Upya Technologies shares key observations in their work with mini-grid developers
15 March 2022 – As mini-grid developers continue to grow in Africa, there is little doubt that to sustain their impact they will need to continuously improve their performance and ROI. Based on their work with multiple mini-grid developers, Upya Technologies, a SaaS/CRM provider for the Last Mile, shares some of their observations on how to optimise a business model in constant need of digitisation and innovation.
- A Sales Funnel starts at the Site Selection: Early surveys should serve as a way to start collecting early leads and once the site is selected seamlessly following up on those leads considerably reduce cost of acquisitions
- Don’t underestimate the need to constantly improve the End-User Experience. It will help in improving repayment rates, increase referrals and ultimately help developers gain more connections per village. Automated SMS, USSD menus and even an end-user app (that in the case of Upya’s can serve as an e-commerce solution) are some of the options that allow developers to better connect with their end-customer.
- A must for all developers is to Increase the ARPU of their Customers through selling other products such as appliances, phones or even insurance. An easy way to get started is to partner with existing distributors by sharing specific end-customer information that could ultimately lead to a sale and additional revenue for both parties. A more ambitious approach is of course for the mini-grid developer to directly distribute relevant products to its end-customers.
On all the above, digitisation plays a crucial role and so it is a must for any mini-grid developers to carefully connect their sales strategies with their digitisation journey and involve their IT department or IT partner in these discussions. You can also reach out to Upya and learn more on how they can help. Feel free to send an email to gaetan@upya.io. Gaetan leads the sales and partnership division of Upya and will be happy to walk you through Upya’s solutions.
Note: You can read the full blog from Upya on the topic above here.