M-PESA and the service innovation framework (extract)
A former student of mine just mailed me this article “Extracting Key Lessons in Service Innovation” (pdf) by S.Wooder and S. Baker, recently published in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, January 2012 edition. Here is the abstract of the article: This paper describes how Sagentia—working with Vodafone, Safaricom, and other organizations—played a significant role […]
Our two shillings worth on the Kenyan ICT revolution
The World Bank’s Wolfgang Fengler has recently written a blogpost titled “Learning from the Kenyan revolution” referencing the penetration and use of not only ICT devices but also mobile money services. He makes optimistic predictions for the futures, viz., What are the lessons of Kenya’s ICT revolution for the broader economy of Kenya and for […]
In conclusion: Lessons from The Village Telco project in Kenya
We’ve finally reached the point in our work for Village Telco where there’s been enough time for some reflection after the intense weeks of travel and observations across Kenya. I can cluster our learning into three broad areas: our approach, methodology and team work; Kenya’s people and the informal economy; and finally, the role of […]
The role of the cyber cafe
Monica’s cyber in the small town of Maai Mahiu, a market for a primarily rural area, is now the only such facility available. There was another cyber on the other side of the main highway, she said, but it closed within its first year of operation. Internet access in this locale is available only through […]
Leveraging ignorance vs enabling knowledge
If someone were to purchase a mobile broadband modem but was unaware of data bundles, how quickly would 500 shillings worth of airtime disappear into cyberspace? I’ve been there – not knowing what ‘converting to data’ meant – and going through euros worth of airtime while surfing in Helsinki until the shop assistant gave me […]
Postcard from Kajiado: Cheap chinese phones and the internet
It wasn’t the first time we’d heard this from a cyber cafe operator, but apparently the biggest challenge to mobile phone users wishing to get online by using their spanking new phones was whether they were a cheap Chinese phone or a fake. Up and down Kenya, or right in the heart of Masai country […]
Pondering the sustainability of the cyber cafe industry and its future
Jomo, who runs a traditional cyber cafe in an office building near Mombasa’s busy port district, gave us a well framed and articulate argument on the challenge of running a sustainable business given the costs involved. His key point was that the internet providers, particularly the mobile operators now actively competing with conventional ISPs, were […]
Inserting tones into your iPod
Inserting tones i.e. Ipod – just the choice of words used to describe the service offered, that of downloading from iTunes seems to imply the order and popularity of the technologies introduced in this market i.e. contextual knowledge of the customer base. I’m not articulating this as well as I’d like but we’re going back […]
21st century Kenyan
The mobile as the post industrial platform for socioeconomic development in the BoP segment (Jan 26 2007)
Thank you for the inspiration, Steve. ~In memoriam~ Dan Pink wrote about the Well curve, the antithesis to the Bell curve that traditionally defines where the majority of the populace will lie statistically in their preferences. In essence, he says, But today Galton’s beautiful form might not be so regular. Although bell curve distribution is […]
