Details on Presentation
- Education on Need to Use a Specialist
- Education on Open Source
Ideas/Questions
- Certification of Users - like a certified administrator, certified data entry operator
Key Takeaways
- Must improve general awareness of Mifos as a software package for MFIs
- References from other MFIs are critically important - make their contact info and testimonials readily available
- Must we create this endorsement engine ourself or should we use something like LinkedIn?
- Local support is a huge deciding factor.
- Online searches matter a lot - make sure our SEO counts.
- Transition news is top search result for Mifos/Mifos.com - FIX THIS.
- Local conferences for MFIs are another good venue in which to plant the seed of awareness.
- Specialists themselves need to know how to properly market Mifos
- Need to be aggressive in on-the-ground promotion - host local workshops/advertise in newspaper
- Also need to educate on need to use a specialists and education on open source.
- References from other MFIs are critically important - make their contact info and testimonials readily available
- Demand generation
- Establish relationships with influencers in each regions
- Microfinance networks & associations, conferences, ministries of micofinance
- Able to reach hundreds of MFIs rather than one individual one.
- Consultant has strong influential opinion - need to promote Mifos within consultant networks.
- Donor is driving force on spending on technology - MFIs only spend when donors give them money to.
- Central banks in Africa (Uganda, Nigeria Ethiopia, etc.) are more influential in terms of software decisions than they are in places like India.
- Create a program in which to target the major influencers like the national association and sell Mifos to them.
- Action: add each of the major stakeholders to our CRM and a have concerted plan to contact each one of them.
- Establish relationships with influencers in each regions
- Exclusivity/Qualification of being a Mifos Specialist
- Now anyone can say they're a Mifos Specialists - need to make some stand apart.
- stand apart.
- Initiative Positioning
- Need to fully clarify the change in paternity from Grameen Foundation to COSM.
- Remove fear of damaging the Mifos brand (Nayan) like was common in past.
- Product Positioning
- Establish clarity on the target market so Specialist know which features they should be emphasizing to MFIs
- Improve the first time user experience with product (easy install or simple demo/trial)
- Pricing Positioning
- Enormous disparity between willingness of MFIs to pay for technology.
- Specialists often must focus on building trust and providing free consulting services before beginning discussion of pricing for Mifos.
- Conflux has done a lot for free up front but once they've shown their value, MFIs spend on future needs.
- Should experiment with bundling of services and software - no commercial versions (this would kill Mifos vision)
- To offer higher levels of service/software.
- Tension between MFIs wanting standard pricing and Specialists wanting to be able to charge a range of prices.
- MFIs could then just judge on quality
- Should specify a range of low to high prices so MFIs can have clear expectations and checklist of where services fit.
- Where COSM can add value
- Marketing tools
- Training - Technical training (on-site or virtual) is needed both for Specialists and IT staff at MFIs'
- MFI IT staff by becoming pseudo-Specialists can provide downstream support to other MFIs
- Polly: MFIs will pay for training more than software or support - want to invest in their businesses - easier to maintain without external contract.
- Expectation that MFI will sign a year-long support agreement and cancel it after one year.
- Repository of advanced experts that Specialists can contract out when they need additional resources.
- For MFIs that aren't ready for a Specialist - provide repository of materials so they can self-support.
- Next Steps
- Specialists qualification program - immediately make this available with the five or six criteria that qualify a specialist
- Significantly enhance website so Specialists know what they need to do to become a Specialist.
- Prepare a deck to begin presenting at MFI association meetings.
Discussion
Details on Presentation
- Education on Need to Use a Specialist
- Education on Open Source
Ideas/Questions
- Certification of Users - like a certified administrator, certified data entry operator
What help do you need in marketplace?
From MFI Perspective:
- Raj in Uganda - not many know about Mifos - need to make it aware to MFIs - software package
- Where does an MFI go to find out about the software?
- Through references...through other MFIs, through other technology companies
- Any new MFI - look for local support - if local support exists, they make decision
- Esther:
- Googled MFI software and found a couple, then looked at website
- Did own requirements sheet and sent it VasTech - what can you do and not do and sent it to VasTech
- Went with Octopus because VasTech was local
- SEO - want to pop up immediately
- Amit:
- Feedback from nearby MFIs - need feedback/validation - this feedback is good for sales and all
- Need to have list of customers so people can reach out to them as references
- Need testimonials, Multiplicity is priceless
- Three or 4 local small implementations of Mifos in Jaipur - all trust in Amit.
- Collect feedback from all MFIs - make it accessible from Google
- Need list of references - email address or contact info to speak to the MFI
From Specialist Perspective
- Zayyad:
- Main challenge in East African Market is awareness
- Specialists don't have an idea of how to market Mifos
- Very small budget of how to do marketing
- Other think that anyone can deploy Mifos - no formal specialist program.
