Case Study: apnaPCO project with Telenor Pakistan

The apnaPCO project was launched in April 2007 by Telenor Pakistan in conjunction with the GSMA Development Fund. apnaPCO means literally "Our PCO" and is Telenor Pakistan's 'business in a box' for rural communities.

The product is effectively a mobile PCO (Public Call Office), as it offers shared public access to telephony for community members.

The objectives of the pilot were to:

• Provide rural men and women an opportunity to access mobile communications
• Empower entrepreneurs to increase their level of income by becoming mobile PCO operators for their communities
• Increase awareness among key stakeholders of Telenor Pakistan's brand and its social contribution
• Receive feedback and gain a better understanding of the appropriate product proposition and explore the potential approaches for a PCO scale up.

The apnaPCO Starter Kit comprised of a robust phone (Motorola C118); a Telenor SIM with competitive local and international rates and with PKR 150 (USD 2.5) worth of free balance ready to make calls; a PKR 500 (USD 8.3) scratch card; training for the use of the solution; training on estimating a business case scenario; personalised customer service and various promotional materials.

Phase I: Launch in Southern Punjab with local NGO partner the National Rural Support Program (NRSP)

The project started in April 2007 and ran over a 3-month period. It created 150 entrepreneurs and provided coverage to 37,000+ rural households in some of the most impoverished rural areas of southern Punjab.

Based upon close network monitoring and qualitative feedback from the entrepreneurs and customers, we concluded that the pilot's objectives were being fulfilled. On average, 33 calls were made and paid for per week, totalling 50 minutes and creating profit for the entrepreneur of nearly US$3 per week. Based on this, it took the entrepreneurs on average of seven weeks to break even.

Phase II: Launch in Interior Sindh Phase I with local NGO partner Indus Resource Center

The project started in July 2007 and ran over a 3-month period. It has created 100 female entrepreneurs and provided coverage to 25,000+ rural households in some of the most impoverished rural areas of interior Sindh. Many of the women who are now running apnaPCO business or using them in these communities had no experience of using a mobile phone prior to the project.

Based upon feedback from the entrepreneurs and customers, it was concluded that the pilot's objectives are being fulfilled. On average, the female entrepreneurs are breaking even within a month of commencement.

Summary

For the entrepreneurs, the apnaPCO brought telecommunications with no daily fixed charges, a simple, inexpensive solution (a subsidy of at least 50%) that is completely mobile (versus fixed-line), personalised customer service, innovative features, free incoming calls with good connection quality.

For the local community, the apnaPCO brought telecommunications to the home, privacy (especially for women), convenience, reliability and competitive pricing.

The pilots are a testimony to the entrepreneurial expertise of rural men and women of Pakistan - traditionally considered to be naïve in the matters of modern business.

The results clearly show that people in rural communities have the need and willingness to spend a significant amount of their income on telecom services.

As a result of the pilot projects, Telenor Pakistan has a better understanding of the rural market and is now in a position to consider scaling up the apnaPCO concept.

Further information can be found at: http://www.telenor.com/cr/