Most discussions around developing mAgri services (or most any mobile for development service) tend to revolve around the user and how we must cater to them. We talk about the importance of researching user wants and needs, putting them at the centre of all design work, carefully crafting marketing and sales approaches which appeal to their unique consumer psychology and fickle behaviour, etc. etc. All these things are critical to success. No question there. However, when working as an intrapreneur within a large corporation like a mobile network operator, or when attempting to strike a mAgri partnership from the outside, it’s critical to balance this bottom-up product innovation with a mandate from the top.

The *CXO mandate is vital for a few reasons:

1. The aforementioned user centric approach is not a core competency of MNOs and is likely to require significant investment. This non-traditional investment decision tends to sit with large budget holders who reside towards the top of org charts.
2. Selling, marketing and delivering the mAgri service through the MNO’s infrastructure requires a high degree of integration with various departments who tend to operate within a narrowly defined scope and which might not accommodate a mAgri service. This requires special directives for the heads of those departments. Theses directives, which broaden their scope and are matched with meaningful and tailored KPIs, can only come from the top.
3. Lastly and most importantly, this bottom-up approach is not business as usual for the traditional MNO. Mobile Network Operators tend not to invest in deep user insight research, careful service design and engaging marketing activities targeting mobile illiterate segments. Rather they’re focused on dependable, proven practices and business models they are intimately familiar with. Stepping outside this comfort zone requires special permission from the top.

This top-down mandate comes from a high level executive (typically C-level) in the form of clearly defined goals and objectives for the mAgri service. It provides sufficient resources (documented in a budget and work plan) and KPIs to measure progress against and which translate into compelling value for the MNO.

Without the right top-down mandate the intrapreneur or partner organization is at risk of spending their limited resources fighting against the organization and making little meaningful progress. Middle managers focused on narrow KPIs will be slow to respond to requests regarding your service which contributes little to their goals. Bureaucratic roadblocks and resource constraints will naturally pop-up in a system not designed to foster this kind of strategic products innovation.

Approaching a CXO for the requisite mandate is easier said than done. Broadly speaking, this requires a special approach, not too different from how we approach end users:

1. Research the CXO’s long term goals and objectives for the organizations and their agenda for success.
2. Present the mAgri market opportunity, internally, by highlighting the business case and how it supports CXO’s long term goals and objectives and aligns with their agenda.
3. Sell the bottom-up product innovation process as a prerequisite to capture this new market opportunity and get CXO’s permission to step outside the comfort zone.

One of the trickiest bits here involves the business case. Although the sector is still maturing we have seen some early proof points. IKSL in India has proven themselves to be a strong acquisition partner for Airtel and also contributes to churn reduction. From the GSMA mFarmer services in India and Tanzania, we’ve seen good levels of willingness to pay from users below the international poverty line. We’re continuing our research and will be publishing more and more proof points supporting the business case.

If the CXO’s goals and objectives are not supported strongly enough by the mAgri market opportunity or business case then pivot by focusing on where they overlap (CXO’s agenda and the market opportunity/business case). It might not be a large area, but it’s a start from which more can be built on over time. On the other hand, if the mAgri case is simply not compelling enough for CXO, it might be prudent to consider cutting losses and abandoning the project before it frustrates and fails.

We advocate targeting the CXO because they can approve projects with longer-term strategic KPIs as opposed to middle managers who have more immediate commercial targets to hit. Only the CXO can remove bureaucratic roadblocks and has the liberty to give special projects breathing room before applying the right amount of commercial pressure (too much will suffocate the necessary innovation). A clear mandate from the top is the ultimate expression of enthusiasm and assurance of committed support from a critical partner.

This bottom-up product innovation balanced with a top down mandate forms 2 fundamental principles of mAgri service development.

*CXO is shorthand referring to corporate executives at the “C” level and whose title begins with “Chief” and ends in “Officer” (CEO, CFO, CMO, CIO, etc.)

Future knowledge sharing activities will explore this topic further and provide more detailed approaches to winning that crucial CXO mandate.