Nokia lures rural India with micro-payment scheme
While Nokia’s Indian market continues to grow even as pockets shrink in this recession, it has found a new way to reel in even more customers.
India is already Nokia’s second biggest market, with 430 million users which represents 60% of India’s mobiles. While the demand for high end phones remains the domain of urban India, Nokia has a new lucrative micro-financing scheme which might reign in some of the rural audience too.
The new scheme which has already been tested in Maharashtra, will enable rural customers to pay for their mobile in 25 equal weekly installments of Rs. 100 each. This service is sure to be a boon to many of the customers in the rural market, as now with a small bill of Rs. 400 above their monthly bill, they can get a Nokia mobile.
Other schemes such as Nokia Life Tools are also targeted towards this market. With the Nokia Life Tools Agriculture services, Nokia intends to provide its rural audience with information relevant to them.
According to Nokia’s Life Tools Features page:
“Receive information on weather, agriculture tips & techniques, as well as market prices to improve your productivity and earnings. You’ll be empowered with tailored and reliable information in synch with the cropping cycles delivered regularly to your mobile phone.”
The Life Tools package also has services for Education, for help with exams, learning English, checking results, and Entertainment.
The fact that these service are being launched first in India, shows how important this market is for them. Connectivity is always a good thing, and more services geared for farmers and other rural audiences are surely a good sign. Just don’t expect to get a N97 in this scheme anytime soon!
Source: The Economic Times