboo raw materials? Q3: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Why? Q4: What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase?

•Objective 2: to explore the social and economic importance of bamboo at local and national levels: Q1: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? Q2: What were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? Q3: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years?

•Objective 3: to analyze the Ghanaian macro environment for bamboo industry: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? Q5: To what extent is the automation of your factory? Q6: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence each other, according to your opinion? Q7: What are your comments on the national and local laws or regulations of your production of bamboo composite products?

•Objective 4: to analyze micro environment of bamboo industry in Ghana, including raw material suppliers, main producers and main products, buyers: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products?

76

Q2: How do you comment on your raw material suppliers? (Do your suppliers rely on you? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? Q5: On what scale or amount is your production? Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? Q7: What are your products’ advantages in your opinion? Q8: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? Q9: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number? Q10: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? Q11: in your opinion, why your customers purchase from your factory? Q12: Do your customers change frequently in these three years? Q13: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo? Q14: Which countries or regions do you export? Q15: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? Q16: How did your prices change in these three years? Q17: How do you comment the situation of competition with traditional industry? Q18: How do you comment the situation of competition with similar companies? Q19: How do your comment your competitors? Q20: What are the advantages of your products? Q21: What are the advantages of your company? Q22: How do you comment on your company’s successful strategies? Q23: How do you comment on the innovation of your company? Q24: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) Q25: How is your enterprise’s growth of technology on bamboo products and their processing? Q26: What is your distribution channel for selling? (e.g. online or offline stores) Q27: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, growth, maturity or decline? Is the growth of market slow or fast?)

•Objective 5: to predict the potential of the bamboo industry in Ghana: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? Q2: How will your strategy be developed in the future as your prediction?

77

Q3: Last but not least, we’d like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry?

Appendix III

Transcripts of Interviews

Transcripts of Interview 1

Type of Organization : Bamboo plantation and products Manufacturer Date: 09.11.2017 Interviewee(s) profile: Managing Director Introduction: This Bamboo plantation and products Manufacturer develops non-timber products, providing substitutes to traditional timber products. It focus on cultivating bamboo and processing bamboo into products including bamboo charcoal and briquettes, materials for construction, and furniture. The enterprise also involves agroforestry, skills training, and other sustainable alternative livelihood activities. In this interview, the interviewee answers as the owner of the bamboo plantation.

Objective 1: Q1: What species of bamboo do you cultivate? Mainly two, Beema bamboo and natural stock bamboo. Q2: Why do you choose this particular species or what advantages do the species have? Beema bamboo is good for producing energy and is rich in fibers and strong. The natural stock is very suitable for the local soil and climate condition. Q3: What is the scale of your bamboo plantation? Currently, total 300 hectares and the plantation is about to expand to achieve a targeted 1,000 hectares. Q4: What is the scale that your plantation yield per quarter/per year? The supply of raw materials is not so sufficient, so we are planning to expand our plantation. Q5: Do the natural conditions (e.g. climate, soil) facilitate your bamboo cultivation?

78

Yes, the soil and climate benefit the growth of our species of bamboo.

Objective 2: Q1: Do you plan to extend to more other species? Yes. More species, more various sorts products. We have great ambition to enrich our products spectrum to be one of the leaders in the bamboo industry. Q2: How many jobs does your plantation offer? Five full-time members; the number of part-time members depends on situations. We have ambition to hire more. Besides, the artisans involved in our training are about 300. Q3: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders related to your plantation? On the plantations are our ‘out-growers’ who are the biggest stakeholders. We have seen a rise in their income levels and livelihoods over the years. Previously, farmers had to carry water from long distances to the farms for their use and rain was the primary source of water for the plantation. Now, after planting bamboo, the water has been restored in the area. The developed irrigation systems provide water for our activities. Q4: What are the changes in your or other people’s daily lives after growing bamboo? The improvement of local people’s income levels and livelihoods is remarkable. Q5: How do you view the bamboo agriculture in Ghana? It has great potential because bamboo has short growing periods. Besides, as substitutes, bamboo can be produced to almost all things wood can be.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your bamboo plantation? Currently, most charcoals are made of wood; it will lead to deforestation. According to certain institution, 70% deforestation is caused by producing timber charcoal. The government should also launch more policies to promote bamboo growing, hinder charcoal consuming and educate people to use bamboo charcoal. Q2: How do you feel that your plantation is under influenced by monetary conditions or Ghanaian economic situation?

79

Yes. I take interest rates as an example. The interest rates of banks are high currently, to establish a plantation will take a long period, but banks cannot wait for so long to get money back. We need some long-term loans. The world is talking ‘‘green finance’’. Namely, we bamboo enterprises need soft loans or some favorable supports in finance. Q3: How is the labor condition of your plantation? According to the Inter-cropping Model, we do not worry about human resources. The labors are independent bamboo farmers; we cooperate with them. We not only needn’t giving salaries, but sometimes incentives, but also possess sufficient human resources. Q4: How the agricultural technologies and mechanization of farming tools facilitate your cultivation? We possess relatively advanced agricultural technology (know-how). We know clearly how to facilitate the cultivation. As for me, I have learned the agricultural knowledge on bamboo in China. We always keep improving our technology level keeping and advancing technologies not only on agriculture but also on production. Q5: How do the environment and your bamboo plantation influence each other in your opinion? In general, bamboo as a substitute of timber can prevent the rapid deforestation in Ghana. The woods have grown up in many years and if cutting them down, nothing left, while for bamboo, if cut them down, the new can grow up soon again. It is meaningful that we use ‘green’ to protect ‘green’. Q6: Is your bamboo plantation influenced by national or local regulations? How? Yes. For instance, the government does not allow the enterprises to export the unprocessed primary products and resources like bamboo directly to foreign countries. It is actually a regulation that protects Ghanaian industry’s development and labors’ livelihood. If selling a certain resource directly, it is no added value on them. The enterprises must at least process on them to add value. It is a reasonable and beneficial regulation.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds of your bamboo do you sell?

80

Currently not, but we do plan to do. However, we prefer and have ambition to do business with added value. Q2: Who do you sell your bamboo mainly to? Currently, the produced bamboo raw materials are used in our own productions. We have a future goal to sell bamboo as raw materials directly if our plantation has a large scale. Q3: How many buyers purchase from you? Currently none. Q4: Do you and how much do you export your bamboo? To export raw bamboo resources is not allowed; which should be processed at least. Q7: Do your buyers frequently change in these three years? Currently no external consumers; we consume them ourselves in production. Q8: What was your production in these three years? Our amount of the production of bamboo was growing these years. Q9: What are the growth rates of production in these three years? Gradually and continuously. Q10: What are your sale prices in these three years? Our price and the market prices of bamboo were keeping stable, while I can predict that the price of raw bamboo may increase in the future. Q11: How is your management of plantation? We are conducting an innovative and advanced cooperative system ‘‘Inter- cropping’’ in the management of farmers. The Inter-cropping system is a highly efficient business model. We train local farmers cultivating skills and pays them piece wages instead of hiring them as fixed workers with fixed salaries to incentive their working motivation. The farmers can learn more skills and make good use of free time to create extra incomes besides their own cultivating activities. On one site the cooperation between our plantation and the farmers is easy, free and without restrictions, on the other site, it integrates workforce of farmers and the cultivation and harvest of the plantation and incentives their working efficiency, saves our costs in the cultivation and harvest of our plantation

•Objective 5:

81

Q1: How will your yields of bamboo develop in the future as your prediction? The quantity of our output will increase because we are expanding our plantation. Q2: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of bamboo agriculture? The bamboo agriculture has great potential. There are many parties benefit from bamboo agriculture and will attach more importance to it. The industrial chains of bamboo composite products are based on bamboo agriculture. Bamboo agriculture and bamboo industry are the industry facing the future.

Transcripts of Interview 2

Type of Organization : Bamboo plantation and charcoal manufacturer Date: 09.11.2017 Interviewee profile: Managing Director Introduction: This Bamboo plantation and products Manufacturer develops non-timber products, providing substitutes to traditional timber products. It focus on cultivating bamboo and processing bamboo into products including bamboo charcoal and briquettes, materials for construction, and furniture. The enterprise also involves agroforestry, skills training, and other sustainable alternative livelihood activities. In this interview, the interviewee answers as the producer of bamboo charcoal, clumps and briquettes.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Local district. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? We choose local bamboo farmers because they are near. Q3: Who and why do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? Our bamboo supply is from our own plantation and local bamboo farmers. Q4: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Mainly two, Beema bamboo and natural stock bamboo.

82

Q5: What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase? Beema bamboo is good for producing energy and is rich in fiber and strong. The natural stock is very suitable for the local soil and climate condition.

•Objective 2: Q1: Why do you produce this/these bamboo composite products? Beside economic profits, the products are beneficial for the environment and local people’s livelihood. Q2: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? Not only we owners but also many people involved, for example, the workers get jobs in our company, the artisans are training the skills and the air is protected because the emission of burning bamboo charcoals releases less smoke. Q3: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? The rural workers’ livelihoods are improved. We train farmers to intercrop in their farms with other suitable crops with bamboo to ensure food security and income diversity. Q4: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years? In these years, the development of bamboo products has faced many challenges, for example, the bamboo charcoals had hard competition with wood charcoal.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? We need government’s supports. Currently, the government is impelling bamboo consuming, but its efforts are limited. For instance, some producers are producing bamboo desks and chairs for schools, while the government can decide the ratio of bamboo desks and chairs that the public schools purchase. The government should launch more policies to support bamboo industry. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? Yes. The expanding of production lines is a long-term consideration; we need favorable loans to relieve financial pressure.

