TERM-4

BUSINESS UNUSUAL
CASES ANALYSIS- 1

Name: Divya Jain

Roll No. : 2111098
Batch: 2021-23

Submitted to
Prof. MS Sriram

On
18th July, 2022
WORLDREADER- ANALYSIS
World Reader is an international not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting reading across
various countries by partnering with schools, non-government organisations, and bilateral and multi-
national organizations.

Their initial model was an e-reader model funded mainly via philanthropic donations who paid for e-
readers with downloaded content to be sent to partner schools. With changing environment and
financial and logistical constraints, Worldreader shift to a mobile application model and launched two
apps to provide quality content to their users.

Worldreader’s mission was to support underserved and vulnerable communities with digital reading
solutions to improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness and gender equity.

They wanted to increase literacy in the world and integrate reading as an everyday habit among all
children given all the benefits that it provides to the child’s lifestyle and future career etc.

The organisation had identified issues such as poverty, lack of awareness, low access to schools/ low
resourced schools all of which contributed to a low literacy and reading levels and World reader sought
to provide a long-term solution to the problem.

Digital v. conventional Model

They adopted a digital model to best serve the community and fulfill their mission objectives. The
organisation wanted to provide digital reading solutions at a vast scale and thus, following a
conventional business model would not have been feasible, and transporting of books, especially to
areas would have been a severe roadblock. A digital model thus, proved more efficient. Furthermore,
the issues of lack of internet connectivity was solved by providing downloaded content, and electricity
issues were taken care by providing solar-charging e-book cases.

Later on with the growing use of mobile phones, the e-reader model was replaced by launching mobile
applications, continuing with the digital model.

Digital Solutions provided various other benefits over a conventional model.

By using a mobile app to read the content the organisation did not have to acquire end-number of
physical copies which was both environmentally and financially sustainable. This also greatly reduced
transportation costs and storage constraints (for both supplier and user)

Using a digital model helped the organisation create and leverage the digital eco-system to provide
augmented benefits and differentiate their product.

Providing additional projector and limited no, of tablets to collaborating school/organisations,

Worldreader promoted visual teaching methods and group reading in schools. Learning was further
accelerated as students could also access the content on their or their parents’ mobiles as per their
convenience at home.
Furthermore, Worldreader subsequently added features like audio recordings, which were available
digitally, pre and post reading exercises that boosted learning and retention, push notifications with
reminders and tips

Using a digital format made it easier and cheaper to acquire and provide diverse and well-curated
content which was a priority for Risher. Different countries, age groups etc. required a customized
content, for eg.- some geographies required books to which children could relate, other required local-
language content for which the market was quite small (and digital reading facilitated this as economies
are so different), requirement for books on specific themes etc. Digital solutions made it easy to assess
the different requirements, bundle content and provide it efficiently.

This also enabled partnerships with telecom operators and mobile companies which helped distribute
costs and increase reach as well as technological efficiency.

Lastly, a digital model provided access to consumer data, consumption habits etc. which the
organisation used to improve experience as well as get an estimate of impact created.

Thus, their ABCD model of apps, books, engagement and data was very well complimented and
executed via a digital model, whereas a conventional model would not have been feasible for the same
and would have presented various constraints ( in terms of finances, logistics, reach, etc.)

REVENUE STRATEGY

Initially Worldreader was largely funded by philanthropic donations which were to cover both
operational costs as well as investments in e-readers etc. Donor organisation could make contributions
to send a select no. of e-readers to specific institutions.

The organisation then transformed to a subscription , model and started charging a small amount of
money from users ($6). These prices however varied based on geographies and target audience.

Furthermore, various organisations like UNICEF who wanted to spread these benefits over millions of
kids did not want to pay per user but wanted a different and consolidated pricing model.

Customised Pricing: Given the different economic conditions and requirement of different target
segments, the pricing strategy has to be customized.

Cross-Subsidising: They should market their product to high-end consumers like bigger schools with
high-income families’ kids by highlighting their distinctive features like high-quality content, additional
features to boost learning etc. These segments could be charged a premium price and the profits used
to subsisdise communities who cannot even afford the $6 price point.

Furthermore, organisations with UNICEF could be a a great avenue to scale up business and pricing
strategy has to suit their as well as the target audience’s needs. World-reader could thus, charge on a
time period and location basis, instead of charging per user. That is, based on their costs of
product/service, labour, training and community engagement, Worlreader would fix a price for each
specific area/place, and provide services for a limited period of time to be pre-determined after which
the payment would have to be repeated.
Lastly, for segments like schools, they pricing would be based on usership, where users would typically
be the end-consumers. However, Worlreader should make stipulations as well as try to promote
subsidization via government entities or schools so that they could bear some of the burden.

Government support for areas populated with low-income families could be made a condition of
collaboration

For initiatives organised by multi-national organisations or institutions like UNICEF the cost burden
would be on them as they purpose here tends to be socially driven instead of profit-driven

FUNDING

Worlreader donor outreach focuses on high-net-worth individuals and other organisations. However,
the organisation requires additional sources of funding to meet operational costs, day-to-day expenses
etc.

Based on the given facts the organisation needs to spend more money on marketing to show impact and
generate interest from investors and donors. Spread brand and message, get coverage in news and
trade publications, have more speaker series etc.

Other alternate forms of funding could be

Impact investors: These are socially-driven investors who are not looking for returns on investment but
wish to contribute resources to create impact and could be a possible source of money. These also
include open web platforms and thus provide an avenue to get funds from a wide pool of investors.

Crowd Funding: Social causes are increasingly garnering public interest and therefore, crowd funding
can also generate funds. The scale of this method might be smaller compared to large lump-sum
donations but it also provides the additional advantage of creating awareness.

Public-Private Partnerships: Given that literacy and education are welfare goals that most governments
also pursue, Worldreader could get their support to scale up the business with better investments.
Corporate partnerships, or more collaborations with telecommunication companies would also help
lower costs and raise money.

ORGANISATIONAL FORM

The company needs to retain its not-for-profit organizational form. Venturing into a transformation into
a for-profit firm or adopting an ed-tech model would not be amenable for Worldreader.

Their current organizational form is in alignment with their mission of serving vulnerable communities at
scale. Further, it also is the main reason behind low-cost collaborations with publishers and telecom
partners. The remittances from publishers and other content-creators that they have received would
not be afforded to for-profit organizations

The organisation’s NPO status and their underlying social drive to serve the society also help attact
investors and give them the credibility of doing good.

Furthermore, adapting into a ed-tach model would require vastly different capabilities and
requirements, as well as staff which might not be feasible for the org.
They may have the technological capabilities but the training and hiring of teaching staff, on-boarding
students etc, may prove difficult.

Lastly, their mission in to inculcate reading habits in the community and thiat is best served by their
current organizational form, whereas an ed-tech platform facilitates learning and serves a different
purpose.