Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships?
Reposting from a friendI may not agree with all she says, but most of it makes a lot of sense to me. Shem J. Ochuodho, MSc (Eng), PhD, LLD (Hon) Chairman African Regional Centre for Computing (ARCC) www.arcc.or.ke -Original Message- From: Brightwater [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 4:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships? My responses to the questions posed are to be found immediately below each question. These responses against the following backdrop: That development is not just about poverty reduction but also about building a middle class from amongst the poor. Poverty in Kenya will not go down unless there is a shift in inequality between the poor and the rich. While it is possible to experience substantial economic growth, the wealth created can stay within the rich few leaving the poor to stay where they are as has happened in Kenya where the few rich now control the bulk of the wealth (incomes assets). Redistribution of wealth requires that we address all the Key Development Handles of education, health, micro-/micro finance, real time information (use of telephony etc), agri businesses, governance, environment and other livelihood activities. Only when we combine productive assets with social capital and provide these to the poor, will they be able to participate in the formal markets and improve their wealth and assets. Take for example agri-based economy on which Kenya's 80% of the population still depends and where the bulk of the poor are to be found. Unless this lot is moved from the poor pool to middle class through the development of agriculture and agri-based businesses, economic development will not reduce poverty. And what are the current main hurdles that prevent the poor from migrating to the middle class? Basically their inability to accumulate wealth or capital. To be able to do this the poor therefore need the following: Land, Credit, Technology, the latter two directly linked to ICT. To escape poverty, the poor must be linked to higher value added activities. To escape poverty, the poor must be linked to and participate in well working markets to improve their incomes. To escape poverty, the poor must overcome their capacity deficiencies through social capitalisation, which requires education, good public health, micro credit etc. ICT can and must therefore play a key role in all the development handles for the redistribution of wealth to take place. Without such redistribution of wealth there may be economic growth but with no reduction in poverty in Kenya. Now to the Key Questions: Key Questions: 1) Do you know of examples where ICT helped create win-win partnerships between an international corporation and local entrepreneurs? What factors made it successful? The software sector in India has grown by over 50% since the 1990s creating not only jobs but also acting as a magnet for international investment. India's global reputation for software engineering was recognised when MIT chose Bombay for its third Media Lab in 2001. The other two are in Dublin and Boston. 2) Are there examples of small companies using ICTs to thrive in local contexts, and to collaborate when international corporations demand large-scale production? Please give concrete examples. The closest I am aware of is in the case of corporate members in the UK Government's Policy Action Team on ICT Social Exclusion where rather than purchase commercial ICT support for example to develop a web site, companies sponsor young ICT providers to do the work. 3) How can ICTs be used to encourage corporate investment that creates productive partnerships with the poor in developing countries, and not just expanded consumerism? Technology firm CISCO provides equipment to internet cafes in poor areas, developing countries, and to schools and training centers. It is committed to establishing ICT Training Academies in 24 of the poorest nations. 4) What role can NGOs and universities play with regard to ICT and pro-poor business approaches? Should they partner with businesses to expand ICT-based products and services offered to poor communities? Should they take on a watch-dog role to monitor business practices? These are two separate entities whose roles in ICT will differ. Universities should partner with businesses in as far as carrying out research on integrated ICT set-ups goes. In our early stages of ICT capacity building they should ensure that ICT is used in all courses offered. NGO services would be better utilized as watch-dogs of the standards set by the ICT industry. NGOs have not proven themselves as the best in capacity building. In most cases the resources put under NGO management have not been properly, productively and efficiently used to build capacity. 5) What role should donor agencies play? Should they just focus on improving the ICT regulatory and enabling environment
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships?
