Easy Soft Télécom

1. Mobile credit sales are informal in West Africa, as each seller manually types in USSD codes to complete their sales. Errors (USSD codes are sometimes miswritten) induce sales lost, whilst several sellers suffer from tendinitises, fatigue and can easily forget the right series of numbers. Manually counting revenues  further implies important time and energy losses, a lack of traceability and transparency. Working in an informal sector, sellers also lack social protection programs. 

2. Our project would allow users to automatically sell mobile credit  without having to manually  type in USSD codes. Internet-free, the app  offers different services according to sellers' needs, ranging from customer, sales or inventory management and stocks/supplies monitoring and the creation of tontines, with an integrated identification system.

3. The app's ambition is to increase sellers' revenues, working conditions,  the work's transparency whilst creating shared savings accounts in case of external shocks for sellers.

Specifically, we are trying to solve issues related to mobile credit sellers' working conditions, tied to an informal sector. 

The first issue is the manual aspect of their work (typing USSD codes by hand), which could easily be automated through an app. 

The second issue is transparency and traceability - having an app which holds account of each sale could empower sellers and regulate their revenues. Some super-merchants, who delegate the sale of mobile and internet credit to POS and sellers, never see the totality of their due-revenues, as some transactions are not always written down. The solution to this issue consists of creating automatic accountancies records. 

Thirdly, the app would feature a tontine setting, allowing communities of mobile sellers to create shared tontines, as they earn similar levels of income and know each other well. 

In Benin only, there are 50 000 super merchants, 90 000 POS and  2 000 mobile sellers. Whilst super-merchants have higher incomes (around 300 of euros per month), compared to POS and sellers (20-30 euros per month). Regulating their revenues and increasing their efficiency (selling tap-ups / phone credit takes 30 second in average) and thus income is a main objective. 

The solution targets mobile phone sellers who often work in precarious situations, working long hours and having to take care of book-keeping and accountancy in the evenings. They are often young men from poor backgrounds and low education level, without social protection programs. 

Our team has been working with a group of 30 Beninese mobile sellers, who have tried out the app. We have used their feedback constantly whilst modeling our service, in order for the product to be perfectly tailored to their needs. The sales management feature was added in later on, as we understood that book-keeping was sometimes an issue. Regulating cash flows also often came up as another problem - which is why the app was designed to automate these. There also exists USSD code books - with every existing code needed - but no technical device was ever created to facilitate merchants' work. A device with pre-entered codes and other services are all made to address these needs. Digitizing this work is key in increasing revenues, by saving merchants' time. 

The creation of a tontine service was recently designed - as covid-19 highlighted the need for saving pensions in case of confinement or economic crises.  

Whilst an identification system would be integrated within the app - as each seller would create an account to log in- our tool is mostly set up on regulating cash flows related to mobile credit and 3G access sales. Each sales would be automatically identified and noted, creating automatic accountancy sheets for small businesses and sellers (based on users' setting preferences).

The app would also incentivize financial savings, by having a tontine feature for sellers, as they share similar levels of income. They could chose to take a certain percentage from each transaction to be transferred to the tontine. 

Tontines have been created in the past and are very common in Benin and throughout West Africa. However, our project is based on creating tontines for workers from similar sectors, giving incentives as revenue are similar and people know each other well, and work together in a vertical hierarchical scheme. Additionally most tontines are not digitalized and legally regulated. Our app would allow sellers to fix the size and frequency of their contribution and could make this transaction automatic, deducted from mobile credit sales, and a judicial dimension implemented. 

Moreover, there is no digital solution aimed at regrouping together USSD codes for mobile credit workers. Our product would facilitate the work environment for actors in the supply chain of mobile operators in a way that has never been done before. The exhausting repetition of the same gestures is a factor in the deterioration of sellers' health. Our service would be innovative in the sense that it's goal is focused on reducing these health-related risks, thereby helping to improve sales performance and sellers' working conditions. 

Our solution works under the format of a phone app. A mobile credit seller can create an account, providing his name, where he will also obtain an identification number (for us to map out and identify our user base). From there on he has access to different services : consulting his client's list, making a transfer to the tontine / making a transfer become automatic, selling a specific number of internet Mo or GO or phone credit, consulting his past sales. 