83

Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? We train our labors; they possess enough skill in manufacture. We are planning to hire more when our production lines are expanding. Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? We work with certain research centers and institutions on technology. We also send our members or artisans to China for learning skills. Q5: To what extent is the automation of your factory? In my opinion, our automation level is keeping being advanced. Q6: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence each other, according to your opinion? Our products, bamboo charcoals and bamboo briquettes, cannot only substitute the wood charcoals to protect forests, but also releases less smoke to protect the environment from more air pollution. Q7: What are your comments on the national and local laws or regulations of your production of bamboo composite products? To comment it, I take another example about the tax. We shall pay taxes according to relevant regulations of course. The government is now supporting bamboo industries, but its attempts are far from enough. It should set a lower tax level for bamboo enterprises. For customers, they will just choose cheaper charcoal. If the taxes are lower, so that the costs of bamboo charcoals are lower, so that bamboo charcoals are competitive compared to wood charcoals.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Bamboo charcoal, bamboo clumps and bamboo briquettes. Q2: How much bamboo material does your factory use per year? The quantity of output and production are expanding, so the supply of raw materials is not sufficient for production currently; we also purchase from local farmers in addition. Q3: How do you comment on your raw material suppliers? What happens to you if changing them? (Do your suppliers rely on you? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) The quality level meet our need. We will not change our self-supply. Our plantation is far from the factory; therefore beside the self-supplied raw materials, we purchase raw material from local farmers in addition. 84

Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? Yes, and we did so; we have our own plantation. We have an industry chain from raw material supply to products processing. Q5: On what scale or amount is your production? I can say we are now expanding our lines of production. Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? Our team includes board chairperson, marketing department, and department of business affairs. Besides our team, we also have full-time and part-time workers. Q7: What are your products’ advantages that attract customers in your opinion? Our bamboo charcoal burns slowly allowing you to use less for cooking and is excellent deodorizer. Our bamboo Charcoal also serves as a mineralizer for plants. Compared to wood charcoals which release more smoke, bamboo charcoal releases little. Our bamboo briquettes are slow burning materials ensuring that you use less for your energy needs. Grilling with Bamboo briquettes can give a nice flavor for meals. To conclude, the reason is the benefits that customers derive from products, such as appropriate prices and healthy in burning. Besides, our clumps offer clients long lasting materials for construction, design, furniture, etc. They are straight and fire resistant. Q8: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? Yes, we have ambition to make diversification in bamboo products, which involve as more sorts of products as possible. Q9: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number? Our customers grow so slowly. Q10: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? Households, retail shops, supermarkets, restaurants, barbecue sellers, cookstove users and producers. Q11: Do your customers frequently change in these three years?

The change of customers’ sorts is not significant. Q12: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo products? Now we are preparing on exporting. Q13: Which countries or regions do you export? Mainly to the Middle East and West Africa. 85

Q14: What were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? Our sales were keeping growing gradually, slowly but continuously. Q15: How do you comment competition situation in the market? The bamboo charcoal market for charcoal is big enough, so there is no strong competition in the bamboo charcoal market. If our capacity allows, how many charcoals we produce, how many charcoals can be sold. However, the real competition lies in the competition with wood charcoal. The costs of producing bamboo charcoal are higher than wood charcoal, for example, electricity, salaries for workers, the processing of products and so on lead to costs, however, people can acquire wood charcoal just through cutting, which is much cheaper. Q16: What are the advantages of your company? Good location, which is between Kumasi and Accra and near to Accra-port. Q17: How do you comment on your company’s strategies, both currently and in future? Yes, we are applying a series of strategies, but cannot be revealed. Q18: What is your distribution channel for selling? Products are delivered to customers. Q19: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) In my opinion, our management level needs to be improved. Q20: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of the market slow or fast?) Introduction phase. So we should arouse their awareness of consuming bamboo charcoal.

•Objective 5: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? It will grow gradually. Q2: Last but not least, we’d like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry?

86

The innovative bamboo charcoal has its advantage in ecological and economic meanings, but the challenge of development lies in the higher cost in production compared to traditional wood charcoal. I hope relative administrative institutions can provide favorable economic and financial conditions to encourage it and educate people on using bamboo charcoal.

Transcripts of Interview 3

Type of Organization : Bamboo furniture manufacturer Date: 11.11.2017 Interviewee(s) profile: Owner of this bamboo furniture company. Introduction: This bamboo furniture manufacturer produces bamboo tables, chairs, TV stands and all kinds of household items and artworks.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Central Region and Western Region. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? These regions can provide bamboo of good quality; the soil of Accra is not suitable for bamboo. Q3: Who do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? The natural bamboo stands in Central Region and Western Region. Q4: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Why? Bamboo Vulgaris; it is strong enough for furniture. Q5: How do you comment on the raw materials you purchase? Cheap and good quality.

•Objective 2: Q1: Why do you produce this/these bamboo composite products? The resources of timber are becoming tight, especially in Accra. Bamboo can serve as a substitute to produce furniture. Q2: How were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? 87

The market grew slowly because people were not familiar with bamboo products. Q3: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? I as owner and the workers who get jobs and salaries. Q4: What are the changes in your or other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? The labors learned skills and improved livelihoods. As for me, my business was started up hard in the beginning and had many challenges, but now my factory is getting much better. Q5: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years? It developed slowly because consumers are not quite interested in bamboo furniture.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? The government should support more deeply bamboo industry. For instance, the government can support bamboo enterprises in governmental procurement: governmental institutions and public schools purchase tables and chairs made from bamboo. What’s more, I suggest that government should take measures to arouse people’s awareness of using bamboo composite products. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? If we loan money from banks to expand our production, but due to the slowly growing market, the added profits we earn will be not high enough to cover the interests we repay. So the core issue is the undeveloped consumer market of bamboo products. Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? Currently five workers, but I plan to lay 2 of them off, because of the not prosper market. I possess sufficient workforces and even a circle of skilled labors. As for the skill level of our workers, we are keeping teaching and updating them with advanced skills. Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production?

88

I have participated in the training program hold in Beijing, Chengdu and Hangzhou, China in 2016. The Chinese producers demonstrated us processing technologies and how to run the bamboo business. When I came back, I taught artisans what I learned. By the way, last week I just taught them. I have even bought machines from China back to improve efficiency in production. China is the leading edge in bamboo industry of the world currently and Ghanaian bamboo industry’s technologies are profoundly influenced by China. Q5: To what extent is the automation or mechanization of your factory? I have bought machines from China to improve efficiency in production, however, till now I cannot apply them in production due to the lack of power. To solve these problems, there is a united association talking with the government. At present, the government is building an industrial park for bamboo enterprises as an industrial base in which electricity and water are supplied. Q6: How do environment and your bamboo factory influence mutually, in your opinion? Bamboo furniture industry especially bamboo handicraft protects not only natural resources of forests but also causes minimal environmental harmful ‘‘3W’’ namely waste water, waste gas and waste residue in the production of bamboo furniture. Q7: How do you comment on the national and local laws or regulations of your production of bamboo composite products? Supportive policies are the favorable tax. The corporate tax is 20%; bamboo furniture manufacturers are based on agricultural products, so we enjoy lower tax to 15% approximately.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Bamboo tables, chairs, TV stands, many kinds of household items and artworks. The enterprises that produce bamboo composite products also produce always rattan composite products. Q2: How much bamboo materials does your factory use per year? Suppliers can offer sufficient raw material to meet my needs. The consumed amount of bamboo materials depends on the scale of my production.

89

Q3: Is the raw bamboo materials market a buyer’s market or seller’s market in your opinion? (Do your suppliers rely on you or do you rely on your suppliers? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) It is actually a buyer’s market, in which the supply of raw bamboo materials depends on buyers’ need. Anytime when we producers need raw materials, we can immediately purchase from them. There are sufficient suppliers and I often change my supplies. As I know, many other producers also always change their suppliers often as well. We do not rely on them. The materials they offer are cheap and of good quality, besides, they can offer specified size of raw bamboo materials as we need. The prices are not fixed but floating according to demands; when demands of producers rise, the prices rise correspondingly as well, but not to a significant extent. Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? No. One reason is that my factory is in Accra, but Accra’s soil is not suitable for bamboo. Besides, it is a long-term investment to set up a plantation and we should consider much including the land, farmers, management, etc. What’s more, the natural supply of bamboo is sufficient and cheap; it is totally not necessary to build own plantation. Q5: On what scale is your production? About 40-50 pieces totally of products in these three years. (All bamboo composite products are included; other rattan composite products are not included) Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? Currently, as a small enterprise, we have not structured departments. Q7: What are your products’ advantages in your opinion? The quality of products. We make sure raw materials as input are of good quality; after producing, we check our products as outputs one by one. I stick to the principle of high quality, instead of low price. I believe that if the quality is excellent, the customers are willing to pay more. Q8: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? No. I do not plan to expand the category of products, but I would like to try innovation on existing products. Q9: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number?

