Entry modes and the impact of mobile microfinance at the Base of the Pyramid: Scenarios of “My Village Phone” in Egypt

The expansion of mobile telecoms in the Egyptian market has contributed to different development paradigms. The entry mode and the way telecoms follow to access the Base of the Pyramid market in Egypt identifies which paradigm will take place in the future. Using the case of “My Village Phone” we developed a scenario analysis to explore the linkages between the entry modes and development paradigms. We found that “Pro-poor”, “Para-poor”, “Per-poor”, “Per-poor exports” and “Networked” are expected to take place if telecoms followed the Base of the Pyramid entry mode. However, they may fail to achieve one or more of these paradigms if they followed different entry modes such as “Capitalists mode”, “Skimming mode”, “Social responsibility mode”, or “Sustainability mode”. This study contributes toward a typology of entry modes and development scenarios for mobile telecoms market in general and for mobile microfinance in specific. In the national level, we provide a testable business model for the candidate mobile telecom that looks for holding the fourth mobile licence in Egypt.