This week, the GSM Association (GSMA) released a report on Building Synergies: How Mobile Operators and Start-ups Can Partner for Impact in Emerging Markets and it submitted that a relationship that will be amiable to both parties must be balanced.
Specifically the report suggested that both parties need to benefit from the collaboration for it to make sense and be sustainable.
“Therefore, before going ahead with a partnership, mobile operators and start-ups need to clearly assess their haves and needs, and then use the framework above to identify specific opportunities for collaboration,” the report noted.
The reported revealed that it is important to note that a “have” on one side can fulfil different “needs” on the other side.
“For instance, the innovative and high-impact services a start-up provides can help a mobile operator with customer acquisition and customer retention.”
If presented the example of the partnership between ecommerce giant Jumia and Nigeria’s largest operator MTN as a case study.
“In Nigeria, when eCommerce start-up Jumia offers exclusive discounts to MTN customers, it not only generates new customers on the operator’s side, but also increases the satisfaction and loyalty of its existing customers,”GSMA stated.