Activities : Users (super merchants, mobile credit sellers and POS) start using our app progressively in Benin. As each seller brings in another one ( incentivized by gaining access to 10% of the sales brought in by the next seller), the number of app-users increase. 

Output : Each user saves substantial amounts of time, as the app allows each worker to save up to 80% of time compared to current procedures.The book-keeping and accountancy dimension of their work is digitized, having access to daily reports. They gain in credibility, trust from their customers and in transparency, whilst digitized cash flows creates higher fiscal security, thereby regulating and increasing sellers' revenues. Sales go up as sellers no longer mistype certain USSD codes and payments are made automatically.

A key output would consist of the suppression of the USSD codes' manual entry and successive seizures (purchase and sale of units and packages, deposit and withdrawal of cash), and manual entry in the registers, which results in difficulties in optimizing "stock" management and time control. 

Short term Outcomes: Better work conditions and livelihoods for our clients (mobile phone credit sellers), a higher number of users become more efficient and accountable for their work. Higher, more regulated incomes for sellers. Clients also obtain identification and can trace their mobile credit usage regularly. This aspect would also allow us to create a large data set, to later create tontines for other groups of workers from different informal sectors. 

Long Term Outcomes: The app Easysoft Telecom is developed within other west African countries, and reaches a higher number of uses who gain access to larger tontines, and thus flexible social coverage. In case of a second confinement period, the interactive aspect of our app, which allows sellers and clients to communicate, could enable sellers to still sell their products whilst respecting social isolation measures. 

Many workers from the informal sector do not benefit from social protection systems, leaving them more vulnerable to social shocks and risks. Informal savings and loans mechanisms have traditionally been used to remedy these public services' shortcomings. Our solution would therefore be easily integrated, as it would formalize (making money transfers to a tontine transparent and traceable) an already put-in-place and frequently used mechanism: tontines mechanism.

A "tontine" refers to an annuity scheme, where subscribers share a common fund. Our tontine would be regularized with pre fixed transfers from each member and useable for all after a certain amount of money has been raise, in case of the 3 following situations : retirement, health care issues, unemployment. Tontines would also be created amongst workers with similar levels of income, coming from similar work environments and horizons. This solution could therefore easily be aligned with social protection services, as it could fit the already existing CNSS, ANAM and CMPS structures (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité sociale, Agence Nationale de l'Assurance Maladie Bénin, Caisse Mutuelle de Prévoyance Sociale) by countering the initial lack of information and traceability regarding informal sectors. Social security contributions would become automatic for different informal work sectors, and would be traceable by official governmental bodies. 

We plan to create a partnership with MTN Benin, to enable them to have access to our data compilation and reversely, and later create a broader tontine network for different workers belonging to the informal sector. In this sense the solution could easily be incorporated within the creation of a social protection program and already existing delivery system (MTN Benin), which the Beninese population already know and trust. 

Financial tontines could be "formalized" for each informal sector, with a pre programmed and discussed contribution frequency based on each member's revenue and the sector itself. We were planning for the tontines to provide three main services : 

• retirement schemes,
• unemployment schemes,
• sums reserved for health care emergencies. 

An pre-fixed sum could be decided between members in case of any of these 3 needs or situations. As these tontines would be created across a very large network of people, and easily traceable. A larger sum would be saved and set apart as time goes, offering greater social protection for its members. 

This solution is flexible and easily scalable based on the previous data, which will be collected through Easy Soft Telecom. Our first targeted audience will consist of mobile sellers, but with time, our ambition is to extend such work-sector tontine-based social protection programs to other work environments. 

The solution's transparency (monthly automatically generated reports) will also ensure members' confidence and their willingness to contribute. 

This solution is progressive and takes into account different sections of the informal sector.

Our solution is based on the USSD technology, which is experiencing a renaissance in Africa, particularly because of the problem of Internet connection as these practices does not require one. Like the USSD technology, our solution is independent of the Internet connection and offers a capacity of traceability, simplicity and better security. It is an operational solution for any telephone operator and any country. It is operable with the various USSD servers and can interact with the various services offered. 

Moreover, working with current USSD servers, the app is prevented from potentiel "vendor lock ins", as it uses the same technology currently used by sellers themselves, but simply makes these automatic rather than manual. 

The app is designed with two modes : an offline or online mode, made to fit low connectivity environments. The app therefore doesn't require internet. Moreover, the interface is made with unparalleled ergonomics and is user-friendly with a clear menu, navigation tools and preferential settings. 

