Overcoming significant challenges
It is one thing to set a vision for planned growth, but another entirely to make sure the strategy is achievable and allows for gradual and sustainable development. Unless the strategy is deliverable, it is worthless.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in emerging gas markets, where gas distribution companies face significant challenges in converting latent demand into connected customers with secure revenue streams. In those circumstances, a slight misjudgment or one overly ambitious move can ruin an entire strategic plan.
Planning expansion and investment
Our client was a successful gas distribution business in West Africa that had recently been bought by an international private equity investor. Its plan was to grow the business through national and international expansion, as well as through investment in new business areas. But it did not want the expansion and investment to have a significant impact on the overall risk profile of the business.
We worked with the CEO and members of the senior management team over a six months period to build a new strategy and business plan that would deliver growth while maintaining existing levels of risk.
We held workshops in our client’s offices to explore the vision for the business, then identify potential market areas in which the business could expand. These ideas were developed into specific investment opportunities, which we evaluated and ranked according to a range of criteria, including potential risk and reward, deliverability and scale.
Realising achievable successes
With the planned growth all due to take place in emerging markets, it was vital to ensure the business plan remained grounded in what was realistic at each stage of the expansion and investment.
The result was a series of immediate priorities designed to focus business development activities in both the existing and new business areas. Implementing these priority initiatives has delivered significant early successes in the 12 months since implementation and set our client’s business on the way to the sustainable growth it needs.
