The Wanakonnect Pilot Project: Using Mobile Money to Create a Revenue System for Local Radio Stations

This 70-page report discusses findings from Kenya on the impact of the Wanakonnect dedications pilot project for local community radio stations and their interaction with the community. The community radio stations participating in the pilot project offer special dedication and greeting programmes that allow community members to send greetings to friends and family on air. Overall, the report notes that the Wanakonnect system is a feasible concept that is liked by all stakeholders, including community listeners. When it was operational, the system was easy to use and made it easier for radio presenters to edit and insert recorded messages into their shows without stretching their scarce human resources, though challenges such as uptake and awareness of the service existed.

The pilot project, a collaboration between Internews Kenya and MobiKash, ran from August 2011 to January 2012. In-depth interviews were conducted at the onset of the pilot project between August 15 to 30 2011, with 201 community respondents, 6 radio station staff, and 6 staff from Internews Kenya and MobiKash Kenya.

The report outlines the following as key findings:

• Proof of Concept: The Wanakonnect system is a feasible concept. The technology system demonstrated the potential to be a steady revenue generator, given that call-in dedications are very popular with communities and Wanakonnect’s largest component is the call-in-to-record option. However, in its current state, the system is not a viable revenue-generating mechanism for the community radio stations. Technical inconsistencies and the development and implementation of missing components such as the payment mechanism must be addressed before Wanakonnect becomes a reliable revenue-generating system.
• Poor Community Uptake: Though it was expected that Wanakonnect would encourage a permanent move away from old dedications systems, major unresolved technical hitches and very low awareness of the Wanakonnect system prevented the expected widespread adoption of the system by communities. Despite advertising efforts by the radio stations, there was a need for a more interactive advertising approach within the community, supported by MobiKash, to raise awareness and popularity of MobiKash and Wanakonnect.
• Private-Public Partnership: The dynamics of a partnership between Internews, an NGO, and MobiKash, a private business, were not a major factor in the success of the project. However, the implementation strategies for the project put in place by MobiKash - in terms of resources allocated, their technical capacity, and communication between the partners - contributed significantly to the challenges faced in the pilot. These factors therefore had to be studied as a separate variable.

Based on the feedback received from the radio stations and listeners who had used Wanakonnect, it seems that the technology in principle is a good concept. Some changes are recommended to encourage widespread use of the technology and ultimately scale up to other radio stations:

Sustainability

• Advertising: All the partners need to develop a rigorous advertising strategy. Based on the interviews in the community, the majority of radio station listeners did not know of the existence of the Wanakonnect system. More direct engagement with the community is suggested as the most effective method of advertising this technical system. The partners should consider allocating resources to implement the originally planned road shows and direct campaigns to promote the system within the communities through t-shirts, caps, posters, and fliers. These advertising methods should go hand-in-hand with an increase in public understanding of how the system works, so as to reduce the difficulties faced by the listeners.
• Recruitment of Agents and Subscribers to MobiKash: MobiKash needs to be more proactive and do, in conjunction with the radio stations, much more outreach and training to ensure that the uptake of the new dedication system is high. MobiKash only concentrated their recruitment of the subscribers in Korogocho, the most urban of these radio stations, due to its proximity to Nairobi. More agents need to be recruited in the remote village areas.
• Better Project Implementation Strategies: It is advisable that MobiKash hire a project manager for Wanakonnect. This person will become the point person between Internews and MobiKash as well as between the radio stations and MobiKash. Having a dedicated project manager will help MobiKash address problems with the system quickly and provide the radio stations with the required support to continue running the system. The partners should also set realistic timeframes for various aspects of the pilot and post-pilot implementations. It is suggested that at least 4-6 weeks are added to the initial timelines especially for technology development to allow for testing and adjustments to the system.

Technical Recommendations