Most mobile sellers have high literacy and numeracy levels. Regarding the opposite case - the app can be used by clicking on the right amount of Go, Mo or time of phone credit requested by the customer. 

We have conducted our business plan with a pessimistic attitude, to run different scenarios and see how our app could work with the low numbers and predictions (to take into account its feasibility). 

Current number of people : Starting with a penetration rate of 0.5% within the app's launch in the first month, we would have 250 users (sellers). 

Number of people using the app in one year : This penetration rate would be up by 11% after a year, which would correspond to 5 500 users. 

Number of people using the app in five years : The penetration rate could go up to 60%, representing 30 000 users. 

Our goal, within the next 5 years, is to expand and for our app to be used in other countries including Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Togo, Senegal and Burkina Faso, through a strategy replication. Moreover, once the app has reached a larger number of users (sellers and their clients), we would also like to use the collected data to create new tontines linked to different work sectors, to create a larger social protection program.

We would equally like to distribute phones to the largest number of mobile sellers possible, following the "tech for good" movement, for our app to be accessible and thus beneficial to all. Whilst 75% of POS sellers dispose of a phone, only 25% of mobile credit sellers have one at their disposition. We are creating different partnerships to counter the low mobile penetration rate in Benin and West Africa more generally. 

In order to achieve several of these goals and development strategies, we plan to rely on sellers' relationships, for them to collaborate and spread the word amongst themselves regarding the app / bring in other sellers.

Moreover, our first targeted audience refers to super merchants, as credit is sold in a hierarchical fashion, super merchants attributing different sales missions to POS and sellers.  If super merchants were to use the app, POS and sellers would be brought to using it, insuring the app's solid reputation, usage and deployment. 

Our main barrier is linked to Benin's mobile phone penetration rates. As only 25% of mobile credit sellers currently have a phone used for professional activities, this could prevent EasySoft Telecom from being accessible to all. 

In order to overcome this barrier - we are trying to find fundings and are initiating two partnerships.

We are currently working on a first partnership, with a French company entitled Sunna Design - Moon, which is designing a solution to cover the costs of smartphone production, and then selling these via micro-credits. The production costs and importation charges would be shared between EasySoft and Moon, negotiations are still underway. This would allow sellers to have access to low-cost phones, by paying back a very low cost each month. 

A second partnership, to facilitate credit granting for mobile credit sellers, is being designed the micro credit Beninese bank PADME. In exchange for a preferential conditions for micro credit granting for our users, we would constitute a guarantee fund. This would mainly be used to reassure the bank and try to diminish biases held against mobile credit sellers with low revenues.

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Total staff : 13 employees 

Full time staff (3)

Franc Agossou - CEO 

Carus Agossou - COO 

Merlin Atonde - Chief Technical Officier

Part time staff  (7)

Yves Mariko - CEO Advisor, Strategic Development 

Hugo Lemesle - CEO Advisor - Pricing & International Issues

Augustin Gaultier - Key Account & Sales Manager

Baptiste Gaultier - Chief Marketing Manager 

Angelo Avodagbe - CIO

Eden Lermer - Legal analysis & negotiation of contracts Advisor

Raphaelle Camarcat - Grants manager 

3 engineers 

Having a largely international team, most of Easy Soft Telecom's members have lived in Africa and the CEO has lived in Benin, thereby gaining a solid grasp of the Beninese credit mobile phone industry. The ways in which mobile merchants  work with POS and merchants is a rather intricate system, which testifies of Africa's informal sector. It is only by understanding this context that one is able to improve mobile sellers' daily tasks and livelihoods.

Secondly, we have worked with 60 mobile sellers - asking them to try out the app, which price they would be willing to pay to obtain it and how they would help us to take part within this market. We therefore understand the sector in which this app will operate better than anyone else, as several studies have been undertaken in the field. 

Finally, Easy Soft Telecom's CEO has past experiences in entrepreneurship in Africa and has sold micro credits in Benin for women living in precarious situations, allowing him to understand different ways in which micro credit systems are managed and how the direct consequences of the informal sector's lack of social program protections.  

We are currently working on developing a partnership with the mobile credit phone company MTN Benin, the french start up Sunna-Design Moon and the Beninese micro credit bank PADME. 