90

In this year, the amount is about 10 customers totally; among them four regular customers. The growth of new customers is slow. Q10: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? For instance, in this year, I sell mainly to 4 regular customers. They purchase not only for their consumption but also selling them. Q11: why your customers purchase from your factory in your opinion? Good quality, reasonable price, near location. Besides, good customer relationships are important as well, which ensures that they are satisfied with my service. Q12: Do your customers frequently change in these three years? I have fixed customers as well as variable customers. Although the variable customers change frequently, the sort of them is stable: the individual consumer. Q13: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo? Currently not, but I have a plan to export. Q14: How were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? About 40-50 pieces totally of products in these three years. (All bamboo composite products are included; other rattan composite products are not included) Q15: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? It was growing in fluctuation but slowly. Q16: What were your sale prices and their trend in these three years? The sale prices rose slowly because it depended on the costs of bamboo materials, which was stable. Q17: How do you think of the competition situation in your sale? There are 5 or 6 similar enterprises directly surrounding mine, which lead to competition so that I should keep good customers relationships, good quality, and unique products to face the competition. Q18: How do you comment on your competitors? They also perform well. Q19: What are the advantages of your products? (competitive quality or price?) Quality. Q20: What are the advantages of your company? Good quality and relationships with customers. Although we are quite similar producers, I try to provide not exactly same products and make my products have different characteristics and uniqueness. 91

Q21: How do you comment on your company’s successful strategies currently? My strategy is trying to create new and better design for products. Q22: How do you comment on the innovation of your company? I keep learning advanced design from China and teaching my workers. Last time I went to China was July 2016; at that time, we were led by Mr. Samuel of BARADEP to training bases and schools in China. Now I’m planning to go to China again in 2018. Q23: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) Efficient human resource management: we have a ‘‘reserve army’’ of artisans. We do not hire them but teach them on processing skills bamboo handicraft furniture; when we need them, we can directly give them tasks and pay piece wages. Such human resource management has many advantages; firstly, we possess sufficient workforces who wait for us; secondly, we needn’t pay them hourly wages, which will lead to low working efficiency; Thirdly, they can always possess updated skills. Efficient cost management: ‘‘bamboo has no waste’’. After production, the left- over materials can also be used to produce bamboo and rattan artworks. The artworks such as that bamboo goat I showed you could also be sold at so good prices. As you know, when all materials are applied in the manufacturing, the utilization ratio is near to 100% while the wastage rate is near to 0% so that we reduce costs as more as possible. As for supply chain management, as mentioned, we buyers decide the raw bamboo market and seldom worry about the supply. Besides, we know what time the prices of raw bamboo will increase such as Christmas so that we will make some stocks before at a lower price. Q24: How do you think of the growth of technology on bamboo products and their processing? As mentioned above, I purchased machines from China to improve efficiency in production. The new machines are waiting to be applied due to the lack of electricity. Our technology and automation level are growing slowly but continuously.

92

Q25: What is your distribution channel for selling? Customers come to our stores to select and buy. Q26: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of market slow or fast?) Introduction phase. People are still not familiar with bamboo composite products.

•Objective 5: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? The association of bamboo and rattan enterprises I mentioned is Regional Handy Craft Association, which was united by four small separate associations in about 2013. The association is negotiating with the government and now the government is building an industrial base in Ayimensah. When it is built, many bamboo and rattan enterprises will move in and the government will the supply electricity, water, etc. to the industrial base. The enterprises within the industrial base can also enjoy favorable financial supports. As for my expansion of production, it is never restrained by my capacity but depends on the growth of consuming. I think other similar bamboo composite products workshop are faced the same situation like my workshop. Q2: How will your strategies develop in the future as your prediction? I will still keep my strategy to create new and better design for products. The ‘‘reserve army’’ of artisans above mentioned is also my important strategy in human resource management that I will keep. Q3: Last but not least, we’d like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? The future of bamboo is bright. Now the market grows so slowly because people know little about bamboo products. If people’s awareness of using bamboo is aroused successfully, our market will be expanded significantly.

Transcripts of Interview 4

Type of Organization : Bamboo bikes manufacturer Date: 20.11.2017

93

Interviewee(s) profile: Spokesman of this enterprise Introduction: One of the tycoons in Ghanaian bamboo bicycle industry with the mission of attacking social and ecological problems such as unemployment, poverty and climate change.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Ashanti region. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? The key raw material (bamboo) used for manufacturing our bicycles are readily available in this region. Q3: Who and why do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? The bamboo is purchased from community merchants in the localities where the bamboo is found. We pay for the harvested bamboos because the landowners claim ownership of the bamboo found on their lands. Q4: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Why? We mostly use Bambusa vulgaris because the mechanical properties and dimensions are suitable for manufacturing bicycle frames. Q5: How do you comment on the raw materials you purchase? The harvested bamboos are susceptible to microbial and insect; degradation makes their treatment an added cost.

•Objective 2: Q1: Why do you produce this bamboo composite product? We produce our products for their economic returns and creating employment for increasing youths and women. Q2: How were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? Within the three-year span (2015-2017) we have produced nearly 2,000 frames/bicycles. Q3: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? Stakeholders include our raw material suppliers, customers, government regulatory agencies, distributors, workers, international standard organization, media agencies, shipping agents and business partners.

94

Q4: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? The retained workers are no longer unemployed and now have an improved standard of living due to a steady stream of income. Q5: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years? The bamboo industry looks very prospective due to an explosion of innovation in recent years. The sort of bamboo-based high-end products is increasing at a rapid rate and the future promises more and more high-tech application.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? Policies which promote favorable export duties and transnational trade mechanisms evidently open up new markets and reduce costs of sales. This promotes production and international sales and increases our profit margins. Moreover, regulatory policies in the non-motorized transport industry (of which bicycle is included) and development in the transportation network will encourage local patronage in our bamboo bicycles. For example, the regional integration of AGOA has expanded our market to the US and will likely increase production capacity in the coming years. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? Yes. To a large extent, our operation is influenced by the national economic condition since we engage in cross-border transactions. Any change in the value of currency instantly affects our production cost. Moreover, the purchasing power of our local customers rises and falls in response to the economic condition or circulation of the currency. Q3: What are the monetary problems with your production, if any? The most important monetary problem affecting our production has been the cost of imported goods. Since this variable is affected by macroeconomic factors, we have little or no control over its regulation. Q4: How is the labor condition of your factory? We have good working staffs, some of whom possessed substandard skills from the beginning. Now they are highly skilled at what they do but still needs more advanced training in modern techniques and technologies for our production.

95

Q5: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? The applied technologies shorten our lead time, remove drudgery and improve the quality of frames/bicycles. Q6: To what extent is the automation of your factory? Automation constitutes between 20-30% of the total production chain. Q7: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence each other in your opinion? As one of the fastest growing canopies, bamboo helps improve quality of water and air through reducing CO2 levels and provides humans and animals with nutrition. In addition, cultivation and application of bamboo are alternatives to wood in preserving and rehabilitating the dwindling forests in Ghana. We have started to establish bamboo plantations as our scaling-up strategy, to create employment for farmers, to support climate mitigation, and to promote applications of bamboo waste such as producing bamboo charcoal. Ten local farmers have been employed to develop bamboo plantation and to harvest bamboo. Our bamboo bicycles possesses characteristics of recyclable, non-polluting, sustainable and organic, compared to production of traditional metal or carbon fiber bicycles, which requires much electricity. Helping reduce emission of carbon by almost 70%, our bamboo bicycles also avoid up to 5kg of emission of CO2 in the production of steel bicycle frames. Q8: How do you comment on the national and local laws or regulations of your production? There is currently no local law sabotaging our production.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? We produce different types of frames and bicycles (mountain, road, city and kid bikes). Q2: How much bamboo material does your factory use per year? There is no reliable data on that since we do not harvest the whole culm. Q3: How do you comment on your raw material suppliers? What happens to you if changing them? (Do your suppliers rely on you? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?)

96

The suppliers view us as one of their important customers but have not many customers else. Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? We have already started establishing our plantation and still planning to expand it yearly. Q5: On what scale or amount is your production? Our current production capacity is 300 frames/month. Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? The key departments are: marketing, production, design, assembling, logistics and finance department. Q7: What are your products’ advantages in your opinion? The bicycles facilitate mobility more sustainably and economically. Moreover, it is environmentally friendly and lean on energy Q8: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? We are always diversifying our bamboo products. Q9: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number? Our customer database is not yet finalized. Q10: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? We sell to sportsmen such as cyclists, corporate organizations and so on. Q11: in your opinion, why your customers purchase from your factory? Our customers purchase our bicycles because it has a strong social story, affordable and friendly to the environment. Q12: Do your customers frequently change in these three years? Our customer target has remained relatively stable and the number is increasing. Q13: Do you and how much do you export your bamboo? We export 70% of total production. Q14: Which countries or regions do you export? We export to Europe and US. Q15: What are the growth rates of sales in these three years? We have grown at a rate of 40% over the past three years,. Q16: What are your sale prices and their trend in these three years? Our prices ranged from 200-350 US Dollar and remained relatively stable. Q17: How do comment on competition situation in your sale? Competition is strong, but we seem to have cost leadership in the Industry. 97

Q18: How do your comment on your competitors? Our competitors are also good at what they do and we constantly try to gain a competitive advantage over them. Q19: What are the advantages of your products? Our frames/bicycle are not only more affordable but also possess a high level of quality and durability. Q20: How do you comment on your company’s successful strategies, both currently and in future? Strategic planning is a constant feature of our company, covering everything from branding, sales and marketing and quality control. Q21: How do you comment on the innovation of your company? Our bicycles are unconventional and innovative in the bicycle industry. Q22: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) We have been successful in branding our products, maintaining a competitive pricing model and customer profiling. However, our supply chain and distribution channels are continuously refined. Q23: What is your distribution channel for selling? We sell directly and through online (e-commerce system). Q25: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of market at present slow or fast?) Our market is now at take-off stage and growing rapidly— it is a phase of growth.

