infoDev is currently seeking Expressions of Interest for research and development of five case studies (one each in Kenya, South Africa, Armenia, Pakistan and Vietnam) in two phases to examine the economic and social potential of mobile devices in the “base of the pyramid”(BoP) market segment, i.e. among the poor who live on less than $2.5 a day.
The research will include between two and five country case studies, with Kenya and South Africa covered in Phase I, followed by Armenia, Pakistan and Vietnam in Phase II, if funding is available Although the call for EOI is open to all relevant proposals, infoDev is particularly interested in hearing from research organizations.
Objectives
The key objectives for the study are the following:
- To increase understanding of the actual usage of mobile services, products, and applications at the Base of the Pyramid and to understand their potential for economic (and social) empowerment;
- To identify scalable examples of services, products, and applications at the concept, prototype, or early product development stages;
- To develop tools and instruments to map viable operation models and logics of various segments of BOP markets and to identify user needs.
- To formulate recommendations for business planning and policy development that can support this potential.
Deliverables
The studies will uncover mobile usage trends at the BoP in each country and explore the role and potential of mobile devices for economic value generation through innovative micro and small business models. The studies will include examples of practical and scalable mobile-enabled products, services, and business models, which will be published, shared, and discussed with development practitioners, mobile operators and handset manufacturers, mobile applications developers, and policymakers at a workshop in 2012. They will also provide a baseline for future research.
For the case studies, the deliverables should include:
- An inception report presenting an agreed methodology and approach, for delivery within two weeks of contract signature.
- A questionnaire to be used in the primary research, delivered in draft form within one month of contract signature, and thereafter revised following review.
- A first draft report on the case study covering the issues listed in the Scope of Work above, within three months of contract signature;
- A revised report on the case study, within four months of contract signature;
- Detailed, collated results from the primary research, for instance in the form of a spreadsheet, on the completion of the report;
- A synthesis of lessons and recommendations with broader relevance, as an executive summary of the report;
A detailed description of methodology used, presented in a way that would enable other researchers to replicate for interested parties to map potential BoP markets. Conduct market research, and/or elaborate market entry strategies in this segment. This should be delivered as an annex to the main report.
Last date for submission of EOI is October 10, 2011
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
