SiyingChen NalinSaluja Mirela Muresan Naren … · children’s life and sacrifice for their education à ... àCartoon‐like theme ... àOther content like jokes, riddles and games.

Siying ChenNalin SalujaMirela MuresanNaren Balathandayutham

Agenda

1. India Trip 2. Problem Statement3. Solution Generation4. Product Description5. Prototype / Simulation6. Marketing & Business Plan7. Conclusions & Next Steps8. Q&A

India Trip

EducationMost dominant area of interest for the intervieweesSpoken English is not encouraged at homeParents feel that children do not receive practical learningParents are willing to be an active player in their children’s life and sacrifice for their educationEducators feel that children lack confidence in conversational English and fear what others may think

India Trip

FinanceNot clear of financial systems (i.e. terms, interest rates etc.)Women make most of the household decisionsEntrepreneurs need usage of internet for market linkages

HealthcareWomen did not have any insurance in their namesChildren had education fundsMen have life insurance policies No health recordsUsed domestic remedies, unless they are severely ill

Problem Statement

To develop a interactive product or service that helps children and parents in improving their

skill level and feel confident to join a conversation in English

Solution Generation

9 parameters used:BilingualInteractiveCommunity BasedJoyfulReusableMarketableEasy to UseDifficulty of ImplementationLeveraging existing products / infrastructure

Solution Generation

Final solution is hybrid of top four ranked solutions

Cellphone + RadioTV show, with conference participantsComputer kiosks, pop‐up tips/wordsInteractive webcam / multiple‐headsets

Market Feedback to include visual aid

Product Description

Prototype/Simulation

English: This is a Journal

Tamil: Ithu vandu book English: This is a Journal

Tamil: Ithu vandu book

English: This is a Journal

English: This is a pencil

Tamil: Ithu vandu pencil

English: This is a pencil

Tamil: Ithu vandu pencil

This is a pencil

This is a pencilEnglish: This is a pencil

English: Take out your journal

Tamil: Neenga book eddunga English: Take out your journalTamil: Neenga book eddunga

English: This is my journal

Marketing and Business Plan

Environment ‐ InternalMicrosoft Research India – started in 2005Mr. Kentaro Toyama – renowned researcher in computer vision and multimediaTechnology for Emerging Markets group


Environment – ExternalMarket Profile (India)GDP = $1.25 trillion12th largest economy, 3rd largest in PPP terms2nd fastest growing economyLow‐income economy122 recognized languagesBusiness language – English


Environment – ExternalMarket Profile (India)

English speakers different from usersNumber of English users = 350 millionEnglish important for communication across nation

1st Language 2nd Language 3rd Language

226,000 65 million 25 million


Environment – ExternalDelivery Mediums

Medium Subscriber Base Market Penetration Growth Rate

Telephones 289.78 million 25.64% 8.0%

Televisions 105 million households

47.51% 5.0%

Radio 1,120 million 99.13% Negligible

Computers (Internet)

30.3 million 3.00% 28.0%


Business ModelAgencies involved:Users (Children + Mothers)TV channelsTelephone companySource of revenue = advertisingCost to consumer = FREE


Market PenetrationPotential limited by market penetration of telephones (25.64%)Suburban areas of cities ideal place to launchClose access to cities – incentive for families

Customer ServiceTraining in local language requiredReasonable services available in India

Direct Sales Force


Advertising and PromotionDirect Sales Force useWord‐of‐mouth marketingTV broadcast will spread wordPromotions need to be targeted to young children

WebsiteLesson Content and Recordings availableCartoon‐like themeInformation about program, with feedback optionsOther content like jokes, riddles and games


Software RequirementsMultiple phone call supportBasic Speech Recognition in EnglishOutput a prerecorded video

Alternate implementations possible for each requirement


Start Up CostsInfrastructure & Software Development CostsPhone Call CostsMarketing and Promotional CostsSales Force Hiring and Training CostsCustomer Service Costs


Sales ProjectionChennai population = 4.34 millionChildren (5 to 9 years) = 334,0001% projection for launch = 3,300 students

Advertising RevenuesIndustry size = $3.3 Billion41% came from televisions

Conclusions

Solution gives the children an opportunity outside of classroom to converse in EnglishParents and teachers involvement is importantSolution differs from exams and gives children a unique approach to learn new words and experiencesNo other product in the market serves the same purposeSolution benefits the entire family and creates a virtual community park, dedicated to learning spoken English

Next Steps

Explore possibilities of special handset for childrenLook at other markets in IndiaPartner with education experts on developing English Second Language strategies and best practicesConsider other age groups to target and different channels of delivery

SiyingChen NalinSaluja Mirela Muresan Naren … · children’s life and sacrifice for their education à ... àCartoon‐like theme ... àOther content like jokes, riddles and games.

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