Demystifying Business Models - An IoT Example

The Africa Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence Challenge is a regional capacity-building and pre-incubation program for Senior University Students and Startups that have innovative ideas in the areas of Internet of Things (IoT) & Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related fields to enable and leverage a smart future.

The challenge is not just a competition, it’s a digital transformation movement, that’s why it delivers training and workshops to the participants and provides them with all the needed support. After the training, participants compete in local finals, then winners from each country get qualified to the regional finals to compete for the African title.

As part of the program, IEEE Entrepreneurship organized a discussion concentrating on Demystifying Business Models with a specific focus on an example in IoT using the Lean Business Model Canvas.

Most engineers or scientists understand the concept of using a model to simulate real-world events.

Entrepreneurs and Investors use business models to explore possible markets, size them, and understand the value of their product and business. These are the crucial first steps in understanding if your idea can make money –is it a business, a hobby, or a charity?

This talk explains the fundamentals of taking an idea to market and deciding what business model decisions are necessary to develop the idea into a profitable product. The talk covers Innovation, Business Model Decisions, Product vs. Service Models, Market Identification, Prototyping, and Business Case Development.

The goal of the Demystifying Series is to provide real-world knowledge and advice from those who have both knowledge and experience on the topic. Each conversation aims to offer valuable insight to entrepreneurial start-ups and to dispel general misconceptions.