Entrepreneurship
EXPLORE: China | Indonesia | Sri Lanka | Worldwide
China: PlaNet Finance, Enabling Rural Innovation & Entrepreneurship
 China is the world's largest cellular market with a total of 502 million mobile subscribers reported in June 2007 by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII). However, the difference in wealth and wireless connectivity between the eastern coastal cities and the western countryside in China remains significant. According to MII reports, China's mobile phone penetration is just under 40 percent, though it is as high as 90 percent in some urban areas. The following Wireless Reach project aims to harness advanced wireless technology to positively contribute to the long-term development and sustainability of underserved communities in three of the country's western provinces: Shaanxi, Guizhou and Ningxia. In collaboration with China Unicom and the international non-governmental organization, PlaNet Finance, Qualcomm donated 2,000 CDMA2000 handsets that were pre-charged with a monthly service voucher (good for up to two years) donated by China Unicom. The handsets were given to PlaNet Finance's network of microfinance workers and loan recipients. The initiative improves successful PlaNet Finance programs by providing the benefits of mobile communications to entrepreneurs. The handset recipients are microfinance loan officers or borrowers who have successful track records and regularly participate in PlaNet Finance's training programs. China Unicom's service voucher includes a weekly SMS, which enables PlaNet Finance to provide key price and loan information to its microfinance partners and recipients. The CDMA2000 handset donation helps drive the recipients' access to markets, prevents wasted journeys and makes it easier to receive microfinance loans. Through the Wireless Reach program, Qualcomm and China Unicom support China's overall development goals articulated by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the National People's Congress in March 2006. PARTNERS
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SPOTLIGHT
“One of the biggest advantages of having the SMS system is knowing which commodities we should buy and when is best to buy them, like when I buy feed for my penned sheep. The prices of feed often vary widely day-to-day and by having the price sent to me by SMS it allows me to know when is the best time to buy, when I should buy more and when I should buy only what I need until the price drops.” – Farmer from Yanchi County, Ningxia |
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Indonesia: Village Phone Replication Program, Giving Entrepreneurs New Tools for Success
 Wireless Reach partnered with the Grameen Foundation to determine the feasibility of applying the Village Phone concept in Indonesia. The concept has been successful in several developing countries including Bangladesh, where more than 300,000 Village Phone Operators (VPOs) have proven that there is a clear path out of the cycle of poverty. The VPOs earn incomes greater than the national average (e.g. in Uganda they earn almost three times the average) and villages that once had no connectivity to the outside world now have telecommunications access. The core concept is simple and effective: a local entrepreneur in a rural community without telecommunications services acquires a micro-loan from a microfinance institution. Using the micro-loan, the entrepreneur purchases a village phone kit (that includes a telephone, antenna, power source, signage and related marketing materials) and service plan and then retails the “minutes” to her friends and neighbors generating numerous positive returns at multiple levels:
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Sri Lanka: HSDPA Connectivity, Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Connecting Rural Citizens
 To assist Sri Lankans in establishing successful businesses, as well as connecting rural Sri Lankans to the rest of the world with high-speed Internet access, Qualcomm and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its “Last Mile Initiative,” teamed with Dialog Telekom, National Development Bank and Synergy Strategies Group to launch the first Wireless Reach HSDPA project. The project marks the opening of 25 Easy Seva Internet Centers in rural Sri Lanka using Dialog Telekom's HSDPA network. The aim of the Easy Seva Center concept is twofold. The Centers' primary purpose is to offer local entrepreneurs an opportunity to invest in an Easy Seva franchise. An Easy Seva Internet Center is an attractive investment as the barriers to entry are relatively low and start-up costs are minimal due to a highly standardized, bulk-purchase package of equipment, software, content and services from Wireless Reach and its partners. The secondary purpose of the Easy Seva Center concept is to provide communities without telecommunications access a computer center with 3G HSDPA Internet connectivity. Through these Centers, residents in rural Sri Lanka now have a chance to acquire new skills via online training, explore job opportunities and receive microfinance loans and other banking services, as well as call relatives overseas at affordable rates. This Wireless Reach project not only provides opportunities for Sri Lankans to become new business owners, but also brings affordable high-speed 3G Internet access to communities with limited or no connectivity. PARTNERS
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SPOTLIGHT
“Dialog Telekom is delighted to be a partner in the Last Mile Initiative Project which demonstrates and validates the use of advanced 3G HSDPA technology to bridge information and communication divides facing rural communities. It is truly rewarding to see a cutting edge technology such as 3G HSDPA delivering socio-economic dividends where they are most needed, at such an early stage in the technology life cycle. We look forward to working with Qualcomm and USAID in scaling up the penetration of HSDPA-powered ICT centers in order to harness the benefits of 3G technology towards the betterment of Sri Lankan lives.” –Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, chief executive, Dialog Telekom |
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