Smart Devices to poor communities! Too early?

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?”.

Google's Android, dis-empowering the poor?

Yes, like most of you I love my iPad. At the same time I have promoted Google's Android since its early days. Simply, it fits better for the target group we serve most - the Bottom of the Pyramid. But, are we being misled in our optimism about Google Android? We have spent considerable time addressing this question and now share with you our concerns.
It is obviously exciting to see the potential to 'empower the poor' in terms of: a) developing country app developers can earn a reasonable income by selling Apps in Google Play (formerly Android Market), and; b) the apps developed by these developers serve a purpose that is more relevant to the local community.

Unwritten challanges in Mobile-4D projects, Why?

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:

1. Tension between IT solution providers and project owners;
2. Blind spots in the innovation process;
3. Failure to introduce change management models for field staff.

Let’s look at the reality of these challenges in a bit more detail.