The world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones – Nokia is now preparing to enter into the developing rural market in India, seeing that the urban market is getting increasingly concentrated with mobile technology. Anticipating a strong business potential in rural market, Nokia is teaming up with some micro finance institutions to get into the rural arenas.

Speaking at media confertence (yesterday), Nokia India’s Vice-President and Managing Director, Mr D. Shivakumar has stated that ‘there are about 249 million subscribers and 93 million rural subscribers in India; these represent 81 percent and 12 percent penetration in the respective markets as compared to the national average of 31 percent’.

According to Mr. Shivakumar, while the companies are vying to offer more paying services in the urban markets, Nokia India is forseeing big business potential in the rural markets, where the company is looking to sell more handsets, as there are 812 million people living in rural areas in India.

According to Nokia India, it is looking to enter the rural markets with the help of micro finance institutions, and there are about 1,000-odd micro finance institutions (MFIs) in India. It has presently got into partnership with SKS Microfinance, having 653 branches across 15 States, and it is looking for more such tieups.

The company has told that it is getting to its potential rural subscribers through ‘showrooms on wheels’ and ‘Rural care on the go’— marketing and servicing vehicles, respectively. The company has claimed that it will gain about 150 million customers in the next two years, with large portion coming from the rural areas.

In order to strengthen its hold on the rural markets, Nokia India is also planning to roll out Nokia Life Tools, which, according to Nokia, are “a range of agriculture, education and entertainment services designed especially for the consumers in small towns and rural areas of the emerging markets.”

With Nokia Life Tools Agriculture services, Nokia India is aiming to target Indian farmers. The agricultural services of Nokia Life Tools will provide relevant information on seeds, fertilisers and market prices over mobile phones. The Education services will help rural children learn English, will help them prepare for exams and will offer career tips. Likewise, the tools will offer entertainment services and timely & relevant info based on locations.  

According to Nokia’s Web site, Nokia Life Tools is an initiative to close the digital gap between rural and urban India. The company is planning to release Nokia Life Tools in June. The Nokia Life Tools will be rolled out in India first, and if the services get some good success, the company will release the services in other parts of the world.