Engaging the next three billion digital citizens
As incomes rise in developing nations, their citizens are becoming wired, connected by mobile computing devices, particularly smartphones that will only increase in power and versatility. Although several emerging markets have experienced double-digit growth in Internet adoption, enormous growth potential remains: India’s digital penetration is only 10 percent and China’s is around 40 percent. Rising levels of connectivity will stimulate financial inclusion, local entrepreneurship, and enormous opportunities for business.
As Internet-enabled smartphones and other mobile devices move rapidly down the cost curve, they will enable vast new applications and sources of value. A harbinger of the value to come is the success of mobile-payment services across a number of developing economies. Dutch–Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL), in Bangladesh, for example, garnered over a million mobile-payment subscribers in ten months. Standard Bank of South Africa reduced its origination costs for new customers by 80 percent using mobile devices.
Another source of value is local matching services that connect supply with demand. Kenya’s Google-backed iHub project uses technology services to identify and finance entrepreneurs. Technology also helps multinationals adapt products and business models to local conditions. In India, Unilever provides mobile devices to rural distributors, including traditional mom-and-pop stores. The devices relay information (such as stock levels and pricing) back to the company, so Unilever can improve its demand forecasts, inventory management, and marketing strategy—raising sales in rural stores by a third.
Engaging the next three billion digital citizensAs incomes rise in developing nations, their citizens are becoming wired, connected by mobile computing devices, particularly smartphones that will only increase in power and versatility. Although several emerging markets have experienced double-digit growth in Internet adoption, enormous growth potential remains: India’s digital penetration is only 10 percent and China’s is around 40 percent. Rising levels of connectivity will stimulate financial inclusion, local entrepreneurship, and enormous opportunities for business.As Internet-enabled smartphones and other mobile devices move rapidly down the cost curve, they will enable vast new applications and sources of value. A harbinger of the value to come is the success of mobile-payment services across a number of developing economies. Dutch–Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL), in Bangladesh, for example, garnered over a million mobile-payment subscribers in ten months. Standard Bank of South Africa reduced its origination costs for new customers by 80 percent using mobile devices.Another source of value is local matching services that connect supply with demand. Kenya’s Google-backed iHub project uses technology services to identify and finance entrepreneurs. Technology also helps multinationals adapt products and business models to local conditions. In India, Unilever provides mobile devices to rural distributors, including traditional mom-and-pop stores. The devices relay information (such as stock levels and pricing) back to the company, so Unilever can improve its demand forecasts, inventory management, and marketing strategy—raising sales in rural stores by a third.
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