Dear GKD Members, I work with Semos, Macedonia's largest IT training company. In order to develop, Macedonia has to address one of our most critical needs -- the need for better management skills among companies and young people coming out of school. Macedonia now has over 35% unemployment and we have many people living in poverty because they cannot get jobs or because they start a small business but do not know how to run it effectively. A large portion of the unemployed are young and in some areas of Macedonia unemployment among young people is 50%. As a for-profit company, we believe that we can help make businesses in Macedonia more successful, increase jobs and reduce poverty by helping to improve management skills throughout Macedonia. We are working with a USAID project in Macedonia called the e-BIZ Project to set up an e-BIZ Center that will use distance learning to provide high quality management training, with a focus on business executives, managers and entrepreneurs. The e-BIZ Center is for-profit, and offers fee-based services. We want to be sure that very small companies, entrepreneurs with low incomes or facing other obstacles (such as women who cannot travel for training) can have access to the management training, so we are working with the e-BIZ Project to offer vouchers or discounts to selected groups. We are also setting up partnerships with small cyber-cafes and other companies around Macedonia, so that they can offer the online courses and also make a profit. Since they know their local market very well, they are able to market the courses much more effectively than we could do, and since they get a percentage of the revenue, they are highly motivated to market the courses effectively. We are developing our business plan, with the help of the e-BIZ project, and plan to offer a range of distance management training courses as well as other courses, especially in IT skills and courses for local government. We believe our competitive advantage will be to offer high quality courses, as there are training courses in Macedonia but they are usually not high quality. Some of our courses will use videoconferencing to bring in recognized international experts. We will work with these experts to ensure that their sessions are relevant and useful to the Macedonian audience. These sessions will also include translation and a question/answer period. We plan to charge sufficient fees for the sessions so that we can pay a speaker fee to the international expert, and generate enough revenue for both ourselves and our partners to cover our costs and eventually make a profit. Other courses will use Web-based training or CD-ROMs, again of high quality. Our initial market testing indicates that there is a market for these types of high quality training at prices that will generate target revenue levels. In addition, we plan to offer other video conferencing services (e.g., company meetings, sales presentations, and family meetings) to help generate sufficient revenue. We believe this model will make it possible for us and our local partners to provide a valuable service in Macedonia and also make sufficient revenue and profit to continually provide and improve the services. Because we are just starting out, we are looking for help, advice and partnerships. We would very much like to hear from GKD members who are experts in distance training (videoconferencing, CD-ROMs, Web-based, etc.) that is fee-based and for-profit. We would also like to hear from experts in developing other practical revenue sources from video conferencing (e.g., company meetings, sales presentations, and family meetings). We are also looking for all topics of management training courses that can be delivered effectively online, especially interactive materials, with an emphasis on sales and marketing training materials. We would also like to get courses in other areas, especially IT or training for government employees. We would like to enter into a partnership with the owners of the content so we can offer the courses in Macedonia. In addition, we would like to have a relationship in which we can translate the material into Macedonian and pay a portion of the revenues from the Macedonian courses to the content owner. Finally, we are seeking someone with experience in for-profit distance management training who may be wiling to come to Macedonia for 4-6 weeks as a volunteer (we can cover costs of travel, lodging and food expenses). Thank you to everyone who will provide advice and information to help us make the Distance Training e-BIZ Center a success. Valentina Taseva Managing Director Semos Education [EMAIL PROTECTED] This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. To post a message,
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships?
Jeff, you're right, even Toys R'Us hiccupped against Walmart and they had to revise strategies. I agree, to an extent that big businesses are the support pillar in alleviating poverty, marginality (creating jobs but they can also abuse the workforce equally) but in reality, every individual, in question, needs to be motivated and take ownership to improve their livelihood. I believe innovativeness is equally important and with the support and backing of the family, community and government, there is an opportunity. I am currently working on my thesis which may underscore this theory. Nevine Gulamhusein, Finance Officer, Aga Khan Council for USA 1700 First Colony Boulevard Sugar Land, TX 77479 Tel: 281-980-4747 Ext 359 Fax: 281-980-4787 On Wednesday, November 10, 2004, Jeff Cochrane wrote: Barry Coetzee raises an issue I know is the focus of research, for example, within Community Economics, and is certainly the object of a popular debate here in the United States. A parallel example: Recently a number of communities in the USA have passed regulations effectively barring a major company, Walmart, from locating in their markets, apparently because they recognized the broader impacts that might have on the mix of employment, economic growth, etc. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. 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.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships?
