Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 - (Page 9)

Note to Readers SCALING FOR THE POOR I nnovators look at the base of the can’t use the same models that we have pyramid, the bottom rung of in the United States.” the global economy where more than 2 billion people live or die based uilding up to scale is the hardest on their ability to get by on less than part of contributing better $1 a day. One who has done groundtechnology to the world’s breaking work targeting the most poor. In this issue of WorldView we appropriate solutions is Amy Smith, present some of the latest technology a returned Peace Corps volunteer for helping the world’s poor. But from Senegal who runs an innovation it won’t work if the poor can’t get lab at the Massachusetts Institute of it. Negroponte thought he could Technology. When Amy spoke at the take orders from the presidents of a annual gathering in Monterey called few countries and Quanta of Taiwan the TEDS, Ideas Worth Spreading, she would start producing laptops for the followed Dean Kamen, the Segway’s children of the world. It sounded creator, and Nicholas Negroponte, whose like a variation of the Clinton Global $100 laptop we examine on page 16. Initiative’s buying clubs in which Onstage, Amy held Bill Clinton and Ira up a burnt corn cob Magaziner went to from Ghana. “ is is third-world capitals, my $100 laptop,” she asked how many said, “and like Nick, I HIV/AIDS patients brought samples.” She there were, and got a good laugh from found some non-U.S. the audience, but she pharmaceuticals that was serious. Smith is lowered their price genuinely excited about based on the great the corn cob and other demand. waste materials that But it didn’t work communities in Ghana, for Negroponte, so Haiti and India can turn his non-proﬁt asks into cooking fuel to you and I to buy one BOGO with 6 LED lights replace the charcoal and laptop for the price produces 4 hours of wood. Why? To slow of two and the cost illumination on 8 hours of deforestation and save of the second will sunlight with standard AA the lives of two million somehow advance rechargeable batteries. women and children who www.sunnightsolar.com. sales for children in die of acute respiratory Zambia, India and infections. Nepal. Others use this buy-two-giveWhen the moderator embraced one scheme for the developing world Smith on that Monterey stage, he market: e Freeplay Foundation with asked the question on everyone’s a hand-crank radio called Lifeline that minds. “What’s the bottleneck to was designed for orphans in Africa and scaling up these ideas? Entrepreneurs? Mark Bent, a former foreign service Venture capitalists?” Her answer was oﬃcer and Texas oil executive who troublesome for movers and shakers now markets his BoGo, an orange who want to make change in the world. solar-powered ﬂashlight for the She described the developing world developing world. But Bent has also as “a fragmented marketplace and a parlayed his career connections into population that has no income, so you bulk distribution of his ﬂashlights. B WorldView 9 http://www.csugsse.org http://www.sunnightsolar.com http://www.csugsse.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 Contents President's Note Lafayette Park Note to Readers Commentary Letter from India Commentary Letter from Botswana Letter from Ha Teboho Letter from Jumbi Valley Letter from Mununga Letter from Medellin Giving Back Community News

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

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