product innovation in market information systems
TRANSCRIPT
product innovation in market information systems
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
A short journeyA short journey
Getting startedVersion 1.0Version 2.0Lessons learned
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Responding to a needResponding to a need
2004 meetings: technoserve & FAOResearch visit with FoodNET in Uganda
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Conclusion: - agric people are not software people- better & new tools needed- a potential business opportunity
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
TradeNet v1.0TradeNet v1.0
Online content management system customized for agriculture
A commercial software productAvailable to anyone
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NEWS
DOCUMENTS
PRICES
LISTINGS
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
1.0 = innovation1.0 = innovation
Realtime SMS uploads from marketsDatabase customized for agric data
(data assigned to commodities, people, places: other content management systems not viable)
Multi-currency & multi-countryPowerful analytic tools
Specific software designed for market information...
Other content management systems can’t provide this level of control...
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Unique views across regions:Unique views across regions:
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requesting price data...
Any country, any currency, 4 languages...
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Challenges of version 1.0Challenges of version 1.0
Classic top-down approach of a centrally-managed national MIS system
Is the data accurate & relevant?No obvious revenue model
We needed to understand the market itself and not just the NGOs needs
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Version 2.0; Version 2.0; refocus to provide refocus to provide community toolset community toolset (web 2.0?)(web 2.0?)
Commercial deals between users (p2p)Group extension services
User-supplied content = public MIS!Challenge to give them compelling
toolset
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OFFERSUSERS
GROUPS
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focus on basic group communicationneeds
Interactive SMS inputs...Interactive SMS inputs...
Automatic SMS outputs...Automatic SMS outputs...‘‘peer2peer’peer2peer’
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Powerful personal spaces for Powerful personal spaces for EVERY registered userEVERY registered user
• My friends• My groups• My offers• My profile• My services• My photos• My files• My notification
preferences
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
How far have we come?How far have we come?
13 countries in east, south, west Africa650,000 prices uploaded439 commodity varieties onlineOver 5,000 users registered60,250 SMSes sentGSM partnerships setup and business
models & contracts developed
Toolset & partnerships just maturing
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
You must be active in the You must be active in the markets... markets... Not isolated in the labsNot isolated in the labs
Software NOT enoughHelp partners
understand the social challenges
Help partners see the business opportunities
Ongoing impact assessments required
Ongoing product development required
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Respond to market needs:Respond to market needs:
Large buyers (maize, barley, sorghum) revert to international markets not just for price, but also dependability
Local markets are opaque and poorly organized – information is lacking. Quantities are small, quality unknown.
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Easy to extend tradenet to Easy to extend tradenet to capture crop data...capture crop data...
Setup a tradenet group of usersReceive SMS inputs on planting,
maturing, harvesting (met/disease etc)
Generate crop production forecast reports for buyers
Encourage collaboration & communication between big buyers and many producer groups
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Our modelOur model
1. Group toolset: same model as web personals (free > upgrades) (50%)
2. User SMS subscriptions & traffic (40%)3. Advertising & sponsorship (10%)
(country franchises; mobile payments; gsm agreements)
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Cost SMS limit Countries Members
Basic free 100/month 1 -
Silver $500 2,000/month 1 100
Gold $2,000 unlimited unlimited unlimited
trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Lessons learnedLessons learned
extensive marketing & training requiredGSM operators are key to revenue modelsData profiling = valuable opportunities It’s about anthropology, not technology!Trust is a critical factor & takes timeMost current web2.0 tools not relevantPublic/private partnership required
Mobile has changed everything:real opportunities do exist to improve livelihoods
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trade & business tools for projects; entrepreneurs
Thank youThank you
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[email protected]@busylab.com+233 21 258803