Alex Osterwalder’s business model canvas is a powerful tool. Its power has been demonstrated in a variety of contexts including large organizations and charities working in Africa (e.g. BalloonKenya). The value of business models in general cannot be denied. Business models are important as way of describing how an organization creates, delivers and captures value. However, given what we know about the complexity of business in the real world, is the business model canvas too simplistic?

The answer to that question is a resounding NO. The business model canvas is not TOO simplistic. A better way to describe the canvas is to say that it is NOT unnecessarily complex. There is a difference between those two notions. I outline my reasoning below: