Business_Case_Study

Authors Name:
Instructors Name:
Course:
Date:
Case study
The case study by Punithavathi Srikant aims to analyze if the sole purpose of internet, an initiative by Facebook, is to serve the bottom of the pyramid. To achieve this, Srikant examines the main reasons behind the launching of the project, the purpose it serves and whether it is a business venture that is depicted as a charity (2). Some of the issues highlighted in the case study include mixing of business with philanthropic activities. Despite the fact that this was an idea with noble intentions, some misinterpreted the initiative and criticized it as profitable venture displayed as charity and, whose sole purpose was to benefit the business and not the markets in the developing countries.
The case study also highlights challenges in market penetration for the venture, especially in emerging markets. The target market for this initiative was the developing countries, i.e., India, Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda and Zambia (Srikant 1). These different markets posed different challenges to the initiative. Other problems included “lack of basic infrastructure, low quality of coverage, uneven distribution of wealth, and lagging human capital development” (Srikant 10). Language, increasing awareness, and affordability were other challenges that hit this initiative especially in India where the growth of internet connectivity was slow (Srikant 3).
Other issues highlighted in the case study include the external environment issues like competitors.

In this case, the initiative left other competitors with no option but to form alliances with the aim of sharing revenues to survive and the people using the initiative services got excess power which interfered with internet freedom and net neutrality (Srikant 9). Consequently, this led to the creation of a ‘monopoly portal’ which posed a threat to a competitive environment. These challenges are not unique to internet.org initiative only, as a matter of fact, they are experienced by almost all business venturing into new markets. A good example is the coca cola company which encountered similar problems during its initial expansion stages which required them to come up with innovative and cost-effective solutions.
To counter similar challenges, business should be innovative in coming up with solutions that address these problems in a cost-effective and efficient manner. When venturing into new and emerging markets companies should conduct thorough research on the market to understand it demographics, unique challenges, and any other relevant information to design products that specifically suit them and proactively address potential problems. Businesses should also be aware that the local people understand their environment better and therefore, involving them through partnerships will enable tackling of these challenges in a more effective way. Additionally, collaborating with experts in the regions can also be instrumental in solving these challenges as well as reducing the cost that would be incurred in addressing these issues.
Internet.org is an initiative spearheaded by the Facebook team and a collaboration between leaders in technology, local communities, non-profit organization and other experts (Srikant 1). The mission of this initiative is to bring benefits of connectivity to people that do not have them by making internet available to them (Deloitte 1). This will give them a platform and a voice to learn and share with the world. The initiative is exploring and offering solutions to overcome affordability, accessibility and awareness problems to enhance connectivity by using a couple of approaches like ‘free basics by Facebook, connectivity lab, express Wi-Fi by Facebook’ and other projects like innovation challenge and innovation lab (Deloitte 2).
‘Free basics by Facebook’ approach allows local people to access basic websites with different contents without any charges. The content of these websites includes health information, jobs posting, education information, news and communication platforms, e.g., Facebook. The connectivity lab, on the other hand, explores technologies that can enable internet access that is affordable. Some of the technologies that are operational so far include connecting using lasers technology and the ‘Aquila unmanned aircraft’ (Deloitte 2). By providing software that enables connection in communities, ‘Express Wi-Fi by Facebook’ has empowered entrepreneurs and service providers in these countries to provide the local people with access to the quality internet. Additionally, the innovation lab and innovation challenge approach enable app developers to understand and test their apps in different network conditions and recognize people offering and working on solutions that are internet based with the aim of improving economic, living and health conditions respectively.
With internet connectivity being labelled as a driver to economic improvement in developing countries (Srikant 2), Internet.org initiative has had notable impacts since its launch. According to Deloitte “connectivity in developing countries allows people to take part in the digital economy, stimulates economic impact and enables the transition to knowledge-based economies” (10). Through internet.org people in these developing countries have been able to thrive economically since access to the quality internet has enabled entrepreneurs and business people to effortlessly reach their target markets locally and globally as well as minimize the marketing barriers. This initiative has also stimulated an increase in generation of income through innovation, e.g., designing of apps and increase in demand and sale of devices that use internet, e.g., mobile phones.
Through the initiative, people have also been able to access information which is vital in growing their businesses which translates to increased profits. Moreover, access to health information reduces the costs and save lives. Additionally, the initiative has contributed to the improvement of infrastructure in these countries, e.g., in India there has been reduction in the connectivity gap through the structure developed courtesy of this project. There has been a notable increase in the number of jobs created through this initiative, i.e., through partnering with local people and business and supporting new entrepreneurs more job opportunities have been created. These economic benefits have contributed to the reduction of poverty, improved livelihoods and increase in growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of these countries. The following chart indicates the increase rate of GDP growth and percentage of poverty decrease as a result of an increase in connectivity ((Srikant 2)
0-185420
Despite the criticism of the initiative, it is indisputably an ideal venture that is beneficial both to the business and the bottom pyramid. It is worth noting that since the launch of the initiative, the management represented by Mark Zuckerberg, did not deny that the project would be beneficial to the business in the long run. However, the benefits that the bottom pyramid is getting from the initiative are much more vital. It is also evident that there is need to address few concerns arising from the initiative, to improve the effectiveness. However, this is a small price to pay compared to the benefits the bottom of the pyramid is experiencing. The benefits have been widespread in almost all of their sectors, e.g., communication, health, education, infrastructure, etc. Therefore, the benefits from this initiative even if it’s just a small percentage in economic growth, is far much better for these developing countries instead of none at all.
Work cited
Srikant, Punithavathi. “Facebook’s Internet.Org Initiative: Serving the Bottom of the Pyramid?” 15 Apr. 2015, p. 16. Reference no. 315-027-1.
Deloitte, U.K. “The global economic impact of Facebook.” 10 June 2016,www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/technology-media-and telecommunications/articles/the-global-economic-impact-of-facebook.html.