IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Energy January 2012 | Page 13

Revolutionizing the way to make energy affordable for everyone
their family’s household computer purchase.
By rapidly expanding the population of users,
school sales help to catalyze the development of
third-party software that increases the appeal of
Apple’s hardware platforms for all customers.
UnderArmour, the athletic clothing manufacturer
which has enjoyed years of very rapid growth,
had a similar strategy. UnderArmour initially
targeted its high-performance apparel at
university-level athletic teams who were willing
to pay a premium price for any competitive
edge. Because sales to these university teams
positioned UnderArmour as an exclusive, highvalue product, the brand has been able to retain
its premium pricing even as it has entered the
mass market for athletic apparel.
SunnyMoney can learn from these examples
of enterprises that have achieved mass-market
presence by building on the early support
of a core customer segment. Success with a
valuable segment of passionate early adopters
could provide SunnyMoney with revenue to
fund growth and market presence to catalyze
awareness and adoption.
Are there new ways to deliver SunnyMoney’s
solutions?
SunnyMoney is optimistic about the potential to
partner with teachers, headmasters, community
leaders and other trusted figures in part because
of the success of the Mafia Island school-based
promotion program. SunnyMoney needs to
find similar and new channels that increase
the sales conversion rate and provide access to
target customer segments. Can SunnyMoney
learn from Grameenphone, Natura and Carphone
Warehouse?
In 1997, Grameenphone, a joint venture between
Norway’s Telenor telecoms company and
Grameen Telecom Corp, a non-profit affiliate
of Grameen Bank, introduced an innovative
concept called the Village Phone Program.
Grameen Bank lends money to village women in

Bangladesh21 to buy a cell phone and airtime from
Grameenphone. These ‘phone ladies’ can then
start a service business renting out their phones
and airtime to other villagers, generating income
for themselves while expanding Grameenphone’s
access to new customers.
Natura, Brazil’s largest manufacturer and seller
of cosmetics, relies on a direct sales model.
Natura’s 1.5 million “consultants” in Brazil
build on existing social relationships to sell
cosmetics. The system works because all Natura
employees, including the sales consultants, are
strong believers in the company’s motto: “Well
being well,” meaning one has to have a good
relationship with oneself and one has to have
a good relationship with others and with the
environment in order to be “well.” The sales
consultants have excellent relationships with
their clients that go beyond just the sale of beauty
products. Natura reaches its customers without
fancy stores or attractive ads, relying instead on
people who build relationships and communicate
what Natura is.
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