•Objective 5: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? We foresee more growth and innovation in our production in the coming years. Q2: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. How do you comment on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? The bamboo industry is one of the most promising areas of investment that offers rich dividends. The industry will witness great prospects for smart and

98

enterprising individuals who are seeking windows of opportunity for growth and entrepreneurship.

Transcripts of Interview 5

Type of Organization : Bamboo plantation and processor Date: 25.11.2017 Interviewee(s) profile: Managing Director Introduction: An enterprise running bamboo plantation.

•Objective 1: Q1: What species of bamboo do you cultivate? Beema and Abyssinica. Q2: What are the advantages of your chosen species? They grow faster. They have a high biomass yield. They are available planting materials when the plantation expands. Their growth characteristics (clumping) is also convenient for our plantation strategy, as they do not take up much land. They are also resistant to even harsh environmental conditions like drought and fires. Q3: What is the scale of your bamboo plantation? 1200 acre. Q4: What scale does your plantation yield per quarter/per year? In the 3rd year it yields 25 to 30 tonnes/year; from the 4th year to 6th year, 10 tonnes more are added each year; from the 7th year, more than 65 tonnes each year for over one hundred years. Q5: How do the natural conditions (e.g. climate, land) facilitate your bamboo cultivation? The species we have been proven to withstand environmental conditions well.

•Objective 2:

99

Q1: Why do you choose bamboo instead of other crops as your agricultural products in your plantation? Bamboo has good returns on investment due to its growth rate and wide usages and creates a greater opportunity for investors. Q2: Do you plan to extend to more other species? Currently no, but if any new species is identified to yield more benefits. Q3: How many jobs does your plantation offer? Five full-time jobs with over 20 casuals and 20 external growers in addition. Q4: In your opinion, how are the stakeholders related to your plantation? Investors, technological and agricultural researcher and the local community. Q5: What are the changes in your and other involved people’s daily lives after growing bamboo? Broader understanding of sustainable land use and management; Creation of alternative fuel source; Indirect: carbon sequestration and a clean environment. Q6: How do you view the bamboo agriculture in Ghana in these years? It is a new industry. Although it has a great potential for creating a balance between food and energy, for instance, the limited knowledge of how it works makes it difficult for wide proliferation.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your bamboo plantation? As a free zone company, policies like tax relief supports plantations. Q2: What are your advice to relevant administration institution or government? There should support land acquisition to encourage the development of plantation and attach more importance to relevant technological and agricultural research on bamboo cultivation. Q3: Do you feel that your plantation is under influenced by Ghanaian economic situation? Plantation involves materials, land, and labor (for land preparation and plantation management), which are at unstable costs due to the economic dynamics. As a result, this affects the pace of development of plantation. Q4: What are monetary problems with your plantation if any?

100

As explained above, it costs much to acquire and prepare the land and manage plantation. These costs have slowed down the pace at which we are planting. Q5: How is the labor condition of your plantation? We currently run a casual labor system on the plantation and also work with local farmers. Q6: How the agricultural technologies facilitate your cultivation? Currently, no distinct technology is employed. Q7: To what extent is the mechanization of farm tools in your plantation? Currently, the nature of our land makes the mechanization difficult. We are working manually now. Q8: How do environment and your bamboo plantation influence mutually in your opinion? The environment in good condition will support the growth of bamboo and harsh conditions have minimal effects. In return, bamboo enriches the environment. Q9: How is your bamboo plantation influenced by national or local regulations? (Or what are the important regulations influencing your plantation in your opinion?) Currently no known policy influence aside from the regulation on introducing new species planting materials (phytosanitary certificate is required). Q10: How do you comment on the national and local regulations on bamboo plantation? Government should enact more policies that will enhance the cultivation, processing of bamboo products and the development of bamboo markets. This will help facilitate the development of bamboo cultivation.

•Objective 4: Q1: Who do you sell your bamboo mainly to? Currently we only sell seedlings to other plantation developers. Q2: How many buyers purchase from your plantation? Roughly we have had about six seedlings buyers so far. Q3: Is the bamboo raw materials market a buyer’s market or seller’s market in your opinion? (Whose bargain power is stronger as your observation? Which side is affecting the transactions more?) Bamboo is a fairly new industry with immense benefits. Currently, in Ghana, buyers have stronger bargain power. 101

Q4: Do you and how much do you export your bamboo? Currently, we do not export. Q5: Do your buyers frequently change in these three years? No. Our seedlings buyers are stable. Q6: Do you have plan to expand your business to bamboo products manufacture by yourself ? Why? Yes. To maximize profits and create end usage for our plantation’s output, but the precondition is that we must possess technologies of production. Q7: What were your sales in these three years? How about other plantations’ sales if you know? Not applicable yet - still at planting stage Q8: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? Not applicable yet - still at planting stage. Q9: What were your sale prices in these three years? How about other plantations’ prices if you know? Not applicable yet - still at planting stage; but seedlings were sold 1.5 – 2 USD per seedling. Q10: How do you think of the competition between plantations? Since objectives of products vary, there is little competition at present.

•Objective 5: Q1: How will your yields of bamboo develop in the future as your prediction? We predict higher yields as the plantation size increases in the future. Q2: How will your sales develop in the future as your prediction? As the plantations increase in size, we may diversify into more other value- added bamboo products to increase sales and profits. Q3: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of bamboo agriculture? With the current limitation of land and increase of population, environmental sustainability is of great concern. Bamboo agriculture is an intervention to ensure sustainability. Multidimensional supports will increase and more plantations will be established to support the bamboo industry.

102

Transcripts of Interview 6

Type of Organization : Bamboo products manufacturer Date: 15.11.2017 Interviewee(s) profile: Enterpriser of this bamboo products manufacturer Introduction: The main business of this enterprise is producing bamboo furniture and other bamboo composite products, including bamboo boards, bamboo tables, bamboo cupboards and bamboo toothpicks. This enterprise is almost earliest started up Ghanaian bamboo products manufacturer factory in about 2007; till now, it is still the pioneer in the manufacture of machine- processed bamboo composite products and representative in this industry, especially in bamboo boards (the bamboo board is an essential part for many bamboo products such as tables and cupboards).

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Central Region. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? It is near to our factory in Central Region. Q3: Who do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? From local residents instead of from farmers. There are no so-called bamboo farmers. The local residents just cut down the natural bamboo to buyers. Q4: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Why? Bambusa Vulgaris; it is widely applied in construction and production of bamboo composite products in Ghana. Q5: What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase? There are no so-called bamboo farmers in Ghana. One reason is that there are already sufficient natural bamboo forests; another reason is that the requirement of raw bamboo materials is not always stable and regular. Hence, the local residents have no motivation to grow bamboo. The management of natural bamboo forests is not professional and in disorder. For example, rural citizens who live near to bamboo forests just cut the bamboo

103

plants from outer layers of forests. It seems convenient and easy for them, however, after many times of such random cuttings, men cannot any more or hard to reach the bamboo in the inner forest. I have ever been in China and India and seen how they did. They apply modern management in bamboo cultivation and harvest. For example, in China, people who cut bamboo without cleaning wastes in time will be imposed penalty. Besides, in most Chinese bamboo forests and plantations, there are many lanes between bamboo plants, so that they can harvest plants in order and high efficiency.

•Objective 2: Q1: What were the sales of your bamboo products in these three years? In these years the sales were in a dilemma because of many technological challenges in production. Q2: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? In about 2007 I started up the company. Different from handicrafts, we are producing bamboo furniture by machines instead of by hand. As far as I am concerned, in the bamboo industrial chain, we as manufacturers stand in the middle position, behind raw materials suppliers and before consumer market or wholesalers. Therefore, we connect the parties in the bamboo industry together; the prosperity of industry depends on us. If we consume more raw materials in production, the high demands of bamboo raw materials will impel the development of bamboo cultivation and plantation. Q3: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years? The development of the manufacturing industry of machine-processed bamboo composite products was quite not optimistic these years due to the technological dilemma.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? The government seems to pay attention to bamboo industry. However, its supports are not so practical that I feel not apparently. For example, I also send my workers to China for training, but they have not learned skills successfully. When my workers come back, I found they still haven’t possessed skills in

104

production. Hence, I advise that government should better negotiate with the Chinese government or INBAR Beijing to introduce directly technological workers to Ghana. The government should better consider and understand what route is more suitable for the bamboo industry with a higher level of technology, apart from the bamboo handicraft furniture processing. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? As far as I’m concerned, Ghanaian economic situation is not the main problem I’m faced. The current core issue lies not in whether the consumers are glad to accept bamboo products or whether the purchasing power of consumers can afford bamboo products; the problem lies in whether the factories can provide the market with products of good quality stably and considerably. If we solve the technical challenges in production so that we can push products to market widely and successfully. Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? Whom we are always in urgent need of, are skilled workers and machinists. As for low-skilled workers, we have them sufficiently. Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? The technology is the core problem we should solve. I have been in China several times and also have sent my workers there to learn, but they have not got useful skills in practical production. We are now facing lots of technical problems and a very high failure rate in production. Taking the bamboo boards we are producing as an example, in the production of bamboo boards there is a process ‘‘punch forming’’ in high temperature and pressure, but we cannot control it well. I have been in China and tried to hire Chinese skill-workers to come to Ghana to instruct us, but they seemed not so interested in it even high salary. Q5: To what extent is the automation or mechanization of your factory? The automation of production is also core issue. Our factory has purchased lots of machines with high costs, which are worthy to invest; the problem is, we do not know how to operate it. Next week I will fly to Zhejiang, China once again especially for hiring good technicians. Q6: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence mutually in your opinion?

