The way Kenyans want to interact with suppliers and service providers is changing and therefore the way businesses interact with their clientele in marketplace has to change. The Kenyan market has rapidly embraced technology. This is evident on the business front, social front and even on the political front! (One constituency holds weekly meetings with its MP via satellite!) All this thanks to the explosion in technology.
In the world of MFI’s, competitive advantage can be achieved by leveraging mobile technology. A significant step towards this has been the introduction of the Simple MFI by Kevin Gibbs a lead project at Google.
The new technology allows loan officers to carry with them current data to the field on a simple, fairly priced Ideos phone. This is a step in the right direction as they can access a set of relevant data e.g. client balances, payments, collection sheets, and loan schedules; data that they previously could not access in real time.
The new technology allows loan officers to carry with them current data to the field on a simple, fairly priced Ideos phone. This is a step in the right direction as they can access a set of relevant data e.g. client balances, payments, collection sheets, and loan schedules; data that they previously could not access in real time.
It is all about connecting teams, functions, clients and markets in order to drive performance through mobile technology. Thus the operations of an MFI’s can be transformed when mobile technology improves the efficiency and productivity of loan officers, saves on costs, and improves their service levels.
Thus it is impossible to ignore the impact that mobile technology will have on MFI’s. The implications for business are profound as they will translate into competitive advantage. MFI’s using mobile technology will reduce their operating expense ratio, increase their reach and thus positively impact their funding.
However, moving innovation from concept to becoming a reality is what the world of competitive advantage is all about. Simple MFI is open source, and is free for any MFI to use.
Leaders of Micro finance institutions should see the potential of this new technology and embrace it sooner rather than later.
Useful links:
Application Description with screenshots
Similar writeup in the Acumen blog
Application Description with screenshots
Download the Android App, use the organization name "sample"
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