The Georgian Wheelchair Production Network

By Bruce Curtis, International Program Director, World Institute on Disability

Employment is always one of the most difficult and yet most important problems facing people with disabilities worldwide, and in many developing countries, creating a business to provide income and employment opportunities is often seen by many disability leaders as a tempting solution to their problems. However, American disability NGOs typically do not have experience incubating or managing commercial businesses to generate income or to provide employment, and many disability leaders in developing countries do not possess the skills to attract start up capital or know how to develop and manage a successful business.  So, how does an American disability NGO provide assistance to foreign disability leaders that want to start up a business to address critical shortages of assistive and adaptive devices for daily living, while at the same time provide employment and long-term commercial sustainability?

In 2009, the World Institute On Disability (WID), Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI) and the Coalition for Independent Living (CIL) began managing a 3-year, USAID funded project with the goal of establishing the Georgian Wheelchair Production Network that will begin producing an adult model of the Whirlwind RoughRider™ indoor-outdoor wheelchair, a pressure relieving wheel chair cushion, and other assistive mobility products for wheelchair users in the Republic of Georgia. This project is addressing the needs of wheelchair users and their families in Georgia by developing business and community advocacy collaborations between Disability NGOs of the CIL in the cities of Tbilisi, Gori, and Zugdidi; through the establishment of wheelchair production, sales and repair businesses; and through accessibility advocacy activities, technical assistance and training. One and a half years into the project, the partners have successfully set up a wheelchair production and repair facility in Tbilisi, a postural support seating service for adults and children in wheelchairs, and are beginning the process of setting up micro businesses, which repair, sell and distribute wheelchairs, operated by the disability NGOs in the cities of Gori and Zugdidi.

The CIL Wheelchair Production Business

The CIL wheelchair production business is legally registered as a limited company according to Georgian law and is operating out of side-by-side commercial storage spaces that have been renovated and set up as a small factory production space. The business will produce 2 wheelchair models, which are appropriate for use in Georgia, the adult Whirlwind Rough Rider™ long wheelbase, indoor-outdoor chair and the Whirlwind children’s wheelchair.  Currently, there are no children’s wheelchairs available for purchase in Georgia or neighboring countries in the Caucasus region, and very few children’s wheelchairs are donated by international NGOs. Production of the Whirlwind children’s wheelchair will begin in the spring of 2011. WID expects that WWI will be able to certify the quality of the Georgian wheelchairs according to WWI and ISO standards for export or purchase by international donors and the Georgian government.

Over the next 18 months, a minimum of 1,200 wheelchairs at an average cost of $200 or less per wheelchair will be produced by the CIL wheelchair business. In 2010, about 300 wheelchairs will be produced due to training, quality control and start up of production. In 2011, with a shop floor work force of 5 persons (all wheelchair users) and 1 manager, the CIL business can produce a minimum of 750-1000 wheelchairs a year. Additional welders can be hired if purchase orders increase production demand. Welding is a production bottleneck, so additional welders can increase per/worker output, yielding a per/wheelchair cost below $200. Innovation in wheelchair designs, relief from taxes on imported materials, and increased production efficiency will provide room for lowering the estimated production costs and making the final cost of the wheelchair even more attractive to government ministries and international NGOs/donors/buyers.

Business Challenges

The partners have been developing this project together since 2004 and see several possible challenges to the success of this wheelchair production business:

CIL For Profit Business Management Experience: The first challenge will be to overcome the limited business management experience common to post-Soviet countries and the inevitable problem of conflicting interests that arise when a not-for-profit disability NGO is the owner of a for-profit business.  Now that the wheelchair production is in full motion, WWI is beginning to provide to CIL a series of business management training and technical assistance visits to increase their understanding of domestic and international markets for their products. All sales depend on a high quality product and a high quality consumer experience in the personal use of the wheelchair, so quality control has emerged as the top priority in the production process and in the wheelchair distribution and individual fitting procedures. Our Georgian partners are starting to understand that success in marketing wheelchairs is much more complicated then just manufacturing a good wheelchair.

A Low, Competitive Price For The Adults And Children Wheelchairs: How do you sell low-cost wheelchairs at $200-$250 when your market in Georgia has a lifelong experience of receiving wheelchairs from the government or international humanitarian organizations for free? How do you convince families or the government to purchase wheelchairs made in Georgia when they do not understand the quality and price differences between different types of wheelchairs typically imported from China or India? How do you convince a government of a relatively poor country to increase the federal budget for the purchase of adult and children wheelchairs? These are some of the questions that we are currently addressing as the project moves from the set up and training process to the marketing, sales and sustainability phase. CIL leadership has been successful in convincing the federal government and city governments to begin purchasing wheelchairs in small numbers. To buy Georgian made wheelchairs is a strong patriotic message. However, the Georgian government has introduced a new Western-style government voucher system for the purchase of wheelchairs by individuals, which has forced the CIL business to become the implementer of this government voucher system for citizens/families who are completely bewildered by an unfamiliar bureaucratic health system process. WWI has also activated its worldwide network of wheelchair purchasing humanitarian organizations to begin purchasing wheelchairs made in Georgia. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) has agreed to purchase 25 wheelchairs a month, which is one third of current monthly production. Efforts to identify other international humanitarian organizations willing to purchase these wheelchairs for distribution are ongoing.

Increasing The Yearly Production Output With Corresponding Presales Orders

Government Tenders: Each year, the Georgian government issues a commercial tender to purchase wheelchairs of mixed-use, institutional and individual. CIL is now competing and winning these commercial tenders.

Exports: The neighboring country of Armenia is a potentially lucrative market, as is Azerbaijan because of its booming economy from oil production and presence of international corporations. In October a delegation from Armenia, including a member of Parliament and a disability NGO, visited the wheelchair factory in Georgia and are planning to purchase wheelchairs. In December, a trip is planned to Baku, Azerbaijan to explore the cost of importing some basic materials as well as selling wheelchairs to their government.

Annual International Buyers’ Conference: During each year, major governmental and NGO charitable and development organizations, domestic and international, will be asked to purchase wheelchairs from the CIL business as humanitarian donations for Georgians who need wheelchairs. There is a major showcase of disability businesses and products on December 3, and this event is being used to advertise the availability of this new outdoor wheelchair.

Corporate Sponsorship: Oil companies and other international corporations are being approached and asked to purchase a number of wheelchairs for free distribution to persons inside Georgia unable to afford them.

Sustainability Strategy

WID and its project partners designed the project to develop the capacity of our partner NGO in Georgia, CIL, to ensure long-term sustainability. Our methods include business management training, public education and community advocacy education and skill training, international expert trainings of trainers, developing export markets, international wheelchair business networks, diversified national and international funding sources, and disability NGO capacity-building.  As a part of a future sustainability strategy, the wheelchair production business in Tbilisi will also establish a series of income streams through the production and sale of a variety of daily living and assistive products for persons with mobility impairments. In addition to the adult and children wheelchair models, the business plans to design and produce assistive devices such as wheelchair cushions, car hand controls, the metal rails for wheelchair access on stairs, bathroom and shower chairs, and canes.

Stay tuned for an EQUITY update on the successes and challenges encountered by WID’s wheelchair business incubator project in Georgia in mid 2011.