One of the hottest segments of innovation in digital media
has been e-commerce/e-business. Five winners of the prestigious World Summit
Awards 2013 showed that innovators are pushing the frontiers of digital markets
in emerging economies as well.
From payment and analytics to crowdsourcing and
marketplaces, the diverse range of winners from around the world showcased
their initiatives at the recent WSA conference in Sri Lanka, and also shed
light on best practices for succeeding in the e-business space.
WSA - Courtesy – Philipp Benedikt/Alexander Mattersberger
Springleap is a crowdsourced creative platform based in
South Africa but with clients in the US and Europe as well. Global brands are
using Springleap’s creative social media marketing campaigns to empower
creatives and engage brand fans. The startup rewarded creatives with over
$300,000 in the last year and placed them on magazines, sites and TV spots
across the world.
Infoline from Ghana is a mobile and web service which
connects consumers and businesses in emerging markets. Users of smartphones as
well as basic phones can access and send messages to businesses; the data is
mined for extraction of useful analytics for companies, which helps them
understand and respond to their market segments more effectively.
Ponoko from New Zealand is a Web based marketplace for
designers to make and sell products online. The ‘Personal Factory’ model helps
them instantly verify, price and order prototypes and custom products. To date,
Ponoko designers have produced over 300,000 custom products.
Conekta is a platform that allows businesses in Mexico to
process online payments using both online and offline methods. Offline channels
are generally disregarded by dominant payment solutions such as Paypal. Conekta
is used for a range of transactions: selling physical products, taking
donations, ecommerce offers, or enabling marketplaces for third parties.
TransferWise from Estonia is a smarter solution for
international money transfers using P2P methods. Banks charge a lot for
international money transfers but TransferWise brings the fee down to
mid-market exchange rate. Customers pay a smaller, fully transparent service
charge to access this facility.
The winners from these companies shared insights on the
evolution and impacts of their business models, and offered useful tips for
aspiring entrepreneurs in this space.
1. Keep an eye on regulatory changes. Mobile payment and
international remittances are still subject to national jurisdictions, and
changes in these regulations can alter the fortunes of digital payment
providers.
2. Play in both spaces: smartphones and basic phones,
especially in emerging economies. Basic SMS and voice services still have a
useful shelf-life, but as smartphone penetration increases it will be possible
to offer rich media apps and content as well.
3. Think micro-multinational. It is possible for startups,
especially in tech and creative spaces, to operate simultaneously in multiple
countries, leveraging various skillsets, pricepoints and timezones for
effective project management and product delivery.
4. Tap the crowd but protect your brand. Leverage the power
of creative crowds to offer speed and diversity in service to your clients, but
ensure you have strict quality control and IPR compliance.
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