Oxigen and Mobile Payment in India Nurturing Ecosystems for Success

In 2013, Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd. launched a money transfer service integrated with the infrastructure of the National Payment Corporation of India. The Oxigen Wallet, India’s first non-bank wallet, allowed instant money transfers to and from any bank account over an extensive ecosystem, with a large retail presence across India using point-of-sale terminals. Oxigen was a major provider of bill payment and merchant payment services, with complete interoperability between mobile wallets and bank accounts. But newer mobile wallet players were focused on alternative strategies, and were showing rapid growth in the number of subscribers thanks to innovative services, extensive sales promotions, and varied marketing initiatives. Oxigen wanted to be sure that it was using the capabilities of the ecosystem effectively within the context of changing market dynamics. Should Oxigen continue to invest significantly in ecosystem development, as it had been doing, or focus instead on a sales-and-promotion-driven growth strategy? In the changing market, what were Oxigen’s best options for success?

This case discusses how an ecosystem is formed and the pivotal role played by the leader of the ecosystem in nurturing it. This case is useful for any introductory course or module in technology or strategy that covers value creation, value capture, and value distribution with multiple partners. <br>This case can also be used by second-year MBA students for strategy electives, and may even be relevant to executive-level courses focusing on business models of ecosystems and platforms. After completion of the case, students should be able to: <ul><li>Understand how technological innovation can be used to create value for different stakeholders.</li><li>Detail the concepts of business ecosystems and why ecosystems matter, and evaluate the concepts of business ecosystems in contrast to other forms of networks.</li><li>Evaluate the strategic choices available to ecosystem leaders and how these choices affect the ecosystems.</li><li>Appreciate the concept of the health of an ecosystem and various ways to measure it.</li><ul>

• Mobile wallet, mobile banking, debit, banking, financial isolation, PoS, point of sale, Aadhaar