In the latest of our guest blog series, Anant Nautiyal, Mobile Technology Programme Manager, for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women discusses the findings of the organisation’s latest study ‘Women Entrepreneurs in Mobile Retail Channels.’
Meet Shirley
Shirley is 26, married with three children, and lives in Uganda. She runs a small kiosk that sells airtime and SIM cards for several mobile network operators (MNOs). She also sells phone cases and second-hand clothes to supplement her income. Shirley started her business as a retail agent for mobile operators with just a wooden box, a stool and an initial investment of USD75. Today, the business provides her with a steady income that enables her to send her children to school.
Shirley’s story is based on the feedback we received from dozens of women whom we interviewed for our recently launched study, ‘Women Entrepreneurs in Mobile Retail Channels: Empowering Women, Driving Growth’. The study was carried out in collaboration with 14 mobile operators in 11 markets and investigates the role that women can play in the retail channels of MNOs.
Women retail agents good for mobile operators
Our findings indicate that there is a strong commercial argument for MNOs to incorporate more women in their retail chains. Our research partner, TNS, found that women bring higher revenue potential with them as retail agents for MNOs through superior customer service, a higher degree of trustworthiness with other channel partners and a strong drive to succeed. They also found that women help operators differentiate their branding in competitive markets. At the recent launch of our report at the Middle East Telco Summit in Dubai on 29 November, Simon Duffy, CEO of Cell C South Africa, said, “There are not only moral but strongly commercial reasons for MNOs to look at including more women in their retail chains.”
Mobile value chain suitable for women entrepreneurs
The mobile value chain is a business that fits easily around the commitments that women often have (as wives, mothers etc), making it a flexible option for them to adopt. It also gives women obvious economic benefits, greater standing and respect in their communities, and training in the skills required to run a business.
Recommendations
Our research has found that across Africa and in some markets such as the Philippines, women already form a very large section of the retail chains of MNOs, but many of them operate at the lower end of the chain where margins tend to be low. MNOs, NGOs and governments therefore have an important role to play in building the capacity of women entrepreneurs to take up roles higher up in the MVC. In carrying out our research, we also came across the familiar problem of MNOs not having sufficient gender segregated statistics on the performance of their retail chains. The collection of such data would help strengthen the business case for MNOs to include more women in retail chains. Furthermore, MNOs should develop programmes to incorporate women in their retail chains that take into account the specific challenges that they face (such as security concerns and social constraints).
Next Steps
We are looking to partner with leading MNOs to develop projects that will train and include more women in their retail chains as agents. If you have any comments or feedback on the report or would like to talk about the Mobile Technology Programme in general, please contact me directly at [email protected].
Find out more about the Mobile Technology Programme at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women at www.cherieblairfoundation.org/mobile