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Student Challenge
Welcome to the motor-vehicle world. The Institute
for Affordable Transportation needs your help to
jumpstart an industry for the benefit of rural
people in developing countries. One of the highest
callings of an engineer is to create a product that
helps low-income people improve their standard of
living. If you transform a complex product into a
simple one, you indeed have a financial engine. Add
fuel (the free market system) and you will change
the world.
Like the telephone or the light bulb, the automobile
benefits a tremendously diverse group of businesses
and people. Its value came from raw usefulness. In
the beginning, the automobile was very simple. As
the car became more complex, it became a stranger to
the needs of the developing world, especially rural
Africa. At pivotal times, the USA with had an
appropriate vehicle…the Model T, the Jeep, etc. The
entire continent of Africa needs an appropriate
motor vehicle for doing the grunt work of building
the rural economies of Africa.
You have a HUGE challenge…it is very difficult for a
first-world engineer to develop a product for the
developing world (especially one not needed in the
first world). Development workers sometimes
criticize “appropriate technology” for good reason.
There are countless of not-so-appropriate projects
rusting away in the developing world. The engineer
lacks knowledge of the culture, values, local
resources, users, and applications.
However, if engineers develop a simple “platform”,
and allow the regions to customize it, a powerful
synergy emerges. We are asking you to create the
“platform”, the BUV standard upon which thousands of
micro-factories will base their local products.
If the design of the product is free of charge to
village manufacturers, they can compete against
large foreign companies. The large companies’ volume
advantage is offset by negligible development costs,
low duty costs, typically lower labor costs.
Furthermore, the micro-factories are much more
nimble and can quickly responds to local needs.
Whereas the auto was a grand increase in performance
versus the ox cart. A BUV is a step back, but with a
grand increase in affordability, not to mention
job-creation. BUVs represent an opportunity to earn
financial resources, access education, and enable
further development.
Let’s talk about needs and wants. As consumers, we
are accustomed to a model where the seller profits
and the buyer has fun. We must transform our
thinking from the world of wants to the world of
needs, especially business needs. Concerning
business needs, if a product truly adds value, the
seller profits, and the buyer profits also by
utilizing the product. Your design must be
intelligent in its simplicity, intuitive in use, and
obvious in value to business owners…thus a clear
business need.
Your task is much more difficult than you realize.
We are challenging you to change the world. History
abounds with revolutions. The vast majority of
peaceful ones have started with technical people
like yourself. Start a revolution!
All
rights reserved.
Copyright
© 2001 Institute for Affordable Transportation.
Revised:
June 17, 2007
webmaster@drivebuv.org
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