Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia’s Mobile Market

mfish is a case about global partnerships which target the bottom of the pyramid. This case focuses on mobile penetration and using a local partner to gain access to consumers, however this is not specific to mobile or fishing and can be applied across industries. One of Tone’s main successes here was focusing on their core competencies, mobile app development, and using key partnerships to fill in their knowledge and competency gaps. Tone/mfish were able to monetize a solution, despite targeting this very low income sector by making a product that greatly increased the livelihood of it’s consumers, which customers were willing to pay for. This case challenges students to think creatively about solving a problem in a low cost way, while also maintaining a customer centric focus. If the product doesn’t solve problems for consumers, then there won’t be high demand for it, so keeping a customer centric focus is key. In addition, a low cost solution is important when targeting this segment since their willingness to pay might be low on an absolute scale given their low level of income.

The objectives of this case are to help the student think about creative business models for targeting customers in a new or different way, especially one with low costs. It challenges students to remain customer centric and challenge the preconceived notions they might have about adoption of technology, especially in emerging markets