Mobile phone use at the base of the pyramid is something of a paradox. On the one hand, mobile phones are critically important to base of the pyramid users. For someone living on $1-2/day, the mobile acts as the primary means of communication with faraway family and friends. It is the most reliable and available form of infrastructure, often accessible through public provision taxi-phones or village phones. It is the main source of contact for potential employment, as well as for business critical contact and information about farming, trading, and prices.

More than 1 billion people cannot afford a phone or SIM card, but mobile is extremely important to and for them. They tend to borrow or share or rent phone time, which limits their access to mobile. For borrowers of phones, they have no mobile identity, so customised information cannot be delivered directly to them. Shared mobile users cannot access their own mobile banking, for payments or remittances. Shared mobile users end up spending between 5 and 30% of a day's income on accessing mobile, usually paying a premium for convenience or for the goodwill of a reluctant lender.

Movirtu's mobile identity management solutions provide base of the pyramid users with unique and secure mobile identity, and ensure that the base of the pyramid users can access exactly the same critical mobile capabilities, at the lowest available prepay tariff, as any owner of a mobile phone or SIM. Users can use any GSM capable handset to access the Cloud Phone service and all additional applications such as banking and information.

Movirtu works with mobile operators to encourage a closer examination of this critical and under-served market. Mobile operators do not recognise the extent of existing base of the pyramid usage, since this tends to be analysed by mobile number. Since base of the pyramid users have to borrow or share others' phones, they have been an under-recognised group.  Movirtu's insight into this group and understanding of their needs helps to bridge the gap for mobile operators to serve this market profitably and sustainably.