Why prepaid business models work so well for the rural and informal economy
We broke down the basic concept of the ‘pay as you go’ or prepaid mobile plan – in general, discounting the details of the various different strategies and pricing/time plans of different countries as a way to begin understanding what is it about this model that makes it work at the BoP. Could we somehow […]
Exploring the market forces acting on the cyber cafe industry in Kenya
This post continues on the challenges of estimating size and value of an untapped market in the developing world – in our current case, it is the cyber cafe industry in Kenya. A critical aspect of this exercise will include assessing the impact of a variety of market forces acting on the industry in the […]
The challenge of assessing the size of an emerging market opportunity
Kagio fresh produce market, Kenya, April 2013 Untapped opportunities in the developing world bring with them their own challenges for businesses seeking to invest in them. An interesting one is that of assessing the market size and value, particularly for the lower income demographic that operates primarily in the informal economy (often called the BoP […]
Reach Beyond: the CHI 25th Anniversary Conference in San Jose, May 2007
Today I realize that I had been struck dumb by the myriads of visions dancing in front of my eyes when I went up on stage to share the Closing Plenary at the CHI2007 conference back in San Jose, CA in the first week of May 2007. May 3rd, 2007 in San Jose CA Photo […]
David is a maker; he sees his creations in his dreams
David with his combine harvester, Karantina, Kenya 15 April 2013 David is a maker. An artisan and craftsman who makes furniture as a carpenter in his day job, he’s nonetheless driven by visions of what he sees in his dreams to build these toys made out of scraps of wood, metal and plastic. That green […]
For Sale
Market day in Kagio, Kenya 12th April 2013 This post was written by niti bhan and rss originates from www.nitibhan.com
License plate
Kagio produce market, Kenya 12 April 2013 This post was written by niti bhan and rss originates from www.nitibhan.com
Reflecting on the good old fashioned explorer’s travelogue
Reading through Jan Chipchase’s stereotypically English approach to announcing the impending arrival of his apparently well received book is making me quirk my mouth in a remiscent smile of the days when we hung on every post – Chipchase at his height, splashed as the design researcher’s Indiana Jones, across the New York Times in […]
The prepaid economy of Africa
As the chart shows, Africa’s mobile subscriptions are 96% prepaid or pay as you go. That is, they are not bound by contract to any mobile services provider. A reasonable number have more than one SIM, to take advantage of different operator offers. This demographic cuts across all income, education and professional barriers, its literally […]
The rural mobile economy is prepaid.
With Radheshyam Meena, Farmer in January 2009 I began the New Year of 2009 in the midst of prototyping my fieldwork protocol for the Prepaid Economy project which had just won one of 9 Small Grants offered in competition by the iBoP Asia Project in The Philippines. India’s familiarity was the reason for its choice […]
