Scaling mservices: Challenges and Opportunities Souktel Inc. July 2011 1 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Souktel: Who We Are Founded 2006 by Harvard and MIT graduate fellows Delivering mobile text and audio services for the job and aid sectors since 2007. Key expertise: Creating basic, accessible technology for BOP users Partnering with national mobile networks in multiple regions Deploying rapidly in complex settings Main offices: Middle East, Canada, USA Project Sites: Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Palestine, Peru, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda Client Base: UNDP, Unicef, Red Cross, USAID, US State Dept., BBC World Serivce, Al-Jazeera TV 2 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
What We Do: Four Services SMS JobMatch: Job-seekers create mini-cvs and post them to a database that s searchable by employers. Job-seekers can also proactively search for jobs by SMS. SMS Alerts: Aid agency staff send news, public awareness messages, or urgent information to communities. SMS/Audio Surveys: Aid agency staff carry out opinion polls, collect data, and deliver quizzes and contests all through SMS and audio menus. Facilitates frank feedback from communities, staff and partners. Interactive Audio Library: Low-literacy communities access prerecorded learning/information content via mobile phone. Key Benefits: Save time, save resources, reach more people. 3 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
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SMS JobMatch: Key Value Propositions Advantages: Anytime, anywhere ability to access key, custom information. Versatility: Easily combined with other program components and other services (mobile alerts/surveys). Gender sensitive: Enables women to access key information safely and discreetly. Personalized content that meets individual users needs. Technology in Action: Palestine: Job Search Engine (internships, training, work) Haiti: Small Business Match Engine (connecting entrepreneurs with commercial tenders) 6 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
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SMS Alerts: Create Custom Groups 8 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
SMS Alerts/Surveys: Key Value Propositions Advantages: Instant, large scale one-to-many communication. Send messages/manage lists from web or phone: no Internet required. Customized groups: Send specific information to specific people. Flexible and scalable: Integrate with existing program components; scale up or down depending on local conditions. Widespread access: women, region-wide beneficiaries. Alerts/Surveys in Action: Gaza: Food and medicine distribution reminders, tracking. Egypt: Theme-based public awareness messages (elections, social services) Palestine: Automated micro-loan repayment reminders. Sudan: Logistics/security updates (eg. meeting location changed ) 9 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
SMS Surveys: Key Advantages 10 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Initial Performance Metrics: 2007 Pilot 400 job-seekers and 50+ employers registered on JobMatch system 25% of job-seekers matched with work (vs. 15% at HR/staffing recruitment firms) 60% of employers citing 50% reduction in hiring time and costs. Avg. net job-seeker revenue $0.80/user per month; avg. employer net revenue $20/user per month. Universities: 200 300% increase in job listings available to students 11 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
The Ideal Path to Scale Compelling Value Proposition Meets market need, fills gap in service ecosystem. Proof of Concept/Pilot Technology actually functions, initial uptake is high. Market Validation Demand grows rapidly, revenue increases steadily. Market Leadership Aggressive growth, defensible product differentiation vs. competition, first mover entry into new markets 12 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
The Reality: Obstacles to Growth Exogenous: Market (consumers, geography) Consumers uneducated/wary re. services, physical sites tough to serve. Industry (peers, partner vendors) Poor coordination between mobile networks, hardware manufacturers, service implementers. Endogenous ( Start-Up Constraints 101 ): Funding/Resources Capital expenses now, but cash flow only coming later. Team/Capacity Skill/knowledge gaps, headcount too low. 13 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Compelling Value Proposition? (aka Someone, Anyone, Listen to Us! ) Challenge: Pitch an untested idea to an immature market for mservices. Obstacles: Nascent, rapidly changing market. Few credible sources of market intelligence for investors/clients. Solution: Lead with the conceptual story (boosting emerging economies, reducing unemployment), rather than the technology per se. 14 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Proof of Concept Challenge: Demonstrate actual value of service in untested pilot market. Obstacles: Few resources, small team with little experience. Solution: Build strong local partnerships (not rivalries) with mobile networks, institutions, media. 15 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Market Validation Challenge: Bring venture from a nice concept to an industry leader, with consistent growth in revenue and impact. Obstacles: Industry barriers red tape, inflexible network pricing plans, lack of cooperation for marketing/promotion. Solution: Go niche focus on receptive markets and market segments, and deepen presence there. 16 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Market Leadership Challenge: Maintain first mover advantage in a crowded marketplace with increased competition. Obstacles: An ever-increasing flood of mservices in the market, many with low value but aggressive marketing. Solution: Diversify services, move into high-risk, high-reward markets where competition is low but entry barriers are high. 17 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Souktel Today: Social Impact Metrics 15,700+ job-seekers and 700+ employers registered on JobMatch system 4,000+ job-seekers matched with work to date Approx. $10m in new income generated by newly employed service users. Approx. $0.7m in new profit for small businesses, after hiring through service (5% avg. profit growth) 250K+ community members reached through SMS AidLink services; 30K+ alerts sent weekly by clients 150% increase in frequency of communication between aid agency clients and community members 18 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Souktel Today: Financial/Market Metrics Approx. 200% revenue increase from FY10 to FY11 (projected). Growth from 2 regional markets into 12 regional markets. Headcount increase from 5 part time staff to 10+ full and part time staff in 3 countries. Diversification of services from SMS-only to SMS and IVR. 3x increase in major US media mentions/citations (New York Times, CNBC, PBS, Scientific American) 19 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Souktel Tomorrow? Goals: New round of funding completed Aggressive roll-out of new mobile services Increased penetration of MENA markets New market entry: Africa, Asia 20 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM
Souktel Inc.: Ramallah, Palestine Newark, DE Toronto, Canada +1 416 830 5752 +970 2 297 8090 e: jacob@souktel.com www.souktel.com 21 2011 Vital Wave Consulting TM