Information and Communication Technologies for Development

Attending Dave Castell’s talk made me ponder how Mosoko competes with the status quo – existing sources of classifieds, where people can buy/sell goods and find/post jobs. This week I studied five non-Kenyan companies to see how Mosoko could differentiate itself. (Brian studied the local Kenyan options.) The companies I analyzed are:
- Cellbazaar (Bangladesh)
- Craigslist
- YouPost (South Africa)
- Kijiji (E-Bay owned Craigslist-like classified operating in 30 countries)
- Babajob (India's Linked-In for maids/drivers)

We believe that Mosoko’s value proposition is
1. it is more inclusive
~ To cater to illiterate/semi-literate users who don’t understand English, Mosoko uses an interactive voice recognition system for both Swahili and English speakers. Shared cell phone users can also use Mosoko because they can have individualized IDs to access their search results and conceal their cell phone number if they don’t want to reveal their identity.

2. it provides users the convenience of “anywhere, anytime”
~ Similar to Cellbazaar, Mosoko is accessible both via the web and cell phones. Users are not disadvantaged if they are not covered by the current classifieds, e.g. those who do not have frequent internet connectivity or are not within the circulation of the printed classifieds. They can post ads real-time through voice-recorded or text messages that will be converted into database entries that are searchable by voice and text.

Our tasks on hand are: i) buyer/seller acquisition and retention ii) sustainability. Content attracts activity and more content. Hence we are thinking about how we can forge sustainable partnerships with existing classified sources, develop incentives to use Mosoko as well as generate revenues to cover the incurred costs.