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Tuesday, 20 January 2009 22:36 |
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 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: - Microfinance borrowers benefit from operating a sustainable ICT business
- Community members benefit from access to affordable telecommunication services
- Telecommunication operators benefit from additional subscribers and airtime with existing infrastructure
Through this visionary concept, Wireless Reach and its partners hope to positively impact Indonesia in two ways - increase the teledensity of rural Indonesia and provide new opportunities for more micro-entrepreneurs to own and run a successful business. |
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