105

The bamboo industry help to slow down deforestation. If the wastage rate in the production can be reduced, we can even save more bamboo resources. Q7: How do you comment on national and local laws or regulations on your production of bamboo composite products? As I know, the enterprise whose production is based on agricultural products can enjoy lower tax rate.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Bamboo furniture and other bamboo composite products, including bamboo boards, bamboo tables, bamboo cupboards and bamboo toothpicks. We produce standard products by machines instead of handicrafts or artworks. Q2: How much bamboo material does your factory use per year? We have consumed a small amount of bamboo raw materials due to the technological dilemma in production. Q3: Is the bamboo raw materials market a buyer’s market or seller’s market in your opinion? (Do your suppliers rely on you or do you rely on your suppliers? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) It is buyer’s market. It is readily accessible for us to get raw materials as long as we want. The natural resources currently of bamboo are quite sufficient. Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? No, I prefer to be their buyer. I just want to do well in production, it is not necessary to build a plantation. Q5: On what scale or amount is your production and sales? As mentioned, very small scale, due to technical problems in production. Q6: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? Yes, we are now developing the relevant technologies to expand our products to bamboo window blinds. Q7: What is the amount of your customers and its growth of the number? As mentioned, very few. We cannot produce smoothly and sell products stably and considerably to market. Q8: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? Quite slowly, almost haven’t grown. Q9: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? Wholesalers. 106

Q10: in your opinion, why your customers purchase from your factory? There are very few similar factories in Ghana. The workshops of bamboo handicraft furniture and artworks are not few in Ghana, but the factory that produces bamboo furniture by machines in a standard way in Ghana is probably just only our factory. That is why our company’s name is Pioneer Bamboo Processing Company. Q11: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo? I have tried to export my products to Nigeria but failed. Q12: Which countries or regions do you export? I have tried to export my products to Nigeria but failed. The buyers in Nigeria chose Chinese products. In global bamboo furniture market, Chinese products take a high market share, because of their good quality, relatively lower prices and stable supplies of products. There is still a huge gap between China and Ghana in standard machine-processed bamboo furniture. Ghana has still a long way to go. Q13: How do you comment on competition situation with other companies? As mentioned, because there are the rare factories that produce standard machine-processed bamboo in Ghana, such as hard bamboo boards (the bamboo board is an essential part of bamboo furniture such as table and cupboard). Therefore, we never worry about the competitions from Ghana. As a pioneer, we worry about how could we solve the technological problems and improve the low technological level in production. To be a pioneer is uneasy, what we always think is about the development of entire industry in Ghana. Q14: What are the advantages of your products? (competitive quality or competitive price?) Although we are not satisfied with our high failure rate and wastage rate in production, the quality of products are still at the top level in Ghana, because as we know there is almost no other manufacturer tries standard machine- produced bamboo furniture. Q15: What are the advantages of your company? We are an early pioneer. Q16: How do you comment on your company’s successful strategies, currently and? We have currently two main strategies. One is improving technological level in production such as hiring high-skilled technicians from China as our core

107

human resources to solve technical problems; another is constant innovation in sorts of products, for example, the bamboo mat is one of the products we are planning to try. Q17: How do you comment on the innovation of your company? We attach much importance to innovation. In the beginning, we just produced bamboo board; by continuous innovation in products spectrum, the sorts of our products are increasing gradually. Q18: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) On cost management or price management, the reduction of failure rate and wastage rate are our focus. For example, in our production of toothpicks, the wastage rate is currently quite high, the ratio input/output is in overproportion. The efficiency of production is quite low, which leads to a low ratio of profits. Now we are focusing on solving this problem. Human resource management of high-skilled technicians is currently not successful; it is hard to attract Chinese high-skilled technicians, which is a major problem. As for supply chain management, we can get abundant and cheap bamboo raw materials readily. Q19: What is your distribution channel for selling? As for distribution channels, we just produce and sell to wholesalers, and it works well. It is not our concerning problem currently. Q20: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of market slow or fast?) Introduction phase in Ghana; at present the amounts of productions and sales are quite low and grow slowly in the market. As far as I am concerned, the reason why customers are not familiar with bamboo products is the infrequency of occurrence of bamboo products in the market. If there are bamboo products of a considerable number and good quality in the market, the products can convince the customers to accept them gradually.

•Objective 5:

108

Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? It depends on whether we can solve the technical problems and improve our technical level in production. Q2: How will your strategies develop in the future as your prediction? One direction is skilled human resources; another is improvement and innovation in products lines. Q3: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? In India or China, almost every household processes bamboo composite products, whereas currently in Ghana, the bamboo composite products take account for rather a low percentage in the market. It is reasonable to believe high market potential because there is still much room to improve the production. The future acceptance of consumers depends on whether the quality and price of products can convince the customers.

Transcripts of Interview 7

Type of Organization : Bamboo bikes manufacturer Date: 22.11.2017 Interviewee(s) profile: Founder and CEO of this bamboo bikes manufacturer Introduction: This bamboo bikes manufacturer one of the pioneers in the bamboo bicycle industry. Its production of bamboo bicycles began as early as 2010. It manufactures bamboo bicycle frames, bamboo bikes, bamboo phone speakers, bamboo bicycle stands, and bamboo tricycles of high quality in Ghana mainly to export to global distributors.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? Ashanti Region. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? Close to our factory. 109

Q3: Who do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? Local farmers, besides, we have also our plantation.

•Objective 2: Q1: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? As a social enterprise, our company is a classic example. Our stakeholders are not only the board but also the workers in rural communities and the poor communities we supported. Q2: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? Social commitments are also what we are keeping focusing on. We have set up or supported many programs for public welfare. Apart from offering indirect and direct employment to youth in some rural communities, we supported development in education in forms of literacy programs and scholarships that allow children to access quality education. Besides, Booomers International is putting up now a model school which can serve hundreds of children from many different communities. Meanwhile, our Bike to School program provided means of transport to travel to school for rural children.

•Objective 3: Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? Till now not significant. I advise the government to launch more incentives to motivate our company as a small enterprise. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? How? As for Ghanaian economic situation, the apparent is, in the domestic market, consumers have no high interests in bamboo bicycles. Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? About 50 rural youths are employed directly at our factory. 10 youths are engaged in cultivating bamboo. 20 youths are employed indirectly to harvest bamboo. We were keeping training them. In the beginning, they did not know things about bamboo frames’ processing; now, they possess the skills. Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production?

110

Our initial idea was from the US. We had a technological partner in the US; we apply its technic to produce the bamboo frames in Ghana. After we learned from it, now, we conduct new development by ourselves. Q5: To what extent is the automation of your factory? The production of bamboo frames is mostly by hands; the machines just play not an important role. Q6: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence each other, according to your opinion? The process and the material we use don’t harm the environment. Q7: What are your comments on the national and local laws or regulations of your production of bamboo composite products? (Do you feel any national and local laws or regulations restrain or facilitate your production of bamboo composite products?) Yes. Before starting up the factory, a series of checks in laws and regulations are conducted, for example, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will check the factories to meet their relevant requirements.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Bamboo bicycle frames mainly, bamboo bikes, bamboo phone speakers, bamboo bicycle stands, and bamboo tricycles Q2: How do you comment on your raw material suppliers? What happens to you if changing them? (Do your suppliers rely on you? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) Local farmers rely more on us. We have other farmers to choose from. We did so, we often changed our raw materials suppliers, but as far as we know, they have not many other options. Besides, we have our plantation and it is expanding. We purchase bamboo raw materials from them once per year, so that we have large and sufficient inventory, and so that we needn’t rely on them. Q4: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? Yes, we already did so. We built our plantation and we are expanding it, one reason is that it is near to our factory, another reason is that once we access to raw materials directly, at any time when we need. Besides, we can get precise kinds and sizes of raw materials we want.

