The Cigar Box Method was developed by Olivier van Lieshout and Anushik Tadevosyan,. andThe ismethod activelyderives beingits usedname byfrom agro-entrepreneurspioneers worldwide.in Recentthe examples17th arecentury from[[Dutch EBRD-sponsoredGolden projectsAge]] inwho Morocco,were Ukraine,discussing Egypt,foreign business deals while sipping Montenegrocoffee and Bosniasmoking &a Herzegovinacigar. asWhen wellthey fromneeded ITC-sponsoredto projectsmake inquick Romania,business Armeniacalculations, Centralthey Asia,often Bangladesh,used Senegal,the Guinea,bottom Benin,side Kenya,of Tanzaniathe cigar box to convince investors about the profitability of their business ideas in a quick, Jamaicaconcise and Argentinaconvincing manner.
The method derived its name from Dutch pioneers in the 17th Golden Century who were discussing foreign business deals while sipping coffee and smoking a cigar. When they needed to make quick business calculations, they often used the bottom side of the cigar box to convince investors about the profitability of their business ideas in a quick, concise and convincing manner.
== History and current use ==
The method was first used in 1999 as an analytical tool during a course on [[foreign direct investment]] (FDI) at the [[Wageningen University]]. It analyzed the suitability, including a risk analysis and potential benefits, of specific agricultural production processes for foreign investors. Between 1999 and 2012 over 180 students were trained in the use of the Cigar Box Method. It has since developed into a fully fledged business analysis tool with multiple purposes and used by various targets groups: as analytical tool for foreign investors and bankers, as business planning tool for fruit and vegetable processing factories and business development service providers. An adapted version for women entrepreneurs in Africa has been developed recently. The method is described in the ''Agribusiness Handbook for Fruit and Vegetable Processing'' published by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO).<ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/al177e/al177e.pdf]</ref> The Cigar Box ishas been used daily by [[Bakery Initiatives]] as a navigator to bakery profit.<ref>[http://www.bakeryinitiatives.nl]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== Profit parameters ==
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== Excel ==
The Cigar Box Method is an Excel-based model, and can be used even by Excel beginners. Only one spreadsheet is needed per product. The Cigar Box Method purposely does not make use of specific software, to enable its easy spread worldwide. The Cigar Box Method is free forof anyone who is interested in itcharge and is currently available in English, French, Russian and Spanish.<ref>[http://www.globalfacts.nl/cigarbox_products.html]</ref>
