This case won the Outstanding Case Writer Competition category at The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2022. #CaseAwards2022
View photos and video from the awards presentation on 28 April 2022.
Who – the protagonist
Lesley Silverthorn Marincola was the CEO and founder of technology company, Angaza. Also on the leadership team were her brother and CTO Bryan Silverthorn, and COO Victoria Arch.
What?
Angaza is a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology company allowing those in developing countries access to products such as solar lights and cookstoves. Their technology has enabled the sale of almost one million solar products to those without access to the electricity grid and, in 2018, they were the recipient of the prestigious Skoll Award for Entrepreneurship and were awarded $1.25 million to drive sustainable large-scale change.
Why?
The company had changed dramatically since it was founded by Lesley in 2010. Originally a solar light manufacturer for those in East African countries, the company had pivoted from making hardware to becoming a software company. Its PAYG software, which allowed customers to pay for products in instalments and top up their energy credit with their mobile phones, became the focus of the business. This pivot took them from developing their own products to working with manufacturers to integrate Angaza technology into all kinds of new products in many different markets.
When?
The case is set after Angaza received the Skoll Award in 2018, eight years after the company was founded.
Where?
Angaza is based in Silicon Valley in the US. Its primary target market was East African countries, such as Tanzania and Kenya, where a high percentage of the population had no access to the electricity grid. Recent expansions, however, had seen the company’s technology sold in products in West Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Key quote
What next?
Lesley and her leadership team had received a sizable amount of money and needed to decide how to grow Angaza further. Should the company expand into other markets? Were there other products and services the company could branch into? Certainly, there was still much more impact to be made but there was also the option of selling the company and exiting altogether.
This is the first case award for both Vanina and Shih-Han but an extraordinary 42nd win for IMD, although it is their first award in the Outstanding Case Writer category.
Winning the award
The authors said: “We are both extremely excited that our case has been chosen as the winning case for The Case Centre’s Outstanding Case Writer Competition. Winning with this case is for us a validation of the value of storytelling as pedagogy, and also recognition for the key themes we touch on in the case. We try to use elements of story writing in the case so students can embark on a discovery journey. We strive to show, not tell.
“Additionally, this case features a female entrepreneur who was able to marry impact with profit. We hope that cases about social entrepreneurship and female protagonists become a staple feature in business schools in the near future.”
Case popularity
They continued: “We have tried to write the case so that it resonates with students while at the same time being versatile enough that instructors can use it to teach a myriad of topics. There are interesting protagonists with whom students can identify with (similar age and educational background), challenges to overcome, and a non-linear entrepreneurial journey. The case is also one of hope, and Angaza shows that business as a force for good is not a dream.
“On the pedagogical side, the case is quite flexible and can be used to teach various topics such as philanthropic impact investment/venture philanthropy, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy and leadership. We have put in lots of effort into the teaching note and we hope this helps fellow instructors in their preparation to teach the case.”
Writing the case
Vanina said: “Lesley’s energy is very infectious. When you see the dedication and passion from an entrepreneur, you want to do justice to his or her journey. The challenge for us was to reserve a bit of distance when writing the case and present the story in such a way as not to bias the students.”
Case writing advice
The authors explained: “First, always start with the learning objectives in mind and how it fits into the course you want to teach. With Angaza, we knew we wanted to teach the business model canvas and entrepreneurial personality.
“Second, we found cases that work well are those that have a hint of cognitive dissonance – an unexpected twist, so to say. In this case: How did a Stanford-educated Caucasian woman come up with a product that serves the off-grid market in Africa? How do you go from designing solar lamps, to providing pay-as-you-go software, to harnessing data?
“Finally, we can’t emphasise enough: ‘show, don’t tell.’ Cases are not descriptive reports. For us, they are a journey for the reader. Let the characters and their actions speak for themselves so savvy students join the dots.”
Teaching the case
They reflected: “This is a super fun case to teach. This case puts a lot of traditional business skills into a social enterprise context. It enables student to realise that business as a force for good is possible. We’ve seen the case open students’ mind and imagination. Students who wanted to start their own businesses have come to us and said they were inspired to explore their businesses’ potential to make a positive impact.”
Final word
They conclude: “We would love to do a part two of the case! Lesley and Angaza’s story has evolved significantly since the case was written.”
This competition was judged by Lipika Bhattacharya, Singapore Management University; Felipe Caro, UCLA Anderson School of Management; Antonio Dávila, IESE Business School; and Richard McCracken, The Case Centre.
“The case is extremely well written and illustrates a captivating story of a start-up firm founded by a female entrepreneur. What makes the case even more interesting is its backdrop of a solar light product in East Africa, and the innovative use of the PAYG business model to make it a viable product for its target end users.
“This is a brilliant case study in terms of the concepts covered, and the juxtaposition of the role of businesses in developing economies and the as-a-service model within an ecosystem of partnerships. This is also a unique and inspiring story of how entrepreneurs can venture into a socially motivated entrepreneurship with an efficient business model, and how female entrepreneurs can successfully venture into markets which do not necessarily service only female consumers. Kudos to the authors for putting together this incredibly well researched and relevant case study.
“The case is also has an excellent supporting video resource and a fully comprehensive and well-resourced teaching note that offers all the support teachers could wish for.”