111

To build plantation will lead to a series of cost such as lands, management and so on; in spite of that, we are still expanding our plantation. Q5: On what scale or amount is your production? We produce more than 2500 units of bamboo frames and bicycle, 1000 bamboo bicycle stands, 1200 tricycles, 15000 bamboo phone speakers and over 2000 bamboo bicycle baskets a year. Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? Board, management team, and workers. Q7: What are your products’ advantages in your opinion? Compared to traditional metal bicycles, our bamboo bicycles are much lighter; our frames weigh between 2.5kg and 4kg depending on bike model and size. Secondly, all our bamboo frames are made by hand; that means, every bicycle is unique and has its story. Thirdly, our frames are robust enough. One customer has even ridden our bicycle to make a tour around West Africa. Q8: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? Yes, now we have 5-6 production lines and we are expanding them. Q9: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number? The number of customers is unknown. I can say that 2500 bicycle frames are totally sold and customers grow rapidly. Q10: To Whom do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly? Mainly the complete bicycle enterprises in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, USA, Canada, Switzerland and Australia. (B2B) There are still some but not many customers purchase our frames to assemble to complete bicycles by themselves. (B2C) Q11: in your opinion, why your customers purchase from your factory? Our customers, namely, the North American and West European customers like the products that possess the characteristics of innovative, environment- friendly, ‘‘green’’. Besides, our bamboo bicycles are quite light with robust quality. Especially, if the product is unique and has a story behind it, they will pay more for it. Q12: Do your customers frequently change in these three years? Relative stable. We produce the bamboo frames to our global partners; they assemble to complete bicycles and sell them. So our businesses are mostly B2B, so our relationships are stable. Q13: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo? 112

Mostly export to North American and West European complete bamboo bicycle producers. As far as we know, they also sell their complete bamboo bicycles to North American and West European customers. Bamboo bicycles are not cheap compared to traditional metal bicycles, so the Ghanaian domestic customers could not afford or will not prefer to buy a relative expensive bicycle, so the bamboo bicycle markets mainly mean North American and West European markets. Q14: Which countries or regions do you export? We currently have Distributors in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, USA, Canada, Switzerland and Australia. Q15: What were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? The bamboo bicycle frames we are selling to our distributors were keeping growing rapidly, for example, the ‘‘My Boo’’ in Germany. Hence, we can infer that they were also selling so well these years. Q16: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? Rapidly. The sales of bamboo frames to our partners were rising, so it is reasonable to infer that the sales of bamboo bicycles in North America and West Europe were also growing rapidly simultaneously. Q17: How your prices changed in these three years? The prices were at a stable level. We know the bamboo bicycles our partners sell are not cheap, but the customers would not only pay for products merely but also for social commitment. Q18: How do you think about the situation of competition with traditional industry? We should see the competitions as two part; one is the competition in Ghana, another is the competition in North American and West European market. In Ghana, the bamboo bicycles may haven’t advantaged in competition, because Ghanaian people’s consuming power is limited, they may wouldn’t pay for an expensive bicycle. Hence, the market for bamboo bicycles in Ghana is small. However, in North American and West European market, because the consumers would like to buy and the similar companies in these districts are not many and their scales are much smaller, for example, as we know, there is a certain German bamboo bicycle producer who only produces 50 bicycles per year. Hence, the competitions in North American and West European market are not intense for us. 113

Q19: How do you think about the situation of competition with similar companies? We are now one of the best producers in the bamboo industry. Compared to 2014, in which we started up the business, the competition nowadays becomes much intense. The enterprises in bamboo bicycle industry should always consider how to survive. Q20: How do your comment your competitors? As I know, in Ghana, a lot of new entrants have died in these years. There is a certain bamboo bicycle manufacturer located in Germany; it produces complete bicycle and sells in Germany, but it purchases its raw bamboo materials even from China. To import raw materials from China leads to troubles and too high costs. Besides, the labor price in Germany is much higher than that in Ghana. It produces about only 50 frames per year; so we never worry their competitive power. Q21: What are the advantages of your products? (competitive quality or cost leadership?) Quality. We choose high quality as our products’ competitive advantage. Q22: What are the advantages of your company? Our enterprise’s production of bamboo bicycle began as early as 2010. The advanced technology, the accumulating experience, the large scales and the very positive social image are our advantages; so we are totally confident in any competition in this bamboo bicycle industry. Q23: How do you comment on your company’s successful strategies? As mentioned above, technology, experience, existing scales, and image. If any new company plan to entrant into Ghanaian bamboo bicycle industry, it should consider the above factors, which are not easily achieved merely by means of capitals. Q24: How do you comment on the innovation of your company? We also keep thinking how to differentiate and keep innovating in this bamboo bicycle industry. Q25: How successfully is your company managed regarding modern enterprise management? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.)

114

We also attach importance to cost management, for example, we purchase a large amount of raw material once a year when price appropriate, which saves costs of materials and transport fees. On human resources, as mentioned, we possess an almost largest team of workers in this industry-- as many as 70 workers in factory and plantation. From the beginning till today, they possess now enough qualification. Besides, they have a high commitment to our company and think they are also important stakeholders in our company. Image management is the aspect we pay attention to as well. We have devoted ourselves to many social welfare programs, which help us to build a positive image. Besides, we try to make customers know that if they purchase our products, they not only contribute to the green industry to protect the earth but also do for the improvement of livelihood and education of poor children in rural districts in Ghana. As for distribution channel, that is also one of our successful strategies. We possess a wide network of distributors as business partners across many countries in North America and West Europe. We are in the industrial chain, we produce the mainframes of bicycles, and they assemble a complete bicycle to sell. To export a complete bicycle will cause high customs tax and transportation fees; so we find an optimal form of cooperation as B2B. Q26: How is your enterprise’s growth of technology on bamboo products and their processing? In the beginning, the initial idea was from the US in 2009. Now we have been developing the technologies by ourselves in Ghana for several years. We have no R&D center, but we have staff working on development and innovation. Q27: What is your distribution channel for selling? (e.g., online sales or stores) E-commerce. On our web page, there is also an online application system ‘‘how to become distributor’’, it is convenient for the new partner to participate in our industrial chain. Q28: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of market slow or fast as your observation?) It depends on the different market. In North America and West Europe, introduction phase is nearly finished and begin to enter the growth phase. Bamboo bicycles are brought to market for several years, the fundamental

115

technologies on them are basically settled down and the sales begin to increase faster. While in Africa, the bamboo bicycle industry is remaining in introduction phase, because the sales grow quite slowly.

•Objective 5: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? We are keeping expanding out production to take up the market share. Q2: How will your strategies develop in the future as your prediction? Maintain our current successful strategies. Now we sell complete bamboo bicycles in Ghana while export bamboo frames. In the future, we try to export some complete bicycles on our own. Q3: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? As for bamboo bicycle industry, especially bamboo bicycle mainframes, Ghana is one the advanced countries in the world. Ghana’s technological level has still gap with the world’s developed countries, so that has no advantage in R&D of bamboo bicycle, but Ghana is one of the earliest countries that entered into bamboo bicycle industry, for example, our company has possessed much experience in technology on producing bamboo frames. Besides, Ghana’s is appropriate bamboo origin because of its favorable weather and soil, that is its advantage compared to Europe, for example, German bamboo bicycle enterprises have to import raw bamboo material. Ghana also has an advantage in providing cheaper labor forces. The disadvantage is that the local bamboo bicycle market is small, while we can export the frames to the market we sell to. As a global seller, we have ambition to become one of the top bamboo bicycle frame producers.

Transcripts of Interview 8

Type of Organization : Bamboo charcoal producer Date: 20.11.2017 Interviewee profile: Enterprise Manager 116

Introduction: This bamboo charcoal producer is started up in 2014, which produces bamboo charcoal.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? From Ankobra in Western Region, near to our factory. Q2: Why do you choose these regions as your raw materials origin? There are plenty of natural bamboo stands and has a long history as a place of origin of bamboo. Q3: Who do you purchase your bamboo raw materials from? Natural bamboo stands, which supply natural bamboo raw materials. Q4: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Bambusa Vulgaris. Q5: What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase? Good quality; they know our detail requirements clearly such as size and we trust them.

•Objective 2: Q1: Why do you produce this/these bamboo composite products? We are establishing a modern philosophy of organic land using, introduce a new kind of sustainable solid bio-fuel and avoid deforestation, toxic exposure and greenhouse gases. Q2: In your opinion, who are the stakeholders of your company? The management team, partner on technology, partner on marketing, workers and so on. Q3: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? We create better livelihoods for local women, unemployed fishermen and so on. Q4: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years? It developed slowly. It was hard for bamboo charcoals to compete with wood charcoals.

