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- May 2022
- Case
Rawbank's Illico Cash: Can 'Fast Money' Overcome Cash Dependency in the DRC?
By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger
Thomas de Dreux-Brézé, the Head of Strategy and Project Management at Rawbank Congo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was perplexed as he reviewed annual adoption rates for the bank’s launch of Illico Cash 2.0. As the bank’s mobile money app, Illico Cash...
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Keywords:
Fintech;
Inflation;
Deflation;
Rural;
Urban;
Emerging Market;
Mobile Technology;
Finance;
Money;
Inflation and Deflation;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Demographics;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Behavioral Finance;
Currency;
Banks and Banking;
Commercial Banking;
Financial Strategy;
Rural Scope;
Urban Scope;
Innovation Strategy;
Emerging Markets;
Network Effects;
Consumer Behavior;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Technology Adoption;
Banking Industry;
Financial Services Industry;
Technology Industry;
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- March 2022
- Case
Swvl: Smart Mobility for the Masses
By: Krishna Palepu, Esel Çekin and Menna Hassan
The case focuses on strategy and governance issues at SWVL, a tech-enabled mass mobility marketplace. It describes the journey of CEO and Chairman Mostafa Kendil on his journey from founding to the company’s listing on Nasdaq. Since its founding in Egypt in 2017, Swvl...
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- March 2022
- Case
In Data We Trust: Be Mobile Africa and Furthering Financial Inclusion Across the African Continent
By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Pierre Marchesseault
To Cédric Jeannot, leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion was personal. After no established financial institution would accept his technology platform to lower transaction costs for free, Jeannot launched FinTech company Be Mobile Africa in May 2020....
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Keywords:
Finance;
Fintech;
Emerging Market;
Fundraising;
Financial Inclusion;
Strategy;
Expansion;
Management;
Entrepreneurship;
Personal Finance;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Financial Services Industry;
Banking Industry;
Africa;
Togo;
Nigeria;
Ghana
- February 2022
- Case
Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff
By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney
Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than...
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Keywords:
SPACs;
Business Model;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Green Technology;
Capital Markets;
Venture Capital;
Initial Public Offering;
Rural Scope;
Urban Scope;
City;
Disruptive Innovation;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Demand and Consumers;
Market Timing;
Industry Growth;
Infrastructure;
Logistics;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Production;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Strategic Planning;
Partners and Partnerships;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Urban Development;
Sustainable Cities;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Air Transportation;
Aerospace Industry;
Air Transportation Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
Travel Industry;
Germany;
Munich;
Brazil;
United States;
Florida
- February 2022
- Teaching Note
AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace
By: Ayelet Israeli
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-069. AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120...
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Keywords:
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Mobile;
Digital Marketing;
Word-of-Mouth;
Word Of Mouth;
Word-of-mouth Marketing;
Internet Marketing;
Growth Strategy;
Platform;
Platforms;
Two Sided Markets;
Two-sided Market;
Two-sided Marketplace;
Two-Sided Markets;
Two-sided Network;
Black Entrepreneurs;
Black Leadership;
African Americans;
African-American Protagonist;
Circular;
Peer-to-peer Markets;
Furniture Industry;
Growth Hacking;
Monetization Strategy;
Growth Management;
Marketing Strategy;
Entrepreneurship;
Market Platforms;
Marketing Channels;
Online Advertising;
Consumer Behavior;
Acquisition;
Retention;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Two-Sided Platforms;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Expansion;
Brands and Branding;
Retail Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Technology Industry;
Web Services Industry;
United States;
North America;
New York (city, NY);
New York (state, US)
- January 2022
- Case
Hello Heart: The Next Generation of Chronic Disease Management Apps
By: Ariel D. Stern and Danielle Golan
Hello Heart, a hypertension management app debated whether to go deep and cover other heart conditions, or to expand its solution to other chronic conditions.
