The Mobile Money for the Unbanked Value Chain
Posted: January 17th, 2011 | viewed: (2,238) | Comments: ( 0 ) | Topic: Blog Post, MNO - Bank Relationships |
The heart of the new MMU article “Mapping and Effectively Structuring Operator-Bank Relationships to Offer mobile money for the Unbanked” is an inventory of all of the activities that must be performed in order to offer mobile money for the unbanked, and then a discussion of what kind of entity—an operator, a bank, or a third party—is best positioned to carry out each one.
The first step is to understand the components of the mobile money value chain—that is, what needs to happen for mobile money to be offered to customers? There are lots of ways that a value chain can be visually depicted. In our version, activities which create and deliver the mobile money service to customers are shown along the bottom, while support activities—those that are required in order to carry out primary activities—are shown in horizontal bands along the top. In the article, we discuss each of these activities in detail.
The mobile money value chain
How do we work out which entity is best positioned to take on these activities? By evaluating their existing assets and competencies. After all, a basic tenet of corporate strategy is that companies should seek to perform the activities which they are uniquely well-positioned to perform. From our conversations with banks and mobile operators in the developing world, the following picture emerged:
The assets and competencies, relevant to mobile money, of banks and mobile operatorsOur research indicates that operators and banks who are aligned, and candid, about their respective strengths and weakness are the ones most likely to have built healthy relationships. The reason is simple. As Nadeem Hussain, the CEO of Tameer Microfinance Bank, put it, “In operator-bank partnerships, each entity has to have the trust to let the other do what they do best.”
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