Mobile Startups: At the cutting edge of digital innovation

The important role of mobile start-ups in accelerating the adoption of ICTs for all sectors of society is being acknowledged in forums around the world, ranging from the mBillionth and mobiSparks conferences to the recent infoDev Global Forum on innovation & technology Entrepreneurship held in South Africa.

Here are ten tips for mobile start-ups and aspiring innovators to harness the wireless wave, and some suggestions for policymakers and larger industry players as well.

1. Immerse yourself in your domain Founders should be deeply immersed in their domains to connect with citizens, customers and partners, and thus develop
unique insights and design their products. you need a first person perspective to succeed.

2. Don’t brand yourself just with technology Entrepreneurs should focus on clear problem areas but not bind themselves too strongly to one technology or platform alone. if you are an education service, don’t call yourself only an SmS platform because in a few years smartphone and tablet adoption will increase and you can go beyond SmS.

3. Overcome fear of failure the fear of failure is driven into many South Asian families through our schools, parents and society at large – and is also related to punishment. Conditioning aspiring entrepreneurs to overcome fear will be an important part of nurturing innovators.

4. Set the stage for directed as well as accidental innovation Not all innovations emerged as the result of systematic processes and strategy – some emerged quite by accident, such as the microwave oven, Post-it notes and consumer adoption of SmS. innovation organisations should set up conditions for directed as well as accidental innovation.

5. Tap anecdotes and analytics to show impacts Startups need to master storytelling as well as quantitative measures to show the impact of their products and services. Not everything can be captured in numbers – but not everything can be captured in a story either.

6. Angel funds there are many ‘do-gooders’ in society who would like to help support small tech startups, and the time is ripe for ‘crowd funding’ approaches for start-ups in South Asia. Some joke that typical angel sources are the 4 Fs: immediate family, friends, fools and fathers-in-law! At a larger scale, a number of countries are passing laws legalising crowd funding.

7. Spreading innovation beyond big cities in many emerging economies, innovation hubs are emerging in major cities, but not beyond them. “Provincial innovation systems” are now bringing the start-up spirit to remote parts of the region as well, including tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

8. Local content drives local innovation local languages are being increasingly supported at the information and device level. Having more tools, content and
services in the local language can drive local innovation in South Asia.

9. Advantage: Youth South Asia is blessed with a huge youth population who can do particularly well in digital innovation. many of these are ‘digital natives,’ and can use and create new digital tools. the emergence of cloud-based services and mobile social media are changing the way innovation happens
in more advanced ways than even 15 years ago in the dotcom boom period.

10. Tap local wisdom and roots South Asia is home to a rich base of cultural diversity, and was a major economic power in the pre-colonial era. tapping
our deep roots can also drive a resurgence in the 21st century global digital economy. it would be fitting to end this write-up with a few indian proverbs which highlight entrepreneurial values of focus, drive, and learning from failures!

If everybody pushes together even a mountain can be moved.
– Malayalam proverb
To lose is to learn.
– Hindi proverb
It is not a shame to fall but to remain fallen.
– Tamil proverb
If you really need a job to be done, be prepared to fall at the feet of a donkey.
– Kannada proverb
Listen to popular opinion but follow your own mind.
– Marathi proverb
Even the best painter starts with a blank wall.
– Tamil proverb
Be slow to promise but quick to perform.
– Kannada proverb
A beautiful vendor can even sell fermented juice.
– Tamil proverb

Madanmohan Rao
Research Director at YourStory.in