- Even to have an edge of putting Mifos on website
- i.e. on homepage of Intrasoft - put Mifos as one of the products they offer on website
- Received a call from a SACCO looking for new software
- Main challenge is marketing - how best can help.
- Amit: Mifos transition is the top news on Google about Mifos shutting down. -- need to address this.
- Is it true that MFIs don't know software in general?
- Indian Microfinance sites - this type of knowledge around Mifos X is not web
- Semba had to explain this to his management.
- Zayyad:
- Bankers realm very familiar because of large bank installation, Octopus not very common in Kenya
- From MFI perspective
- Have conferences where most MFIs meet and share knowledge on common systems being used - mention Mifos in these places -
- Microfinance Network Organizations:
- Need to register with them
- Octopus has tied up directly with the association in Ghana
- Need to register with them
- Raj: Ministry of Microfinance as well
- Amit:
- Impression they have is download and install
- Lacking of specialist - not possible to download and host on their own servers
- If targeting small MFIs, don't know how to install.
- Requires a specialist, specialist team needs to be tightened before making any sales
- Important about presentation of Mifos
- Octopus is easy to install (OS and Enterprise Edition)
- Nayan: previously the biggest selling point was the backing by Grameen Foundation
- Shiva: few financial inclusion orgs that could promote Mifos
- Basic, Access Development Services
- Shiva: few financial inclusion orgs that could promote Mifos
- Basics: provides access to fund
- Software - need a corresponding fund as well - want a donor to be promoting a product
- Lost order to basics
- MFIs are aware of the funding services
- MFIs know how to apply funding - spends on technology only when insists on spending on technology
- Shiva: Driving force should be donor and not the MFI - they would push the spend on technology
- Craig: Do Specialist present to the donors?
- Shiva: was talking to MF network from Ghana.
- Shiva: tried to reach CARE inda
- Craig: Is grant open to any technology or is specified to a software?
- Shiva: Grant is allocated for technology and doesn't specify a vendor - usually MFI just spends it on something outside of technology.
- Kazeem:
- When donor pushes a money for software installation - rely on consultant for advice - consultant has the latitude to say go with this.
- If donor has a software to promote, they will put that software in there.
- Need to promote Mifos among consultant network
- CGAP IS platform, World Bank Platform
- Promote Mifos among these consultants
- To get that funding, just find consultants who would be comfortable deploying
- Polly: Easier to get funding from existing partners who have given funding for other hardware
- Craig:
- Is it better to sell to donors and capacity building network rather than MFIs?
- Kazeem - more leveraged channel would be to have a meeting at GAMFI
- Concentration of decision makers all in one room
- Go to Systems Director of Central Bank of Nigeria in charge of 900 MFIs
- Defer to them for guidance
- MF Banks in Ethiopia - looking for common system of 900
- Easier to sit with Dr Waldi
- Raj: Bank of Uganda for regulation purposes wasn't at all familiar with Mifos
- More comfortable with systems they always have approval from them.
- Amit: Fruitseller is not telling he's selling fruit
- Need to speak loudly from all the channels, tell your story.
- First need a team of specialists, how you use it, what are the benefits, why is Mifos better than all the other products?
- If we then speak loudly - what is Mifos
- Need to generate the interest in the software which is lacking.
- Polly: CBK had a list of requirements and a list of systems
- Fact that Mifos was not listed there - disqualifies it automatically, not confident.
- Amit: need to tell the future of Mifos.
- Need to make the specialists capable of selling the product.
- Zayyad:
- Functionalities:
- Many would not sell it to central banks because current functionalities that do not conform to central banking requirements
- Accounting functions
- Audit Trails
- Stakeholder Reports
- Once all these are in place - should be able to market to central banks.
- Many would not sell it to central banks because current functionalities that do not conform to central banking requirements
- Raj: central banks play a strong advisory role - if they're not
- Functionalities:
- Kazeem
- Change paternity of Mifos - Grameen to COSM
- Redirecting Grameen searches to Mifos
- Communication of COSM to all users
- SEO for Mifos & COSM
- West Africa
- Trying to promote a common platform - multi-million bid for one hosted application for 900 MFIs
- Amit: if want hundreds and thousands
- No mission to reach there - don't have sales team
- All in summit because we know each other for a long time
- Amit: offer local sessions for MFIs - put in newspaper so people can join.
- Call MFIs from local market to be there.
- Spread the
- Amit: if want hundreds and thousands
- Trying to promote a common platform - multi-million bid for one hosted application for 900 MFIs
- Arun: realize that Mifos may not be the answer for every single MFI, in every single geography
- Really understand the target segment
- Focus on low-cost sort of software for software or do we get into complexities of larger MFI with bigger lines and
- Specialists then need to know what they should talk about it when looking to clients.
- Mifos user conference
- Really understand the target segment
- Shiva: could promote Mifos in magazines
- Central Bank of Nigeria, Uganda and other African countries could influence many many sales
- Not as strong in India - not
- Change paternity of Mifos - Grameen to COSM
...