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Keywords:
Health;
Health Care and Treatment;
Information Technology;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Analysis;
Business Startups;
Transition;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Decision Making;
Demographics;
Design;
Entrepreneurship;
Venture Capital;
Technological Innovation;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Product Launch;
Product Design;
Product Development;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Customization and Personalization;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
Strategy;
Applications and Software;
Health Industry;
Technology Industry;
Israel;
United States
- Winter 2021
- Article
Mobile Internet Usage and Usage-based Pricing
By: Jeffrey Prince and Shane Greenstein
Using data on mobile Internet usage of thousands of individuals, we provide some of the first analyses linking mobile usage to key demographics such as income. We find a reverse-U relationship between mobile Internet usage and income—notably different than the...
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- September 2021
- Case
Harambe: Mobilizing Capital in Africa
By: Anywhere (Siko) Sikochi, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Francesco Tronci
Harambe was a non-profit organization whose mission was to build an ecosystem to identify promising young African entrepreneurs and provide them access to training, markets, capital, and support networks. From 2007 to 2021, Harambe had grown to a network of 367...
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- September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
Telepass: From Tolling to Mobility Platform
By: Chiara Farronato, Stefano Denicolai and Sarah Mehta
Telepass, until very recently the sole processor of electronic toll payments on Italy’s highways, has ambitions beyond tolling. Since the mid-2010s, the company has been expanding into adjacent services. In 2017, Telepass launched TelepassPay—a mobile payment...
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Keywords:
Mobile Payment;
App;
Mobility Services;
Analysis;
Change;
Change Management;
Transformation;
Transition;
Innovation and Invention;
Strategy;
Information Technology;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Transportation;
Transportation Networks;
Value;
Value Creation;
Consumer Behavior;
Technology Industry;
Transportation Industry;
Insurance Industry;
Europe;
Italy;
Milan
- September 2021
- Case
Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World
By: Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley
Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic...
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Keywords:
Subscription Model;
Price;
Financial Strategy;
Education;
Early Childhood Education;
Learning;
Geography;
Geographic Scope;
Global Range;
Goals and Objectives;
Marketing;
Marketing Strategy;
Markets;
Organizations;
Mission and Purpose;
Social Enterprise;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Society;
Social Issues;
Strategy;
Commercialization;
Expansion;
Segmentation;
Education Industry;
Africa;
Asia;
Latin America;
Europe;
North and Central America;
South America
- September 2021
- Article
Learning from Deregulation: The Asymmetric Impact of Lockdown and Reopening on Risky Behavior During COVID-19
By: Edward L. Glaeser, Ginger Zhe Jin, Michael Luca and Benjamin T. Leyden
During the COVID-19 pandemic, states issued and then rescinded stay-at-home orders that restricted mobility. We develop a model of learning by deregulation, which predicts that lifting stay-at-home orders can signal that going out has become safer. Using restaurant...
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- September 2021
- Article
Network Interconnectivity and Entry into Platform Markets
Digital technologies have led to the emergence of many platforms in our economy today. In certain platform networks, buyers in one market purchase services from providers in many other markets, whereas in others, buyers primarily purchase services from providers within...
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- August 2021
- Case
Wymsee
By: Julia Austin, Sarah Mehta and Tom Quinn
Wymsee was a company that aimed to develop a mobile application (app) that would allow television audience members to identify and purchase clothing or accessories worn by characters in the program they were watching, with the Wymsee founders taking a percentage of...
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Keywords:
Business Model;
Business Plan;
Business Startups;
Film Entertainment;
Television Entertainment;
Technological Innovation;
Knowledge Acquisition;
Product Positioning;
Opportunities;
Adaptation;
Mobile Technology;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States;
New York (city, NY)
- August 2021
- Technical Note
Crossing Borders and Cultures: Global Branding
By: Jill Avery and Michael Moynihan
Many of the world's most valuable brands are global in scope. They benefit from shared meanings, systems, and stories across markets, and much of their allure for consumers lies in their "global-ness." Creating value from global brands requires successfully managing...
