Sunday, October 15, 2017

Business Model Canvas

New sources of funding, new actors and new technologies are quickly changing the landscape of the sector. Currently, not for profit sector is transitioning their operating and/or business models. For transitions to happen successfully, they must look at the historic perspective of why their enterprise is developed in the way that it did and at the same time look at the anticipated future trends. To go through the evolutionary change, there is need of a design thinking for analysis. Business Model Canvas is the ultimate framework for this purpose.

Business Model Canvas represents a business model or business case with nine simple building blocks, including customer segments, channels, and relationships; value proposition, key activities, resources and partners; cost structure and revenue streams. The canvas therefore combines the financial viability of a solution with its usability and feasibility. This tool helps the manager to focus on what’s driving the business and value deliverance.

Professor D V Ramana will explain the whole concept in a simple video under seven minutes for the readers.


It is developed for analyzing and developing models in the for-profit sector. Judith Sanderse did analyze the potential usage of the Business Canvas for the case of NGOs in an academic paper. We can view the changes made in the tool for non profit sector.

To sum it up, the Business Model Canvas can be utilized in various ways during the Design Thinking modes. This tool can be used from Grassroots interventionists to portfolio managers of impact investment funds on focusing on the business management, development strategies and local economy analysis. Readers may read more on the topic through the book called Business Model Generation written by from Alex Osterwalder.