The Open University
- Start Date: 10 Oct, 2022
- 2 weeks
- Study Content: Videos
Build critical skills to assess your business idea, evaluate the resources you need for success, and plan your next steps.
Course Fee: Free
Certificate Cost: See Fees and Eligibility
Course Description
This course is made available through the eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn partnership.
Develop your business idea into a viable business model
You’ve got an idea for your business, but how can you be sure it will work? This two-week course will encourage you to think critically about all aspects of your business idea so you can be confident it will be viable in the current market.
Understand the challenges of starting a new venture
There are some important differences between working for someone else and for yourself. On this course, you’ll discover what they are and what they mean for you. You’ll also be encouraged to think about the range of ambitions you could have for your venture.
Hone your idea using the Business Model Canvas
With guidance from Open University academics and using industry examples, you’ll assess the different ways you can make money from your idea and discover resources to improve its chances of success.
Using a framework known as the Business Model Canvas, you’ll clarify how your venture will generate a compelling value proposition. You’ll learn how to audit your resources and identify how these may need to evolve to meet your business needs.
Gain the skills to write a compelling business plan
You’ll gain practical skills to help you write a persuasive business plan, including a well-refined ‘elevator pitch’. With this, you’ll be able to confidently communicate with stakeholders such as customers, financiers, suppliers, professional advisors, and members of your personal network to bring them on board with you.
Whether you plan to create a full-time venture or part time ‘side-hustle’ alongside a day job; you’re starting a brick-and-mortar business or an online venture; or you plan to utilise established platforms such as Etsy, Amazon and the like, this course will teach you how to get started.
It is suitable for learners at all levels, whether you haven’t ventured into self-employment and entrepreneurship before or have previously run a business and wish to refresh your skills for the current landscape.
Certificate cost may vary. You will be redirected to the host page for cost and payment options.
The Open University
The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning.
Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 220,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas. The Open University is rated one of the best in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey. The OU is one of only four UK universities to have consistently achieved more than 90% in the survey’s history. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.
The UK’s latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF 2014) places The Open University in the top third of UK higher education institutions by ‘research power’ ranking. 72% of OU research submitted was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.
Regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast ‘open content portfolio’ includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May’s Big Ideas and The Money Programme.
All Open University Science courses presented on FutureLearn are produced with the kind support of Dangoor Education.
This institution is available on eLearnAfrica through partnership with FutureLearn.
COLLABORATION POLICY
By enrolling in a course on or through eLearnAfrica, you are joining a special worldwide community of learners. The aspiration of eLearnAfrica is to provide anyone with an internet connection access to courses from the best universities and institutions in the world and to provide our learners the best educational experience internet technology enables. You are a part of the community that will help eLearnAfrica achieve this goal. eLearnAfrica depends upon your motivation to learn the material and to do so with honesty and academic integrity. In order to participate in eLearnAfrica, you must agree to the Honor Code below and any additional terms specific to a class.
ELEARNAFRICA HONOR CODE PLEDGE
By enrolling in a course, program, or degree hosted on the eLearnAfrica App or Site, I agree that I will:
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Complete all tests and assignments on my own, unless collaboration on an assignment is explicitly permitted.
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Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use my username and/or password.
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Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve my results, or improve or hurt the results of others.
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Not post answers to problems that are being used to assess student performance.
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Abide by any and all requirements of the eLearnAfrica Participants as may regard the expectations of civil or academic behavior or of community standards.
VIOLATIONS
If you are found in violation of the Terms and Conditions or Honor Code, you may be subject to one or more of the following actions:
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Receiving a zero or no credit for an assignment;
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Having any certificate earned in the course withheld or revoked;
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Being unenrolled from a course, learning program or degree program; or
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Termination of your use of the App and/or Site.
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Additional actions may be taken at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica and eLearnAfrica course providers.
No refunds will be issued in the case of any corrective action for such violations.
Honor code violations will be determined at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica, the Partners, or Members. You will be notified if a determination has been made that you have violated this honor code and you will be informed of the corresponding action to be taken as a result of the violation.
CHANGING THE HONOR CODE
Please note that we review and may make changes to this Honor Code from time to time. Any changes to this Honor Code will be effective immediately upon posting on this page, with an updated effective date. By accessing the App and/or Site after any changes have been made, you signify your agreement on a prospective basis to the modified Honor Code and any changes contained therein. Be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Honor Code.
Effective Date: September 22, 2016