Here's a thread on uplifting & empowering the Vernacular Audience (The Next Billion).

Dailyhunt's parent company VerSe's success has reaffirmed the value that companies &
investors are ascribing to the vernacular audience.

This is an encouraging trend, but the question is how do you inform, engage & enable more than
a billion Indians to realize their potential? How can you drive not only economic goals, but also
social goals like gender equality at scale?

The bottom tier of India, i.e. nearly 1.2 billion population (90%) lives on an average of
$1,500-1,800 a year, or even much lesser.
What they don’t have is guidance, context, relatable role models, & the right products to drive
their ambitions, latent skills & desire to learn.

Products that can drive real-world, foundational outcomes like jobs, health, safety, equality, etc. while also engaging the audience, scaling their offerings, & monetizing their efforts with an eye on
long-term social & commercial success are what we need.

The requirements & incentives of a vast majority of economically & socially disadvantaged folks is
different from you & me who are reading & writing about it.
For most of them, the incentives are aligned to their short-term needs, which revolve around
income, food, clothing, etc

The trade-offs are usually skewed towards short-term financial gains in lieu of a year of schooling,
or settling for much lower pays in blue-collar jobs despite having the qualification because of lack
of grooming, or lack of female representation in the organized workforce.

The youth in these communities are under immense pressure to achieve quick return on their
educational investments. This traps them in a negative feedback loop that prohibits youth from
venturing outside the narrow worldview defined for them by parents/close society.

Our population has the data-pipe with very little value-added content in regional languages, with a
few exceptions. It is a mistake to assume that this segment is looking for only cheap
entertainment.
What they are looking for is information that will lead them to better lives.

Information regarding skill upgradation, financial literacy, healthcare, small business transactions,
etc. form the core of their needs. This is followed by their rights as citizens and ways for them to
access state welfare and protect their individual rights.

Like in any impact-oriented area, it is necessary to show quick & visible change. Given the size of
the problem, it is unlikely that visible change by unlocking potential and mass upliftment of
livelihoods can be chased as practical outcomes in the short-term.

Using the power of tech, improved internet & local languages, one can create visible & tangible
call-to-action by presenting stories of change experienced by others like them.
Because aspiration is a powerful emotion & when tied in with a coherent strategy, it can work
wonders.

Ok, so give hope and then what? There are many models for education – both traditional &
tech-led. Similarly, there are a lot of job-search websites. However, what seems to be missing is
a lifecycle approach that can act as your guide & mentor through some crucial years of life.

One that can motivate, inform & help you develop necessary skills, provide the assurance of
ongoing mentorship, & ultimately, help you move ahead in career.
Peg on to this a tech layer that
ensures their digital identity, helps with financial inclusion, provides healthcare, etc.

The same could also manifest in a form of vernacular social media, where members are part of
different interest groups, seeking information, exchanging favors, receiving legal & financial help,
learning how to set up new businesses, transacting within & outside the community, etc

Such platforms could either be open for all or profession-based, or simply for people to express
themselves in an impactful way.
Here's an opportunity for Indian startups to create platforms for this unaddressed user base that
is turning out to be a viable commercial segment too

For eg. @getvokal, a local Q&A platform for regional users. Or even @JoshTalksLive or Josh Skills for
upskilling underprivileged youth, or Stage that is aggregating local talent for entertainment &
information, or @sheroes that is creating a safe community for millions of women.

The fact is that there is a need for homegrown social community led platforms that can avoid the
trap of low-quality, sensationalistic entertainment, & trudge the long journey of creating change –
can truly unlock a lot of commercial & economic value.

What are your views?