Movirtu has held in-depth group discussions with nearly 100 people across Tanzania, India and Senegal, and found the following universal themes:
• Mobile technology can support childrens’ education, both for specific subjects and school administration
• Mobile technology can help farmers in rural areas get the support and advice they need help them manage the significant risks and uncertainty they face
• Youth are highly engaged with mobile and play an important role in mediating mobile use and encouraging older users to grow their skills and confidence
Ramona Liberoff, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Planning at Movirtu, said: "Movirtu is proud to have conducted this research, along with funding from GBF, our strategic partner TNS and a group of experts. We invest in understanding the complex and evolving world of our end users.”
“Listening to users in Africa and India shows how people in rural areas do and could use mobile to improve their lives. Our findings show the potential and need for mobile money, combinations of information and insurance for farmers, and educational support for parents and children. We look forward to developing personalised services with mobile identity management, and working closely with our operator clients and NGOs for greatest end user benefit."
Bob Burgoyne, Associate Director, Knowledge and Insights, TNS East Africa, said: “Mobile technology presents huge potential for empowering the millions of people living in the poorest and most remote regions of the world. This potential cannot be realised without first getting inside their world – understanding their goals and the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives.”
“By using real human insights to fuel product development, businesses the world over have the chance to create solutions that can transform the lives of millions of people.”
Harold Rosen, executive director of the Grassroots Business Fund, which sponsored the study said, "This research provides critical insight in understanding and targeting
the BoP as a viable consumer class that can generate sustainable economic growth for decades."
Robert Fabricant, VP of creative for frog, a global innovation firm that collaborates with Movirtu on design research and user experience, said: "This research underscores Movirtu's commitment to understanding the people they serve, and it is tremendously valuable to our ongoing work in designing products and services that harness mobile technology for greater positive impact."
A full research briefing and accompanying video can be found at:
http://www.movirtu.com/life-at-the-bop-study
About Movirtu
Movirtu is a leading provider of mobile identity solutions to wireless telecommunication service providers. Its award winning Cloud PhoneTM software already enables mobile operators to service the one billion people who earn less than $2 a day, living in rural poor communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Movirtu's solutions also bring mobile banking services and personalised information services to those without a handset, SIM card or bank account. Demand for Cloud PhoneTM applications extends to the 3 billion people who own more than two SIM cards living in developed markets.
Movirtu is a private company, headquartered in London, UK with offices in Centurion, South Africa.
www.movirtu.com
About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder management, based on long- established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world.
TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups.
www.tnsglobal.com
About Grassroots Business Fund (GBF)
GBF began in 2004 as an initiative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). From 2004 to 2007, this initiative implemented over 40 social investments and technical assistance projects, impacting the lives of over 3.4 million people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP). In 2008, GBF became an independent nonprofit that provides a distinctive blend of investment capital and capacity building to support High Impact Businesses that can scale and bring sustainable economic and social opportunities to millions of people living at the base of the economic pyramid.
www.gbfund.org
Media Contact:
Julia Simonova Lopez
Marketing Manager
Movirtu Limited
T: +44 20 7043 1131
julia[at]movirtu[dot]com