Implications of the democratization of technology in rural Kenya
Kathanzweni, Makueni District, Kenya As many of you are aware, I spent the first three months of this year immersed in rural Kenya taking a closer look at household consumer behaviour. Among other thing, my observations led me to write the following: Thus, it can be said that as mobile phones rapidly overtook radio and […]
Seasonality in incomes still underrated as influence on purchasing patterns
While the BBC has begun questioning the oft quoted “$1 a day” statistic used most often to demonstrate the bottom billion below the global poverty line, they barely touch upon the impact of seasonality on the population segment’s cash flow, and thus, their bottom line. And surprisingly perhaps, people who live on $1 a day […]
Acknowledging the value of the informal sector as an economic engine
Chief John Kolawole, the General Secretary of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), on Friday urged the Federal Government to harness the informal sector for economic growth. Kolawole told newsmen in Lagos that the sector was well endowed with economic resources that had not been exploited. “The informal sector, which is made up of hairdressers, […]
Cracking the code for sustainable “BoP” business models
Unlearn the past to create the future ~ C K Prahalad In the half decade or more since I increasingly began to focus on the challenge of the emerging consumer opportunities among the lower income demographic of the developing world, I’ve yet to hear of an unconditionally successful business model specifically designed for this segment […]
Financial Inclusion survey and the informal economy
Gallup conducted the survey on behalf of the World Bank and their comprehensive synopsis available online (with links to the full report) offers a few more charts in addition to the map above. These look at bank account ownership among adults in different regions comparing rural to urban, genders as well as the reasons stated […]
The underlying principle of flexibility
The Economist writes about the proliferation of mobile money across the African continent, high lighting some aspects of its rapid adoption by the local population – 96% of whom are on prepaid or pay as you go mobile subscriptions. A new survey of global financial habits by the Gates Foundation, the World Bank and Gallup […]
96% prepaid
2012 Infographic on the distribution of 700 million mobile phone users across the African continent. Via.
Price cuts in the prepaid economy
Sunil Bharti Mittal recently referred to a pattern of consumer behaviour that came as a surprise to Airtel Africa, leading to a rethink of their near future pricing strategy for this market. The Indian telecom company told participants at the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, that it was surprised to find that the […]
Informal payment plans offer flexibility and convenience
Rural electronics shops in the North Meru region of Kenya are full of colour television sets, home stereos and DVD players as increasing electrification of smaller and smaller market towns takes place. How do aspiring customers pay for these high value items on their variable income streams? Since shop owners tend to know the great […]
Some concerns about ‘pay as you go’ lighting solutions in rural markets
Having just got back yesterday after immersion in an arid part of rural Kenya, it struck me after coming across yet another solar lighting solution with a pay as you go or prepaid business model that this may become a barrier for many subsistence farmers, most of whom are off the grid and so, are […]
