Prepaid ARPU rose 19% in two quarters

Company overview

Veracom Mobile is a prepaid telecom operating in three emerging markets with 11.4M subscribers. ARPU is low, switching costs are minimal, and competition revolves around top-up promotions that erode margin.

The business problem

Quarterly churn ran at 28%, with most subscribers viewing the brand as interchangeable. The top-up app was used purely transactionally; engagement metrics outside of payment events were essentially zero.

Strategic analysis

In commodity markets, the only sustainable differentiation is psychological. The opportunity was to convert top-up moments — already high-frequency — into a relationship-building loop, then layer in non-cash rewards that competitors couldn't replicate with discounts alone.

Gamification solution

Daily login streaks (small data rewards), top-up missions with cumulative milestones, referral leagues with monthly resets and tiered rewards, and a 'Connected Tier' rewards catalog featuring data boosts, partner-content perks, and exclusive in-app experiences — designed to be margin-friendlier than raw discounts.

Implementation process

A 10-week rollout starting in the smallest market for learning velocity, then expanding. Finance modeled reward unit-economics carefully: every reward had to either retain a subscriber predicted to churn or generate referral revenue exceeding cost.

Results

ARPU rose 19% as engaged users top-up larger amounts and more frequently. Quarterly churn fell from 28% to 17%. Referral-driven acquisitions grew 3.1×, materially lowering blended CAC.

Mechanics breakdown

Future optimization

Next: a friends-and-family group plan with shared streaks, content-partner co-marketing missions, and predictive churn-save bonus triggers fired by behavioral inactivity.