As to the "feed the people" or "wire the country" dichotomy -- we at PEOPLink call our e-commerce initiative "Internet you can eat," the technology "feeding" economic development. Ours is a software system that helps SMEs to earn more money at their work by improving their business practices, getting more up-tp-date information about marketts, making new contacts with suppliers adn customers, and having a web site for international trade. We are in the business of technology transfer, so our consultants spend their time training SMEs and intermediary organizations, and one of our objectives is to replace ourselves in a country with local ICT consultants, ISPs, etc. Our software is a client-server package so it does not need to wait for bandwidth issues to be resolved; a pay phone with acoustic coupler or a cell phone is enough to transfer data.
While narrower initiatives such as ours are not a panacea, they do offer an opportunity to make real progress; we can count hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional sales to many of the microenterprises (see www.catgen.com/ifat) that use our system. In our case, nothing could happen untill there was good software (we developed it, www.catgen.net). I also agree with others who have observed that the enthusiasm of those on the ground who are using the technologies is an important lever for change. Technology is exciting: I can remember how thrilling it was in my youth to get our first black and white TV, and what a science "adjusting the rabbit ears" was. If there were no TVs but lots of studies of "TV readiness"...somehow the "development dynamic" wouldn't seem to be there. I think it is a case of seeing is believing, and of getting things in people's hands, where the entrepreneurial spirit can take it in directions unforeseen by central donors or planners or even foreign consultants ;). Of course infrastructure and policy issues need to be dealt with too, but a balance of effort at the top and at the grassroots seems essential if there is to be progress. ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
