The PV Grading System

 

Personal Identification with Photographs

PV has a simple registration system to identify people. Each participant is photographed individually. This photograph is filed with each person’s registration form. Identification is quite a problem in the rural areas. Many financial institutions, especially the Rural Development Bank, find it impossible to collect debts in the rural areas because they have no positive identification system.

One of the purposes of photographs is to implement the EDTC Personal Viability Grading system.

 

Access to Credit

Financial Institutions, traditionally, approve business loans based on the viability of a business. It is therefore essential to do a detailed feasibility study on a proposed business venture. to determine it’s viability.

However, PV advocates the viability of the entrepreneur is equally as important, if not more so, as business viability. The best car in the world is useless in the hands of someone who does not know how to drive.

EDTC Personal Viability Grading is much more than, though similar to, a personal credit rating because it is a track record of personal productivity, financial capability, service customers needs and completion of all commitments within a given period of time.

It is a measure of a person’s capabilities. It was designed (among other things) for the assessment of business loan applications. In this situation, proper identification is crucial and an integral part of this grading system.

At this point in time, it must be pointed out that PV does not advocate giving credit to people who do not have a personal viability grading.

Access to specific amounts or limits of credit are in proportion to a person’s viability grading. In other words, the more viable a person the more he can borrow from financial institutions.

 

A Licence to Drive a Business

EDTC Personal Viability Grading was developed to measure a person’s viability (or capabilities). It is likened to our driver’s license system where we have class 1 to 6 depending on the type of vehicle we wish to drive. We start from class 1 and work our way upward to drive bigger and heavier vehicles.

EDTC Personal Viability Grading works the same way. We start from the livelihood or informal sector. Here we learn to organise family members (about 1-10 people) to implement subsistence or livelihood activities to satisfy family needs.

 

Value-Added Principle

EDTC Personal Viability measures five (5) aspects of the Value-Added Principle.

·     Productivity – The ability to generate sufficient income required to satisfy family needs. The amount of money required for family needs forms the base figure. After this base figure, each level of grading is measured in multiples of family needs or the minimum amount whichever is the greater. (Refer Scheme of Self-Reliance Chart)

·     Economy – the ability to save money and use it for their own benefits.

·     Teamwork – The ability to motivate others and work in harmony for maximum output. Not everyone is involved in business. To cater for all types of human activities, we measure personal viability by our organisational ability.

·     Service – the ability to give service to customers and others.

·     Integrity – the ability to complete commitments within specified time frames.

 

 

EDTC Personal Viability Grading Chart

 

GRADING	PRODUCTIVITY	ECONOMY	LAW OF SUCCESS		INTEGRITY
			Teamwork	Repeat Customers
GOLD	Assets to produce 4 times Family Needs or K150,000 per year whichever the greater	Save & invest over 15% of yearly income	The successful organization of over 100 people	91%-100% repeat customers	91%-100% completion of commitments on time over 12 months
SILVER	Assets to produce 3 times Family Needs or K100,000 per year whichever the greater	Save & invest 11% - 15% of yearly income	The successful organization of 31-100 people	81%-90% repeat customers	81%-90% completion of commitments on time over 6 months
BRONZE	Assets to produce 2 times Family Needs or K50,000 per year whichever the greater	Save & invest 6% - 10% of  yearly income	The successful organization of 11-30 people	71%-80% repeat customers	71%-80% completion of commitments on time over 3 months
PROVISIONAL	Assets to produce sufficient income to maintain family. In the case of single children, sufficient income for self-maintenance.	Save & invest 1% - 5% of  yearly income	The successful organization of family members to produce for family needs	61%-70% repeat customers to buy goods & services	61%-70% completion of commitments on time over 1 month

 

Provisional Level

If a person is successful in organising family members to work in harmony and satisfy family needs using the four Disciplines of growth, he/she obtains a PROVISIONAL GRADING in Personal Viability.

This informal or micro sector usually engages in subsistence farming and other livelihood activities.

Livelihood activities include subsistence farming of vegetables, root crops and tree crops; chicken, ducks & pigs, fishing, alluvial gold mining, bilums & carvings, bakery products, ice blocks, betel nuts etc etc.

To obtain a PROVISIONAL VIABILITY GRADING, one has to demonstrate his/her ability to satisfy family needs. EDTC Trainers and supervisors will physically check a person’s viability, on request, and for a small fee.

 

Bronze Level

When one obtains a PROVISIONAL VIABILITY GRADING a person is ready to move into the SMALL ENTERPRISE sector, if she wants to.

Small Enterprise is measured by the organisation of a number of (about 11 to 30 people) employees in a business. These businesses include trade stores, PMVs, Kai-Bars, Screen-Printing etc.

The successful implementation of the 4 Disciplines of Growth in this section will qualify a person to acquire a Bronze Viability Grading.

 

Silver Level

Businesses in this sector are referred as Medium Enterprises. These businesses usually engage between 31 – 100 employees. Some of these businesses include wholesalers, supermarkets and small to medium scale manufacturers, construction companies etc.

The successful implementation of the 4 Disciplines of Growth qualifies a person to acquire a Silver Viability Grading.

 

Gold Level

Large Enterprises include large-scale manufacturing, plantations, extraction or harvesting of natural resources, cooperatives etc.

Large Enterprises typically employs over 100 people.

The successful implementation of the 4 Disciplines of Growth in this sector qualifies a person to acquire a Gold Viability Grading.