Vision - January/February 2009 - (Page 43) people, [and in turn] … helps to stabilize commodity prices and form markets,” he adds. Even more significantly, “it takes the average citizen and provides them with an outward facing identity.” Microsoft’s Toyama notes that “more than half of the world’s population” is now equipped with a mobile phone. Toyama points out that Nokia has sold more than 200 million of its model 1100 phone, a low-cost handset designed for emerging markets, thus “making it the world’s most popular consumer electronics device ever.” Toyama echoes the views of others involved in bringing technology to emerging markets. He steers attention to “more foundational elements, such as infrastructure, social acceptance, cultural appropriateness and financial support” that are vital to sustain electronics and digital services in new markets. local markets, both in terms of cost and features. Microsoft, for example, released a version of its operating system called “Starter Edition,” which offers local-language operating systems with a simplified interface at a low cost for some markets, Toyama says. Embracing the Opportunity One remarkable example of the hunger for new technology is the tale of William Kamkwamba, a 21-year-old Malawi entrepreneur who, at age 14, jerry-rigged a windmill to generate electricity at his remote home. His curiosity led him to the Internet and a series of mobile phone ventures. The young Malawian— characterized as representative of a new “cheetah” generation of young Africans who are not waiting for government and charitable organizations to support their visions—has plunged into the world of digital opportunity. Kamkwamba’s entrepreneurial experience began when he dropped out of school seven years ago because his family could not afford the academic fees. Using a book on electricity, some plastic piping and other scavenged materials—plus his creative intelligence— Kamkwamba built a windmill on his parents’ farm that generated enough power to light his room. His second windmill used bicycle parts to increase efficiency; it generated power for his parent’s house and could charge car batteries and mobile phones for people in his village—thus launching Kamkwamba’s business career. The windmill led to an invitation to the TED Global conference in Tanzania in mid-2007, where Kamkwamba encountered the Internet. He found Google and searched for “windmill” and “solar energy,” according to a Wall Street Journal account. Using his new-found knowledge, Kamkwamba returned to Malawi (now with computer access), redesigned the windmill and started blogging about its construction and use. Those blogs are the basis for his book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, now being published by William Morrow in April. “The increasing availability of mobile phones in Malawi has brought a lot of benefits,” says Kamkwamba. “Getting a mobile phone has made it easier for me January/February 2009 Entrepreneurs consumer electronics that can be used effectively in poor communities,” Toyama explains, citing its “great untapped potential” in developing markets. Michael Fairbanks, co-founder of the S.E.VEN Fund (Social Equity Venture Fund), a philanthropic foundation run by entrepreneurs, is equally enthusiastic about mobile opportunities. “The real revolution in cell phone technology is about to occur,” says Fairbanks, citing “the creation and diffusion of banking, health care and insurance products for those who never had them.” “Cellular phone technology in poor nations is important because it links Like other companies that are expanding their global efforts, Microsoft is exploring applications on a variety of platforms. “Many developing nations are also ‘emerging markets,’ where dramatic economic growth creates new middle and upper classes who hunger for information technology and consumer electronics,” Toyama says. “Electronics in this context is often as inspirational as it is functional. People buy fancy gadgets to demonstrate new wealth and status as much as they use them for practical purposes.” Large CE companies have responded quickly, adapting existing products to Susan Liebold/Alamy Susan Liebold/Alamy Susan Liebold/Alamy www.ce.org 43 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.