We
all know Smart
Devices have
now surpassed PCs in the global marketplace. But how relevant is
that progress to the Bottom
of the Pyramid communities?
Are they ready to take up Smart Devices? Will they impact positively on their
livelihoods? How sustainable (and scalable) are they?
We have gathered encouraging evidence from Sri Lanka to answer many questions
and test underlying assumptions (if you are an optimist, as we are).
Are the BOP communities ready to take up smart
devices?
There
are two very interesting projects progressing in this area in Sri Lanka: Smart
Villages and Android Village Hubs, both implemented by Sarvodaya-Fusion since 2011.
Both projects have been introducing smart devices (Android Smartphones and
Tablets) to about 15 rural communities in five districts as community-owned,
shared devices.
With
training kept as simple as providing basic instructions on how to operate
the devices, plus some instruction about social media, the project team
reports: 'a magical connection sparks on-the-spot' which fuels collective
engagement, and unleashes creativity and enthusiasm. Udara Dharmasena, the
project manager, reports that the best evidence of their excitement with
these devices is the remarkable change of language from “who will support us?”
to “how can we buy these?”.
Mobile technology for development! Yes,
we all try to taste the success of mobile: mobile applications for fund
transfers in micro-insurance, introducing smart cards for health care, mobile
apps for agricultural trading, and so on. We also note and quote the challenges
when it comes to engaging the mass participation of the intended rural
beneficiaries. We recently studied closely 10 selected projects, representing
East Africa, East Asia and South Asia, to clarify the nature of these
challenges. Our study shows that the three most common factors contributing to
tensions, and often unwritten failures, were found to be:
- Tension between IT
solution providers and project owners;
- Blind spots in the
innovation process;
- Failure to introduce change management models for field staff.
Let’s look at the reality of these challenges in a bit more detail.
Interacting with University students is always an opportunity to reflect and refresh. Yesterday, I had that opportunity again at ICT4D Collective of Royal Holloway, University of London. Once again it was a visiting lecture to the postgraduate programme.
Do telecentres have a role to play in 2013, as they did have a decade ago?
A deeper look into the long journey that Sarvodaya-Fusion has traveled in Sri Lanka provides some interesting insights. These insights are enhanced by comparison with similar insights derived from my recent observations of telecentres in Rwanda.
Rwanda and Sri Lanka, both have parallels in ICT4D
Governments in both countries recognize IT as a major component in their socio-economic development vision. (e.g. Mahinda Chintana in Sri Lanka and NICI III in Rwanda). Both countries enjoyed the support of World Bank funding (eSri Lanka and eRwanda). There are over 600 telecentres in Sri Lanka, and about 140 in Rwanda (with RTN). Telecentre leaders in both countries had the support of specialized donor support programmes, such as telecentre.org of IDRC, during 2005 - 2008.
What we can offer you?
Are you involved in International development, introducing Information Communication Technologies and Mobile Phone applications to support disadvantage communities? Are you concerned about effective products and services in this sector, we can help to innovate them. Do you want to see their sustainability beyond funding cycle? We can help converting the project into a social enterprise. Do you want to understand the social impact? We can design a tailor made model to surface the social impact.
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