Dear Colleagues, Barry Coetzee raises an issue I know is the focus of research, for example, within Community Economics, and is certainly the object of a popular debate here in the United States. A parallel example: Recently a number of communities in the USA have passed regulations effectively barring a major company, Walmart, from locating in their markets, apparently because they recognized the broader impacts that might have on the mix of employment, economic growth, etc. Much of the conversation here seems to focus on how large corporations can somehow address low-income market segments. Barry Coetzee seems to be wondering if we're addressing the right question. Cheers! Jeff Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Office for Energy and Information Technology RRB 4.06-066 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20523-3800 Tel +1 (202) 712-1956, Cell +1 (301) 728-2160, Fax +1 (202) 216-3466 Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.usaid.gov Keyword:ICT On Monday, November 8, 2004, Barry Coetzee wrote: Our philosophy is that we HAVE to make the poor (the majority of our population) profitable. They will be our only market once the MNCs have 'cherry-picked' the top-end of their market. My experience is that there are very few partnerships with MNCs. They buy-out the locals if they see any profits. However, as their focus is actually their home states, they do not want to build on the local industry, but to further distribute the products and services that they developed at the head-office. Thus, my experience is that, in general, MNCs look after their own interests. In Africa that tends to be the top end of the market. The result of this is that the difference between the haves and the have nots tends to increase with the advent of MNCs. ..snip... This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. 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.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Can ICT Create New Business Partnerships?
Dear Colleagues, I run a small (15 employee) IT company in South Africa that provides electronic payment solutions to African banks and payment processors. Over many years now we have developed products that are scaled to meet the requirements of the market. This has allowed us to survive despite a continual onslaught from multi-national companies (MNCs). Our philosophy is that we HAVE to make the poor (the majority of our population) profitable. They will be our only market once the MNCs have 'cherry-picked' the top-end of their market. My experience is that there are very few partnerships with MNCs. They buy-out the locals if they see any profits. However, as their focus is actually their home states, they do not want to build on the local industry, but to further distribute the products and services that they developed at the head-office. Thus, my experience is that, in general, MNCs look after their own interests. In Africa that tends to be the top end of the market. The result of this is that the difference between the haves and the have nots tends to increase with the advent of MNCs. The result of this is that we in Africa generally have vastly inappropriate technology available. It is easier to support Oracle databases in Africa than to support Microsoft SQL, PostgerSQL or any other smaller database. This is peculiar, as, in general, there are very few businesses that will ever require the scalability of a high end database. In the field of financial services I have personally heard and read the same line over and over from the MNCs. The market is un-profitable. The reason for this unprofitability in most cases is that the COST of the MNCs infrastructure is scaled for rich people and therefore inappropriate to the markets in Africa. There are very few NGOs which operate in the areas that we do so our experience with them is limited. I can say that, of late, the emphasis has really moved to sustainability. My business focuses on creating products that are scaled correctly, light on infrastructure, low on support, multi-lingual, low on training and as cheap as possible to roll-out. In this way we operate in a market that is ignored by the MNCs. We can be sustainably profitable (not wildly so) by providing unique products that people in our community really depend on. Our vision is that this is the bottom of the toughest market around. If we can make some profits here, then we will be in the right place to make more profits when, through trade assisted by our products, this market moves up. Our mantra is - appropriate and sustainable - if you achieve that, everything else falls into place. Kind regards BARRY COETZEE CEO iVeri PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * WEB: WWW.IVERI.COM TEL: +27 11 269-4000 * FAX: +27 11 269-4098 On 11/8/04, Global Knowledge Dev. Moderator wrote: Most corporations trying to enter markets in developing countries view the poor simply as consumers and consider NGOs as just an extension of welfare services. Yet international corporations often lack sufficient market data, an understanding of local needs and preferences, or distribution channels. ICT could help the poor and NGOs become business partners, suppliers, distributors and sources of market information to large companies. ..snip... Yet some argue that powerful multinational corporations (MNCs) drive out small, local companies in poor communities, and local businesses should be protected. Brazil nurtured its computer industry that way. This view contends that the power balance between MNCs and local entrepreneurs or NGOs is so uneven that the latter can't possibly protect their interests. ..snip... This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. 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.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
