With the growing number of smartphone users and a rise in connectivity, rural India sees a great potential in the field of mobile application development. Moreover, multi-lingual mobile applications and multi-lingual keyboard apps, have further made it easy for non-english speaking Indians to engage with smartphones. In keeping the interest of the rural Indian population, in mind, mobile applications in the following sectors can be a success in Rural India:
Agriculture: Mobile apps in this field, are being used to serve information that is essential for farmers. Weather information, crop advice, diagnosis of nutrient deficiency in soil, market rates of crops and other vital and dynamic information has been made available to farmers through mobile apps. Such apps in vernacular languages have a huge scope for success. An example of such an app would be Kisan Mitra, a Gujrati app aiming to disseminate important news and information about agriculture best practices which boasts of more than 10k downloads. Success of such an app indicates a demand of agriculture apps in vernacular languages.
Education: With the rise in educational levels and aspirations of the young, educated student and/or graduate based in rural India, relevant and quality education resources are in demand. But with lack of quality faculty and resources in villages, online education resources can be very helpful. Plus, a mobile education app can offer videos, which can be downloaded for offline viewing. Such a feature can prove to be very helpful in rural areas with low or intermittent connectivity.
Entertainment: With frequent power cuts, downloaded videos of television soaps and entertainment apps on mobile, can come in handy. A mobile, unlike television can run on batteries and without a constant electricity supply. Therefore mobile game apps, video streaming apps and apps which enable creative expression can be a success in villages. Games built in vernacular languages and which appeal to the rural Indian psychology, can be a hit.
E-Commerce: With great artistic talent and excellent business acumen, found in Indian villages, it is imperative for people in rural areas to tap potential of online businesses. Therefore, e-commerce apps especially built for the rural population to tap this potential, can be profit generating for both, the app development company and village based businessmen.
Thus, great many opportunities exist for mobile app developers and/or entrepreneurs looking forward to enter the rural Indian mobile app market. A pinch of innovation and dogged hard work can produce a successful and profitable idea that positively changes the life of rural Indians.