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- 2021
- Case
NiPay's Pricing Conundrum
By: Marco Bertini and Oded Koenigsberg
NiPay is a software provider competing in the Nigerian business-to-business payments market. Founded by Idaku Ibrahim nearly 20 years ago, NiPay sells two products to retailers and other merchants, which enable individual shoppers to transact either online or via a...
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- Summer 2021
- Article
Platform Leadership and Supply Chains: Intel, Centrino, and the Restructuring of Wi-Fi Supply
By: Roberto Fontana and Shane Greenstein
In this paper we examine Intel’s launch of Centrino and interpret it as platform leaders attempt to restructure a supply chain. We provide a narrative of key actions and how they coordinated changes and offer a framework of the predictable consequences for...
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- June 2021 (Revised November 2021)
- Case
Equity Bank: Charting the Future
By: Lauren Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist
After climbing the ranks among Kenya's financial institutions from 66th to 1st, and toppling a quarter of the market share held by mobile money giant Safaricom, CEO James Mwangi must now guide Equity Bank into its next stage of development beyond "Equity 3.0." Should...
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- May 2021 (Revised February 2022)
- Teaching Note
THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery
THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on...
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Keywords:
Data;
Data Analytics;
Artificial Intelligence;
AI;
AI Algorithms;
AI Creativity;
Fashion;
Retail;
Retail Analytics;
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Platform;
Platforms;
Big Data;
Preference Elicitation;
Predictive Analytics;
App Development;
＂Marketing Analytics＂;
Advertising;
Mobile App;
Mobile Marketing;
Apparel;
Online Advertising;
Referral Rewards;
Referrals;
Female Ceo;
Female Entrepreneur;
Female Protagonist;
Analytics and Data Science;
Analysis;
Creativity;
Marketing Strategy;
Brands and Branding;
Consumer Behavior;
Demand and Consumers;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Marketing Channels;
Digital Marketing;
Internet and the Web;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
AI and Machine Learning;
Fashion Industry;
Retail Industry;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States
- May 2021 (Revised March 2022)
- Case
Headspace vs. Calm: A Mindful Competition
By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne Wilson
By 2021, the mindfulness app wars reached their apex. Over 2,000 meditation apps were available to consumers, but two apps, Headspace and Calm, dominated the space, jointly holding about 70% of the total market. Headspace had established itself as the approachable...
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Keywords:
Marketing Communication;
Integrated Strategy;
Brand;
Brand ＆ Product Management;
Brand Communication;
Brand Differentiation;
Brand Building;
Brand Management;
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Ecommerce;
App;
App Development;
Applications;
COVID;
COVID-19;
Pandemic;
Pricing;
Pricing Strategy;
Subscription Model;
Subscription;
Partnerships;
Strategic Partnerships;
B2B Vs. B2C;
B2B;
Health ＆ Wellness;
Wellbeing;
Digitization;
Commoditization;
Mobile App;
Mobile App Industry;
Mobile Healthcare;
Mobile Marketing;
Digital Brand;
Digital Health;
Consumer Health;
Apps;
Online Business;
Online Competition;
Online Community;
Online Entertainment;
Entertainment And Leisure;
Meditation;
Marketing;
Marketing Communications;
Brands and Branding;
Price;
Strategy;
Competition;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Partners and Partnerships;
Health;
Well-being;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Communication;
Communication Strategy;
Disruption;
Consumer Behavior;
Digital Marketing;
Health Industry;
Technology Industry;
Communications Industry;
United States;
North America;
United Kingdom
- April 2021
- Case
The Clean Network and the Future of Global Technology Competition
By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han
In May 2019, amidst of an ever-worsening trade war between the U.S. and China, President Donald Trump added Chinese telecom giant Huawei to the Department of Commerce’s “entity list,” essentially forbidding American firms from doing business with the company. Huawei,...
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