Rice MBAs Find Markets for Their Products

Incubators are expensive, requiring expensive repair and maintenance.

by Gale Wiley

Wednesday, March 5, 2009

Teams spread out to the countryside today to see rural Rwandan clinics and hospitals firsthand. Other teams met with government officials, suppliers, contractors, and an agency that certifies medical products and drugs.

As the incubator team learned that its Rwandan-built prototype would be ready Thursday, they bought electrical supplies (four light bulbs, sockets, wiring, and switches) on the local economy to create the incubator's simple heating circuitry. In their hotel, students crafted a crude test circuit (it worked!) and a final circuit for delivery to the Rwandan craftsmen Thursday morning.

Health workers at rural clinics say they need a cheap, easy-to-repair, locally made incubator. Some said they would place orders once they saw a working prototype.

"We hope to create jobs for Rwandans with our product," said an incubator team member. "A locally supplied incubator that's easy to repair has high interest here."

The backpack team faced tough grilling from a government medical official who wanted to know why Rwanda would need a diagnostic lab in a backpack when the country already had lab facilities scattered strategically through Rwanda. The remained confident they would find a market niche for their product, a belief that was supported Wednesday night when two NGOs expressed strong interest in the backpack.

Thursday the backpack team was asked to demo their product.

The dosing device and nutrient powder teams continue to meet with officials and medical experts at every level. Wednesday night the dosing team learned that at least one hospital administrator saw great potential for a device that would give precise doses.