Omidyar Network India’s Listening Report 2022

In 2021, we launched a systematic listening initiative with Omidyar Network India (ONI) to review the impact of ONI’s work of India’s Next Half Billion (NHB). 

Who are the NHB?

The Next Half Billion or the NHB represent the second big wave of internet users in India, hence the term “Next”. They can be more precisely defined as the cohort of 500 million first-time internet users that have come online via their mobile phones in the five years between 2018 to 2022. The NHB form the core of ONI’s work, which is focused on empowering purpose-driven entrepreneurs who work to improve the lives of the NHB. 

Omidyar Network India’s commitment to creating a holistic impact on India’s Next Half Billion (NHB) is founded in understanding the challenges faced by this segment and investing in organizations that design solutions addressing these challenges. Our study examined data from 5500+ respondents across 23 organisations.

We found 5 key insights, one of which was the power of tech-enablement and community outreach to lever customer engagement, even during adverse events such as COVID-19. For instance, 6 in 10 of ON India’s end-customers reported using the investees’ products and services either as frequently or more frequently than they did before the pandemic, with an additional 3 in 10 using it for the first time during the pandemic. 

To learn more about the other insights uncovered through the study, click below to read the report.