The partnerships with Sunna-Design Moon and PADME have been detailed in previous answers. The former focuses on distributing low cost phones, payed through micro credits, and the second focuses on facilitating access to micro credits for mobile credit sellers. 

Our partnership with MTN Benin, one of the biggest mobile operators in Benin, consists of mutually sharing data for the moment. They have shared with us the number of super merchants, POS and mobile sellers operating in Benin, for us to more easily plan out our sales and operating systems, whilst we plan on sharing our data regarding sale numbers. We are hoping to create larger tontines schemes with the company in the nearby future. 

Our business model is focused on one service : providing an app which will increase mobile credit sellers' sales and revenues, facilitating their working conditions and thus livelihoods. 

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face transactions will be complicated would be made impossible in the case of a second confinement. Our app would enable sellers to work despite these new social distancing measures and possible confinement periods, ensuring revenues and remote working capacities. 

Our service is designed to provide a formal and automated working framework for the supply chain actors of mobile telephone operators. Indeed, those players who are retailers, wholesalers and mobile sellers of top-ups or other affiliated products are subject to medical risks, in particular tendonitis, as they have to type USSD codes all day long. The grueling repetition of the same gestures is a factor in the deterioration of their health. Our product would limit these health risks, and optimize 80% of sellers time, by offering operations which could be undertaken in 5 seconds instead of 30.

In order to ensure our app's development, we have designed a tailored and low subscription fee for each user, adapted to each sellers' revenues. This will allow the app to be financially viable, whilst still regulating cash flows and increasing the number of sales and transactions made by sellers, as their time will be substantially optimized. 

Our operating strategy ensures financial viability within the first month of the app's launch, covering the costs of commercial and marketing agents, equally covering our engineers' salaries. 

As the app is planned to be launched and accessible on the Appstore by the start of September, we are currently looking for fundings, grants or investments to be able to deliver phones to mobile credit sellers in larger numbers. 

We have not yet raised funds nor generated revenues. 

As previously mentioned, we are primordially looking to raise funds in order to distribute the maximum amount of smart phones, in line with the "tech for good" campaigns. We will first try to distribute smartphones in Benin and then in neighboring countries after the first 5 months of the app's launch. 

We are equally looking for funds to follow the lines of our business model and planned expenses for the rest of the year 2020, as more precisely described in the following answer. 

After the launch of the app (planned start of September) we are planning to divide our budget in the following ways : 

• We are planning to allocate $7 300 per month to hire 50 commercial agents to present the app, its function, how to download it and set up preferential settings to mobile sellers across Benin. 
• An additional enveloppe of $2 000 will be deployed for marketing and publicity.

We are therefore planning to spend $37 200 between September and the month of December ( 7 300 + 2 000 = 9 300 ; 8000 x 4 = 37 200). 

Not only would the Mission Billion Challenge enable us to develop our product further through funding, but joining the Google Developers Experts group would be significant as to the app's technical development. We are planning to further elaborate a client identification system, where data could be collected regarding their employment status, to then create adequate mobile tontines based on their work environment. Being able to benefit from technology experts' experience and mentoring could strengthen the app, whilst acknowledgment by Google could allow us to increase our visibility. 

Having access to funding would allow us to pay engineers in the coming year to develop the app's tontine features, commercial and marketing agents, as well as promoting technology access across the continent, delivering phones to sellers. 

Exposure is key for our app to work to scale our innovation on a larger dimension, and extend it outside of Benin. This partnership would allow us to gain in visibility and credibility. 

Product distribution links in to this first point, and with this issue comes the mobile penetration rate in Africa, which has been increasing in the last years but remains low. We therefore would benefit from this partnership to distribute smartphones.

Developing larger tontines for larger informal sectors would require a legal framework, to ensure the tontine's correct and secure usage, whilst digitizing its cash flows. We would therefore benefit from a legal and regulatory assistance. For the moment, a lawyer is working with us to start thinking of possible regulatory measures and our project's juridical dimension.  

We would like, in the future, to partner up with different Mobile Operators. Once that an official synergy is created between Easy Soft and MTN Benin and that the app is used and ran throughout other regions, a partnership could be created between Easysoft and other large mobile operators working throughout the continent. 

Data could be shared and analyzed by the companies, enlarging, supporting and regulating the creation of tontines across countries and informal work sectors.