Vision - January/February 2008 - (Page 38) (www.CE.org). “For the first time their doors are open to the influence from the West, and the West is looking at ways to build a better tomorrow.” In addition to health and education, the initial opportunities focus on communications and information technology, especially applications tied into other aspects of economic development. For example, mobile data services can provide farmers with crop prices, weather forecasts and harvest information—all of which can be used for timely applications to their immediate business needs. Advisors such as Nonacs and Shine recommend that electronics companies entering these markets do so with local partners. In the process, services can be customized to specific local needs, including language and cultural requirements. Such relationships also encourage creation of new jobs and indigenous expertise for future technology expansion. Frank Martinez of Intel’s “World Ahead” program endorses the local partner approach, also citing the “value of partners in each community. (www.intel.com/intel/worldahead) Martinez, whose official title is worldwide director of digital inclusion programs, cites three barriers to technology adoption in emerging markets—all of which, he believes, can be overcome through strategic local relationships. He summarizes the barriers as “awareness,” “affordability” and “skills,” noting that in some countries consumers simply have not seen or do not have the motivation to embrace the social or economic value of technology. Martinez observes that in emerging economies, “affordability” is measured very differently than in western or Asian countries. He has worked with government agencies and non-government organizations to make digital products affordable through a variety of mechanisms, including tax benefits, low-interest rates, subsidies and other incentives. But Martinez emphasizes that the biggest hurdle is usually training and support of skills to ensure that local customers feel confident that their equipment will be usable for years to come. “Our approach has always been to take our expertise and build a framework that the industry can use locally,” Martinez says. He cites the value of local content and technology partners to customize the devices for indigenous customers and to assure new customers that someone locally is available to maintain the products. “In Nigeria we did a program with Microsoft and the federal government to create a (government) employee purchase program,” Martinez explains. Government workers could buy a PC through salary deduction. Intel and its partners recruited vendors, including three local OEMs to build and provide support services. The local representatives add credibility, he asserts. “With first-time users, you cannot just sell a PC,” Martinez recalls. “You have to bring additional services. It’s a model for other programs we’re doing… engaging third-party consortia to help manage local operations.” Customers can charge their For education, Intel has phone, browse and purset up a global project availchase Motorola handsets able at www.SKOOOL. and operator SIM cards. com with local variations in nearly a dozen countries Intel set up one of the first mobile e-Learning schools in Nigeria. Corona Secondary School, is located in the Ogun state northwest of Lagos. and languages. Intel calls the service a “new concept in e-learning solutions,” since partners in each country localize the framework via language and curricula content aimed at their specific needs—from Arabic to Thai to Irish. Similarly, AMD has coordinated the “New Partnership for Africa’s Development” (NEPAD), a project with the broad objectives of eradicating poverty, putting African countries on a path of sustainable growth and development, accelerating African nations’ integration into the global economy and supporting the empowerment of women. Among NEPAD’s programs is an e-Schools project for which AMD has assembled a consortium to provide end-to-end information and communications technology (ICT) education and health solutions for three schools in each of the participating countries: Uganda, Mali, Gabon, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. From Peace Corps to Private Sector Introducing digital technology—especially information and communications services—to emerging markets continues to take a variety of shapes, often a mix of government and corporate relationships, tailored to domestic needs in each country. For example, the U.S. Peace Corps now recruits volunteers specifically to handle information technology and communications services. “The experience, combined with a natural inclination of many audiences, such as youth, to embrace new technologies and ‘edutainment’ media, have provided powerful platforms for volunteers to extend the reach of their development-oriented activities,” according to a Peace Corps analysis. Peace Corps workers in Africa have used ICT tools in various settings. In urban areas, which have greater connectivity and technology access, Peace Corps personnel work with local counterparts to promote the use of computers and Internet for education, business development and health. In peri-urban and rural settings, with limitations on access to electricity and telephone landlines, volunteers use technologies such as wind-up radios (in Zambia), solar powered computer labs (in Mauritania) and mobile phones (in Kenya) for community information exchanges. Product sales often require job creation and training, another factor in the emerging eco-system. In Uganda, Motorola is approaching this need by recruiting 50 women to run their own “MotoPower” sales kiosks, which will offer free, solar powered mobile phone recharge services for Motorola phones, powering up to 20 phones at a time. The kiosk’s phone chargers will alleviate the power constraints that often deter customers from staying connected over long periods. Motorola trains the women in sales and technology, showing them how to generate income through sales www.ce.org 38 January/February 2008 http://www.CE.org http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead http://www.SKOOOL.com http://www.SKOOOL.com http://www.ce.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.