Can ICT rescue the world from poverty?
The reason why I work in mobile communications, is that I feel that I'm doing something good. Some of my friends who work with theater, arts, and even journalism, criticise me for "selling my soul to the evil corporation". I don't see it that way. I see that by working in the "evil corporation" with all the money and all the power, you have a strong possibility to do something that truly leaves a permanent mark.
Think of a farmer family living in a remote village. With a mobile phone they can check the market price of their crops and get the full price. Without that information they are an easy target for fraud and scam. Think of the shepherds who need to find water for their cattle. Without a phone they would need to walk for miles and miles with the herd, only to find a dried-out river bed. With a phone, the first person to get to the river can alert others. Think of a daughter who is lured to the city to work as a "waitress". If the job turns out to be something else, she can phone her family to come and get her home. Think of all the ignorance out there, like thinking that having sex with a virgin cures HIV, or female mutilation, modern day witch hunting, all that could be cured by knowledge and information. The internet on your mobile is the path to information. Think of microloans and mobile banking. Think of health advise, maternity advise, food safety advise. All accessed via the mobile phone.
Not to mention that the world's most sold phone ever, over 200 million sold, is the Nokia 1100 because it's cheap and it has a flashlight. Ever been in rural developing country after dark?
A Vodafone study from a few years ago found that "A developing country which has an average of 10 more mobile phones per 100 population between 1996 and 2003 would have enjoyed per capita GDP growth that was 0.59 percent higher than an otherwise identical country." This was found to be twice as much as the effect of mobiles in developed countries. I.e. mobile phones have a significant boost on a developing country's economy.
I wrote a paper on mobile network companies' investments in sub-Saharan Africa in 2007, and it's still very much current.
Companies ofter talk about social responsibility, and give money to charity. Charity is all good, but if you want to make a real difference you should find a business case where someone makes money while doing a good deed. this may sound cold and pragmatic, but that's the only way to make a permanent change. We are a greedy species.
Think of a farmer family living in a remote village. With a mobile phone they can check the market price of their crops and get the full price. Without that information they are an easy target for fraud and scam. Think of the shepherds who need to find water for their cattle. Without a phone they would need to walk for miles and miles with the herd, only to find a dried-out river bed. With a phone, the first person to get to the river can alert others. Think of a daughter who is lured to the city to work as a "waitress". If the job turns out to be something else, she can phone her family to come and get her home. Think of all the ignorance out there, like thinking that having sex with a virgin cures HIV, or female mutilation, modern day witch hunting, all that could be cured by knowledge and information. The internet on your mobile is the path to information. Think of microloans and mobile banking. Think of health advise, maternity advise, food safety advise. All accessed via the mobile phone.
Not to mention that the world's most sold phone ever, over 200 million sold, is the Nokia 1100 because it's cheap and it has a flashlight. Ever been in rural developing country after dark?
A Vodafone study from a few years ago found that "A developing country which has an average of 10 more mobile phones per 100 population between 1996 and 2003 would have enjoyed per capita GDP growth that was 0.59 percent higher than an otherwise identical country." This was found to be twice as much as the effect of mobiles in developed countries. I.e. mobile phones have a significant boost on a developing country's economy.
I wrote a paper on mobile network companies' investments in sub-Saharan Africa in 2007, and it's still very much current.
Companies ofter talk about social responsibility, and give money to charity. Charity is all good, but if you want to make a real difference you should find a business case where someone makes money while doing a good deed. this may sound cold and pragmatic, but that's the only way to make a permanent change. We are a greedy species.
Comments