•Objective 3:

117

Q1: How do the relevant policies facilitate your production? As far as I am concerned, the supports are not significant. As my suggestion, the government should educate bamboo stands how to manage the bamboo resources. Q2: Do you feel that your production is influenced by your monetary condition or Ghanaian economic situation? As our company is not of large-scale, the monetary condition is an important factor; due to it, we cannot grow so fast as we hope. Besides, the economic situation in Ghana is somewhat ‘‘down’’, so that there is no space for increasing our charcoal’s prices. Q3: How is the labor condition of your factory? Hard to get high qualified workers directly, so that we should train them. Q4: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? Our producing technology of bamboo charcoal is developed in Germany and applied in Ghana. The technology is normal in Germany whereas it seems advanced in Ghana. Q5: To what extent is the automation of your factory? In the production of bamboo charcoal, we apply machines from Germany. Q6: How do the environment and your bamboo factory influence each other, according to your opinion? We avoid deforestation and toxic exposure and contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. Besides, we promote waste management techniques to use waste for biogas projects and consolidate biodiversity in bio-fuel driven forestry projects. Q7: What are your comments on national and local laws or regulations of your production? (Do you feel any national and local laws or regulations restrain or facilitate your production?) As far as I am concerned, it is very time consuming to get all the documents you need to start the bamboo production and it is very hard to get the permit. Each year you have to work for a new permit.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Bamboo charcoal. Q2: How much bamboo material does your factory use per year? 118

600 tons. Q3: How do you comment on your raw material suppliers? What happens to you if changing them? (Do your suppliers rely on you? Do they supply their raw materials to any other purchasers as you know?) We do not change our suppliers. Our suppliers are always same because they know our requirements. Besides, we know and trust each other so that our corporation is stable. We are also meeting with suppliers to educate them what we need in detail. Q4: Do you plan to or why not set up a plantation by yourself? No. We possess our model plantation of small scale, which is merely for demonstration. We demonstrate a good sample of bamboo’s cultivation in it to the suppliers. We prefer to purchase from the bamboo stands instead of building our plantation as the supply of raw materials because it has low economies of scales. Q5: On what scale or amount is your production? 10-15 tons of bamboo charcoal. Q6: What are your organization structures and departments? We have a management team, of which the members take responsibilities for forestry and land usage, carbonization technology, project development, and marketing, etc. Q7: Do you plan to expand the sorts of bamboo composite products? Yes, we are planning to set up a wider range of bamboo products, we will go into the farming. Q8: Do your customers frequently change in these three years? No, they stay with us since the beginning. Q9: Do you, how and how much do you export your bamboo? No, the room of domestic market not developed yet is still big enough. Q10: What were growth rates of sales in these three years? Improved slowly. Q11: How do you think about the situation of competition with traditional industry? Comparing traditional wood charcoal and bamboo charcoal: bamboo charcoal possesses higher quality than wood charcoal in usage. The production of bamboo charcoal leads to a series of costs, whereas, wood charcoal can be

119

accessed almost without processing -- people just cut wood pieces down and directly use them. Hence, to compete with wood charcoal, bamboo charcoal has to be sold at a competitively low price, which means, the profit margins of bamboo charcoal business is severely reduced. Q12: How do you think about the situation of competition with similar companies? There are seldom similar enterprises in bamboo charcoal industry, so we feel low pressure from the same industry of bamboo charcoal in Ghana, but feel more pressure from traditional wood charcoal. Q13: How do your comment your competitors? As far as I am concerned, our company may be one of the largest companies in the bamboo charcoal industry. Q14: What are the advantages of your products? We are producing very healthy charcoal for a relatively good price. Q15: How do you comment on the technology and innovation of your company? Our technology is still advanced regarding Ghana, so we will not make significant changes. Q16: What is your distribution channel for selling? We both delivery products and let customers pick products in store by themselves. Q17: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline?) The industry of bamboo charcoal is in introduction phase in my opinion.

•Objective 5: Q1: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? We think if there is no restriction on the normal firewood, the bamboo charcoal will not be able to develop in Ghanaian market successfully. Only with support from the government, there will be a chance for this great product.

120

Transcripts of Interview 9

Type of Organization : Bamboo furniture manufacturer Date: 29.11.2017 Interviewee profile: Owner of this bamboo furniture enterprise Introduction: This tiny bamboo furniture enterprise produces handicrafts of cane and bamboo furniture with a small scale. In the gathering area of bamboo handicraft furniture workshops on Switchback Rd., Cantonment District, there are more than dozens of such enterprises with similar size distributed together.

•Objective 1: Q1: Which region do you purchase your bamboo raw materials mainly from? The Western, Ashanti or Central Region that outsides Accra. Q2: How do you purchase your bamboo raw materials? The sellers cut the bamboo from villages in Western, Ashanti or Central Region and carry them here to sell. They come once per month. Q3: What species of bamboo do you choose as your material? Why? We are all using one same common species; I think it is Bambusa Vulgaris. Q4: What are your comments on the raw materials you purchase? The sellers cut bamboo plants to sticks to sell. They just cut bamboo but do not grow, because, in the villages, there is a huge amount of bamboo forests. Hence, it is not necessary for them to grow anymore. I think the bamboo sticks they sell are cheap (about 3 Cedi per 10 meters) and we get them easily: we just wait here and they will come.

•Objective 2: Q1: What were the sales of bamboo products in these three years? About two bamboo chairs per week or 2-3 sets of furniture (a set contains one table and four chairs) per month. Q2: What are the changes in your and other people’s daily lives after starting up the bamboo products factory? Some local young men find their jobs. Q3: How do you comment on the bamboo industry these years?

121

It developed slowly; we have now still low level of processing technology and a not large amount of sales.

•Objective 3: Q1: How is the labor condition of your factory? We hire workers and teach them how to process bamboo furniture. As I know, several workers of other enterprises have been to China to learn skills last year. Q2: How the technologies facilitate and support your production? (To what extent is the automation of your factory?) We can process bamboo furniture totally by hands. The first step of processing will be faster if using some small machines to help prepare raw materials such as making them smooth, but at present, my enterprise and the other enterprises have no machine. We know one or two enterprises’ artisans have purchased machines from China when they were there last year, but at present, they also haven’t applied them in processing.

•Objective 4: Q1: What kinds are your bamboo composite products? Handicrafts of bamboo chairs, tables, and baskets. Q2: How are the prices of your raw material? The prices are often 3 Cedi / 10 meters and are always stable with slight fluctuation. In the month of Christmas, the price will rise to 3.5 Cedi / 10 meters. The reason is that some Christmas baskets are made from bamboo so that in the month of Christmas the demands of raw bamboo rise. However, even the demands of bamboo rise much, the rise of price is still not so significant, merely 0.5 Cedi / 10 meters. What’s more, we can buy more raw bamboo before Christmas because we know the rule. Q3: Do you have a plan or why not set up a plantation by yourself? No, we needn’t, it is totally not necessary, as the supply of raw bamboo materials is easily accessible and sufficient. Q4: On what scale is your production? We produce according to the orders of customers or estimating the needs. Hence, the scale of production is the number of sales above mentioned. Q5: What are your organization structures and departments?

122

We are all small workshops: one owner and several workers. Q6: What are your products’ advantages in your opinion? We produce similar products as you can see here. Q7: Do you plan to extend to more kinds of bamboo composite products? No. Q8: What is the number of your customers and its growth of the number? The growth of customers was slow these years. Q9: Who do you sell your bamboo composite products mainly to? They come personally to select and take furniture by themselves. Q10: Do your customers frequently change in these three years? Yes. They are normal individual consumers. Q11: Do you and how do you export your bamboo? No, we do not export. Currently, the quality has not reached the level that can be exported. As we know, China is exporting bamboo products in global market. Q12: What were the growth rates of sales in these three years? The sales grew so slowly or almost stayed stable in the past recent years. Q13: How your prices changed in these three years? The prices did not change apparently. The bamboo chair is about 200 Cedi, a set of furniture (one table and four chairs) is about 1200 Cedi, a bamboo basket is 20 Cedi. Q14: How do you think about the situation of competition with similar companies? We are roughly identical in production scale and employed workers as you see here, so the competition is somewhat intense and thus our products’ prices are almost same. Q15: How do you comment on the innovation of your products? As far as I am concerned, I have no plan to expand my products’ sorts. Q16: How successfully is your company managed? (These aspects include cost management, human resources management, image management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, price management, distribution channels, etc.) We are all tiny enterprises, so currently we do not consider much about image management of the enterprise. We all attach importance to cost management, workers’ training. As for supply chain management, we consider little, because the purchasing of raw bamboo

123

is easy. As for distribution channels, the customers come here to buy furniture, so we also consider little distribution channels. Q17: How is the growth of technology of your enterprise on bamboo products? We look forward to sending our workers next time to the training course in China when it is held again and maybe we will let our artisan buy small machines in China to help process raw bamboo sticks. Q18: In which phase is the market currently in your opinion? (Introduction, Growth, Maturity or Decline? Is the growth of market slow or fast?) As far as I am concerned, Ghanaian bamboo furniture industry just began its development in recent years and it is just in the phase introduction, while as I know, in China, Japan and so on, the bamboo furniture industry has been already in maturity phase. •Objective 5: Q1: How will your production develop in the future as your prediction? The amount of production will grow gradually. Q2: How will you develop your strategy in the future as your prediction? As for the strategy of my workshop’s development, I think most important is improving the technology of production. Q3: Last but not least, we would like to know your points of view and predictions. What are your comments on the future of Ghanaian bamboo industry? The Ghanaian bamboo furniture industry has potential, as there is still much room for improvement, especially in technology.

