These are the clues you should be picking up on; this is the writing on the proverbial wall.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, can we please stop building products for South Delhi and South Bombay?
There’s a bunch of companies building out key boards for India — the ones worth noting include Google, Bobble, Panini & Just Indic. This is how they shape up in terms of market share:
Bobble is an app that allows users to create GIFs and cartoons from photos of themselves (yes, thats a thing). They ALSO provide users with the option to communicate in their native tongue. Given this data, perhaps ‘Indic’ languages should move from a peripheral feature to a major priority for Bobble? Being second to Google is nothing to scoff at.
Local language apps have been a priority for Google for a while now. This makes sense for them –they are quite literally expanding the size of the market by localizing features and making the internet more accessible. Not just for themselves but for you and I too.
One way to think about this data is this: if 30% of Indian smartphone users are using keyboards that cater to regional Indian languages then what can I build that these same people will need?
Will they shop online or take Ubers? Probably not right away. When they do start shopping online, the ‘markets’ they go to will be the same ones we shop at. So maybe not a great idea.
My guess is, these users will start with content and basic services. I imagine they’ll readily pay for entertainment & education, and those are very very large opportunities that we’ve just started scratching the surface on.
Thanks for your time,
Ashish
- Team KG
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You can reach me on ashish@kalagato.com
