Mobile phone penetration in the developing world is surprisingly high compared to the adoption of any other technology or even basic public services, particularly in rural areas. High penetration coupled with technologies that enable users to use their phones to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money, as well as use their phones as a payment mechanism, create a lot of opportunities for marketers to reach the bottom of the pyramid (around 2.5 billion people how live on less than $2.50 a day but who still consume)
Take for example M-Pesa. It is a money transfer service for mobile phones that has been incredibly successful in Kenya. Users can deposit and withdraw money from a network of airtime resellers and local retailers that serve as bank agents that manage the cash float.
The technology for M-Pesa was originally developed for Microfinance. The high cost of formal banks is one of the main causes for low financial inclusion in developing countries. With M-Pesa microfinance institutions could reach their clients without the need to set-up expensive branch networks. Unfortunately, microfinance institutions have not so far benefit greatly from the technology and M-Pesa remains as a money transfer system.
This is not only a good story in economic development, it also shows that mobile technologies are enabling the BoP to access consumer goods. Marketers of consumer goods can target both the immigrants living in the developing world and their families who are receiving the money back in their native country. The big food brands come to mind, they could give a promotion code to the sender in the developed country that the recipient could receive and claim in the home country. This can even be extended to a credit service where the sender can go on-line and buy products that the recipient then claims in local stores.
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