The case
Who – the protagonist
Lesley Silverthorn Marincola was the CEO and founder of technology company, Angaza. Also on the leadership team were her brother and CTO Bryan Silverthorn, and COO Victoria Arch.
What?
Angaza is a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology company allowing those in developing countries access to products such as solar lights and cookstoves. Their technology has enabled the sale of almost one million solar products to those without access to the electricity grid and, in 2018, they were the recipient of the prestigious Skoll Award for Entrepreneurship and were awarded $1.25 million to drive sustainable large-scale change.
Why?
The company had changed dramatically since it was founded by Lesley in 2010. Originally a solar light manufacturer for those in East African countries, the company had pivoted from making hardware to becoming a software company. Its PAYG software, which allowed customers to pay for products in instalments and top up their energy credit with their mobile phones, became the focus of the business. This pivot took them from developing their own products to working with manufacturers to integrate Angaza technology into all kinds of new products in many different markets.
When?
The case is set after Angaza received the Skoll Award in 2018, eight years after the company was founded.
Where?
Angaza is based in Silicon Valley in the US. Its primary target market was East African countries, such as Tanzania and Kenya, where a high percentage of the population had no access to the electricity grid. Recent expansions, however, had seen the company’s technology sold in products in West Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Key quote
What next?
Lesley and her leadership team had received a sizable amount of money and needed to decide how to grow Angaza further. Should the company expand into other markets? Were there other products and services the company could branch into? Certainly, there was still much more impact to be made but there was also the option of selling the company and exiting altogether.
Author perspective
This is the first case award for both Vanina and Shih-Han but an extraordinary 42nd win for IMD, although it is their first award in the Outstanding Case Writer category.
Winning the award
The authors said: “We are both extremely excited that our case has been chosen as the winning case for The Case Centre’s Outstanding Case Writer Competition. Winning with this case is for us a validation of the value of storytelling as pedagogy, and also recognition for the key themes we touch on in the case. We try to use elements of story writing in the case so students can embark on a discovery journey. We strive to show, not tell.
“Additionally, this case features a female entrepreneur who was able to marry impact with profit. We hope that cases about social entrepreneurship and female protagonists become a staple feature in business schools in the near future.”
Case popularity
They continued: “We have tried to write the case so that it resonates with students while at the same time being versatile enough that instructors can use it to teach a myriad of topics. There are interesting protagonists with whom students can identify with (similar age and educational background), challenges to overcome, and a non-linear entrepreneurial journey. The case is also one of hope, and Angaza shows that business as a force for good is not a dream.
“On the pedagogical side, the case is quite flexible and can be used to teach various topics such as philanthropic impact investment/venture philanthropy, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy and leadership. We have put in lots of effort into the teaching note and we hope this helps fellow instructors in their preparation to teach the case.”
Writing the case
Vanina said: “Lesley’s energy is very infectious. When you see the dedication and passion from an entrepreneur, you want to do justice to his or her journey. The challenge for us was to reserve a bit of distance when writing the case and present the story in such a way as not to bias the students.”
Case writing advice
The authors explained: “First, always start with the learning objectives in mind and how it fits into the course you want to teach. With Angaza, we knew we wanted to teach the business model canvas and entrepreneurial personality.
“Second, we found cases that work well are those that have a hint of cognitive dissonance – an unexpected twist, so to say. In this case: How did a Stanford-educated Caucasian woman come up with a product that serves the off-grid market in Africa? How do you go from designing solar lamps, to providing pay-as-you-go software, to harnessing data?
“Finally, we can’t emphasise enough: ‘show, don’t tell.’ Cases are not descriptive reports. For us, they are a journey for the reader. Let the characters and their actions speak for themselves so savvy students join the dots.”
Teaching the case
They reflected: “This is a super fun case to teach. This case puts a lot of traditional business skills into a social enterprise context. It enables student to realise that business as a force for good is possible. We’ve seen the case open students’ mind and imagination. Students who wanted to start their own businesses have come to us and said they were inspired to explore their businesses’ potential to make a positive impact.”
Final word
They conclude: “We would love to do a part two of the case! Lesley and Angaza’s story has evolved significantly since the case was written.”
Judges viewpoint
This competition was judged by Lipika Bhattacharya, Singapore Management University; Felipe Caro, UCLA Anderson School of Management; Antonio Dávila, IESE Business School; and Richard McCracken, The Case Centre.
“The case is extremely well written and illustrates a captivating story of a start-up firm founded by a female entrepreneur. What makes the case even more interesting is its backdrop of a solar light product in East Africa, and the innovative use of the PAYG business model to make it a viable product for its target end users.
“This is a brilliant case study in terms of the concepts covered, and the juxtaposition of the role of businesses in developing economies and the as-a-service model within an ecosystem of partnerships. This is also a unique and inspiring story of how entrepreneurs can venture into a socially motivated entrepreneurship with an efficient business model, and how female entrepreneurs can successfully venture into markets which do not necessarily service only female consumers. Kudos to the authors for putting together this incredibly well researched and relevant case study.
“The case is also has an excellent supporting video resource and a fully comprehensive and well-resourced teaching note that offers all the support teachers could wish for.”