Transcripts of Interview 10

Type of Organization: Secretariat of Bamboo and Rattan Development Program of Ghana Interviewees: The Officials of BADADEP Date: 16.10.2017- 30.12.2017

Q1: How is the current situation of bamboo resources in Ghana? Most of bamboo plants exist in Ghana as natural forests instead of plantation;

124

we are now educating rural citizens on bamboo nursery. Q2: How are the species of bamboo in Ghana? Different species of bamboo in Ghana possess respective characteristics, which vary in hardness, height and color, etc. Therefore, different species serve as diverse usages from construction materials, furniture materials to decorative plants in Ghana. Q3: How is the distribution situation of bamboo in Ghana? The distribution is distributed throughout almost the whole country. We have explored many villages and communities in some Regions and we can offer the data of bamboo endowed areas in Ghana (Appendix V). Q4: How are the raw materials of bamboo supplied? The cultivation and harvest of bamboo are in the form of natural bamboo stands. Q5: When did the bamboo industries start their developments in Ghana? The manufacturing of bamboo furniture started in Ghana as lately as the 1990s. Before the 1990s people almost didn’t know about bamboo’s application and applied bamboo merely as fences. Since the 2000s, people have started to use bamboo as furniture, but was still in relatively low technical level in processing and had limited sorts at that time. It is since the 2010s that production of bamboo furniture grew gradually in a considerable level of technology in production. The bamboo charcoal industry also began its development merely 4 to 5 years ago. Q6: What are activities undertaken by BARADEP secretariat? For example, the activities undertaken by BARADEP secretariat are: • Community education on the potentials of bamboo; • Community training on bamboo nursery technology; • Community education on the need to plant bamboo along water bodies to safeguard water supply; • Community training on the scientific management of natural bamboo stands; • Industrial processing and utilization of bamboo as alternative materials to wood. Q7: What are the supportive parties or institutions in Ghanaian bamboo industry? The government of Ghana, the government of China and INBAR. The government of Ghana is funding our work plan every year. The government of China holds training courses and provides a grant of 2 million USD as a non- 125

profit foundation to Ghanaian government to support the development of bamboo industry, such as capacity building. INBAR supports BARADEP in international cooperations. Q8: How do you comment on the Chinese training program on bamboo furniture processing? The courses not only improved Ghanaian artisans’ skills of processing bamboo furniture but also widened the horizon of Ghanaian producers on the technology of utilization of bamboo and illustrated the great potential of bamboo industry. The trained artisans bring their learned skills back to Ghana and spread the technics to more artisans. Besides, the artisans can also start up their own bamboo workshops, hire and teach more workers so that their livelihoods are improved and more jobs are created. Q9: How are the regulations in Ghanaian bamboo industry? At present, there is few restriction in bamboo industry. Bamboo can be cut when it is needed; after cutting, some token fees are charged as a conveyance. Q10: How are the environmental conditions in Ghana for bamboo industry? The cultivation of bamboo should consider the conditions of land with good drainage, adequate rainfall, appropriate soil, etc. Ghana can provide ideal conditions.

Appendix IV

Result of the Survey

Question Question Question Question Question Question Question Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 4 3 1 1 1 1 4 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 5 4 4 5 2 1 1 1 4 5 5 1 2 1 1 1 4 6 4 2 1 1 1 1 2

126

7 3 5 4 1 1 2 2 8 4 3 2 1 1 1 4 9 4 2 2 1 1 1 5 10 3 4 1 1 1 2 4 11 4 2 1 2 1 1 4 12 5 3 2 1 1 1 4 13 4 2 1 1 1 1 4 14 4 1 3 1 1 1 5 15 3 2 2 1 1 1 4 16 4 4 1 1 1 1 4 17 3 1 5 1 1 1 5 18 4 2 1 1 1 1 4 19 4 4 4 1 1 2 5 20 4 3 3 1 1 1 5 21 4 3 2 1 1 1 4 22 4 5 2 1 1 2 4 23 3 2 2 1 1 1 5 24 4 2 1 1 1 1 4 25 4 1 2 1 1 2 5 26 3 3 5 1 1 1 4 27 4 5 2 1 1 1 4 28 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 29 4 1 2 1 1 2 4 30 4 2 3 1 1 1 5 31 5 3 2 1 1 2 4 32 3 5 1 1 1 1 4 33 3 2 3 1 1 1 4 34 4 5 1 1 1 1 2 35 3 1 1 1 1 3 4 36 5 1 3 1 1 1 4 37 3 2 4 1 1 1 4 38 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 39 5 1 2 1 1 2 4 40 4 1 2 1 1 1 4 41 4 1 3 1 1 1 5 42 3 1 3 1 1 1 5 43 3 2 1 1 1 1 3 44 4 1 1 1 1 2 4 45 3 3 1 1 1 1 4 46 4 5 2 1 1 1 3 47 3 3 2 1 1 1 5 48 4 2 1 1 1 3 3 49 3 4 2 1 1 1 4 50 5 2 2 1 1 1 2 51 4 4 1 1 1 2 4 52 4 2 3 1 1 3 4 53 3 2 1 1 1 1 2

127

54 3 1 2 1 1 1 5 55 5 2 2 1 1 1 4

Appendix V

LIST OF BAMBOO ENDOWED AREAS IN GHANA

Field visits and sensitization workshops conducted by staff of BARADEP to some parts of the country, indications are that bamboo and rattan resources are endowed in the listed areas.

REGION SOME SPECIFIC TOWNS/VILLAGES WESTERN Asankraguaa Akyekyere Tarkwa Axim Kekam Essiama Bakanta Eikwe Beku Atuabo Beyin Kanga Twenene Bonyere Ahobre Old Edobo Tikobo No.1 Tikobo No.2 Nkroful Apataim Dadwen Abra Nsuaem Ayiem Mpohor Huniiso Manso Amenfi Ataase Kokum Nkwanta Bandae Prestea Heman Bawdie Nkunsia Maseaso 128

Asante Krom Gyomuro Adwum Kwawu Boinso Huitimbo Gyema Tanasa Elubo Nkwanta Alenda Yankoman Dadieso Ameya Juabeso Antabia Ahebenso Asempanaye Nsinsin Ateso Yakase Yamatwa Kaase Adabakurom ASHANTI New Abofuom, Kyiraburaso Hwiremoase (Adansi East) Merenhwe Kyeaboso Medoma Essan Nkwanta Ankaase Aduam Abesewa Bekwai Denyaase Anwia Nkwanta Kokoben Dominase Adjamesu Pakyi No.1 Pakyi No.2 Kofui Ahenemasa Kokoben Santase Mfensi Fawoman Asonomaso Jamasi Kasamu Ejura Juabeng(State Farm) Juabeng Asotwe

129

Beredi Koforidua Asankare Ejisu Boankra Adansi Nobewam Konongo Domase Yawkwei Atwedae CENTRAL Batanyaa Taidi Impiro Abaka Edumfa Abora Dunkwa Abora Kwadoegya Fante Nyankomasi Katakyiase Buabeng Twifo Praso Twifo Mampong Nyamebekyere Aasin Manso Assin Foso Abora Dunkwa Nyamebekyere Assin Nyankumase Awisam Kuhyea Besease Hasowodze Dominase Ajumako Abodom Achiasi Otinkoran Jamra Buaben EASTERN Kwahu Fodoa Kwahu Newtown Nkaase Framoase Jejeti Anyinam Asamang Nsawam Aburi Ahyirensua Osino Anyinasi Aboabo Akooko Apedwa Ankaase-Suhum

130

Kyekyewere Adagyire Asamankese Oda Pramkese Osenase Akwatia Asuom Akropong Akim swedru Abirem Mamanso Nkwatia Prasokuma Akoasi Begoro Aduamoah Abompe Kade Asuanafo Bechem BRONG AHAFO Duayaw Nkwanta Tanoso Yamfo Susuanso Atronie Nsuatre

Confirmed reports also indicate that Savannah bamboo is in abundance in the three northern regions. The staff of BARADEP secretariat is yet to carry sensitization workshop in those areas and also to ascertain the realities on the ground.

Appendix VI

Picture Gallery

Relevant pictures about this research program and Ghanaian bamboo industry are demonstrated in this appendix.

131

Picture 1: Bamboo clumps as raw materials (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

Picture 2: An artisan is preparing bamboo raw materials (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

132

Picture 3: An artisan is processing a bamboo bench (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

Picture 4: A set of bamboo furniture made in Ghana (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

133

Picture 5: Bamboo chairs in a workshop (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

Picture 6: Bamboo chopsticks (source: BARADEP of Ghana)

134

Picture 7: Bamboo furniture workshops and market on Switchback Rd., Cantonment District, Accra (source: photo is taken by author)

Picture 8: Bamboo and rattan sofa, box and artworks. The artworks are made by rattan and leftover bamboo materials. (source: photo is taken by author)

135

Picture 9: Bamboo bicycle (source: Bamboo Bikes Initiative124)

Picture 10: Bamboo charcoal and briquettes (source: Global Bamboo Products Limited125)

124 Bamboo Bikes Initiative, Shop, http://ghanabamboobikes.org/shop/ 125 Global Bamboo Products Limited, http://globalbambooproducts.com/products/ 136

Picture 11: Workers and their bamboo bicycle frames of company International Booomers in Ghana (source: International Booomers126)

Picture 12: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was trying bicycle of a Ghanaian bamboo bicycle enterprise in 2013 (source: Bamboo Bikes Initiative127)

126 International Booomers, http://booomers.com/socialcommitment/ 127 http://ghanabamboobikes.org/ 137

Picture 13: Kick-off meeting of research program: the Project Coordinator of the German- African- Partnership Platform and Supervisor of this research program Mr. Syed Afraz Gillani (the second from right); the Founding Directors Mr. Alexander Demisse and Mr. Moritz Weigel of the China-Africa-Advisory (the first and second from left); the researcher and this dissertation’s author Mr. Bo Lin (the first from right).

138

Authorship Information

This dissertation The Preliminary Exploration and Analysis of Bamboo Industry in the Macro and Micro Environment of Ghana is prepared by Bo Lin, the double bachelor of Business Administration of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences of Germany and Hunan University of China. The referred quotations, authors and institutions have been noted in the article.

Bonn, Germany

25.04.2018

139