The story is always that poor people, because they live in poverty, are not profitable.
Let me tell you a story, a parable. One day a rich guy who owns a big diamond mine went to a company that supplied irrigation equipment. They knew him to be rich and they figured that since he is rich, he will easily pay for the irrigation system. He got the irrigation equipment worth US$120 000 installed on his farm on credit and he never paid a penny. When the irrigation company would ask him when he was going to settle his account, he would tell them stories. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. The irrigation company was too afraid to take him to court because he was rich and powerful and known by all. Eventually the debt, all US$120 000 of it, was written off by the company.
Meanwhile, a street vendor at a corner in a poor neighbourhood sold sweets for 2 cents, with a profit of 1 cent on each sweet. Each day, the vendor made a profit of US$5 from selling sweets. Selling to the poor was more profitable than selling to diamond magnate.
The idea that poor people are not profitable is a widely accepted wisdom that is actually not true.
Most Africans are poor, living on less than US$2 a day, but mobile network operators in Africa are making billions of dollars in revenue in Africa from the very same poor Africans, and they are profitable. How?
Poor people can also be profitable customers.