Title: The Advent of Mobile Financial Services in Agriculture
Author: Camilo Tellez
Source: Mobile Money for the Unbanked blog
Publisher: GSM Association
Date (published): 15/11/2011
Date (accessed): 17/11/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"As the global population continues to grow – it is expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050. It will require a 70% increase in food production above current levels. Most of this increased yield will have to be achieved in less developed countries (LDCs), many of whose farmers operate on a small scale and are highly exposed to crop failure and adverse commodity price movements. This month, Vodafone, Accenture and Oxfam released a report on mAgriculture. The report titled “Connected Agriculture” assesses the potential benefits of new mobile data services such as mobile financial services, weather forecasts, and agriculture information and advice for smallholding farmers operating in marginal circumstances.
…
The financial and information opportunities at the base of the pyramid (BOP) in themselves hold significant untapped value for the private sector. The BOP has both intricate financial and information needs, which have the potential to be met through mobile money and information-based mobile services. Mobile Money can reduce the financial gap for farmers by giving them access to savings and insurance, which in itself reduces the impact of extreme weather and allows for greater investment in improving production.[1] Meanwhile, m-information services have the potential to open up significant markets opportunities, by relaying sales prices, GIS-based commodity demand information, as well as more basic yet essential information on agricultural best practices and reliable weather forecasts..."

Title: ICT or Development: Why It’s So Difficult to Get Rich and Help the Poor Simultaneously?
Author: Kentaro Toyama
Source: The ICT4D Jester
Date (published): 14/08/2011
Date (accessed): 18/09/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"In 2004, the Jester visited some of the Akshaya rural telecenters in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. These centers were initiated and subsidized by the state government, who sought “100% computer literacy” for the state, meaning that one person in every household should learn the basics of PC operation, e-mail, and Internet browsing. The state saw it as a development project, but unusually for communist-leaning Kerala, the telecenters were meant to be run as for-profit businesses by local entrepreneurs.

The telecenters the Jester saw on that trip varied in their apparent success. One had a row of shiny new PCs in a swanky air-conditioned office space and bustled with customers furiously working through a computer-literacy curriculum. The owner boasted that he was already making a good profit. Another stacked computer equipment floor to ceiling, so that at most one PC was actually usable. The owner said that he dragged members of low-income families in his village to his center to learn about PCs, even if they kicked and screamed. When asked about breaking even, he demurred, “What I care about is the development impact of this project.”

A year or two later, then-PhD-student Renee Kuriyan went back to the same district to explore in depth, and among other things, she confirmed what the Jester had seen informally – that most Akshaya entrepreneurs fell into one of two categories: Those who made money by marketing to richer clients, and those who had some impact on poorer clients, but made little money. A very small minority made money and served poor clients.

Since then, the Jester has seen or heard of myriad attempts to make a profit by serving the poor, or as C. K. Prahalad put it, “eradicate poverty through profits.” Yet, despite the ongoing excitement around social enterprises and the bottom of the pyramid, in actuality, it is very difficult to make a lot of money by selling goods or services to poor people in a way that has meaningful, positive impact on their lives, particularly with ICT."

Second part: click here

Title: Leveraging Information and Communication Technology for the Base Of the Pyramid
Authors: Alexandre de Carvalho, Lucie Klarsfeld, Francois Lepicard
Pages: 218 pp.
Source: TNO
Publisher: Hystra, Ashoka
Date (published): 14/09/2011
Date (accessed): 18/09/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"innovative business models in education, health, agriculture and financial services
…
New study reveals how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can viably provide access to education, healthcare, agro-services or financial services to the billions of people living with less than a few dollars per day, also called the Base of the Pyramid. Fifteen of the most ground breaking market-based business models, with a proven scale and results on the ground show that ICT can be a lever improving the living standards of the BoP. There are, however, large differences in financial sustainability across sectors.

The research was conducted by Hystra consultants and TNO researchers and sponsored by AFD, Ericsson, France Telecom-Orange, ICCO and TNO. The aim of the study was to see if and how ICT can have a sustainable contribution to poverty reduction and create new opportunities for the Base of the Pyramid. More than 280 initiatives were evaluated on their ability to create social impact, their scalability and their financial sustainability, ensuring that they can grow and last beyond an experimental phase.
An important insight from the research was that though a large number ICT initiatives can be found in developing countries, many of them were not financially sustainable. In order to grow from successful small or medium enterprises to large scale information and communication services, it is important to have a market driven approach and look at the Base of the Pyramid as customers in stead of beneficiaries. In addition, cooperation between companies in different sectors (ICT and Health, for example), between the private sector and non-profit (hospitals, development agencies) and between these sectors and government is crucial. Only then the ICT service had the potential to reach the scale necessary to improve living conditions and incomes of the billions of poor people in the world.
The study was based on a review of more than 280 initiatives set up by various types of actors (corporations, Citizen Sector Organizations, social entrepreneurs) in four sectors (education, health, agriculture and financial services)."

Title: From No Doctor to E-Doctors in Rural India
Author: Emily Singer
Source: Technology Review
Publisher: MIT
Date (published): 15/09/2011
Date (accessed): 18/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"A telemedicine company brings $1 virtual checkups to poor countries.

There aren't too many doctors in the village of Hari Ke Kalan, in the Punjab region of northern India. But for $1, residents who bicycle to a new health clinic can get an appointment with a physician appearing on a large-screen television and beamed in over broadband Internet.

The clinic, built by a startup called Healthpoint Services, is one of a network of eight "e-health points" that the for-profit company has built in India as part of a growing effort by entrepreneurs to capitalize on the rapid expansion of cellular and broadband access in the poorest parts of the world. With successes such as text-message-based mobile payments taking off in some countries, many experts see medicine as the next major application of technology in poor nations."

Title: Social Influence in Mobile Phone Adoption: Evidence from the Bottom of the Pyramid in Emerging Asia
Authors:Harsha de Silva, Dimuthu Ratnadiwakara, Ayesha Zainudeen
Pages: 18 pp.
ISBN: 1544-7529
e-ISBN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies & International Development; Vol 7, Issue 3 - Mobile Telephony Special Issue, 1-18 pp.
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Date (published): 09/09/2011
Date (accessed): 14/09/2011
Type of information: Peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"This article attempts to quantitatively measure the various influences on mobile phone adoption at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Thailand. Based on an existing theoretical framework, adoption is modeled by fitting a logit model to a large six-country dataset. The study finds evidence for the importance of social influence in mobile adoption in two modes: one that exerts pressure on individuals to adopt, and another that helps to generate benefits via social networks that are tied in with economic and business networks. The article elaborates on the resulting social policy implications for using mobile telephone services to fight poverty at the BoP in these and similar countries."

Title: CellBazaar: Enabling M-Commerce in Bangladesh
Authors: Ayesha Zainudeen, Rohan Samarajiva, Nirmali Sivapragasam
Pages: 16 pp.
ISBN: 1544-7529
e-ISBN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies & International Development; Vol 7, Issue 3 - Mobile Telephony Special Issue, 61-76 pp.
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Date (published): 09/09/2011
Date (accessed): 13/09/2011
Type of information: Peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"E-commerce has been seen as a way to reduce friction in the marketplace. It allows larger volumes of transactions to take place than would otherwise be possible in the conventional marketplace, and it effectively expands markets while opening up opportunities for new ones. However, it is heavily dependent on physical infrastructure and other support services; these are often unavailable or inaccessible at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) in developing markets. The rapid proliferation of mobile phones throughout these markets, along with increasingly affordable services, creates opportunity to take the benefits of such applications to the BoP segment in these markets. This article examines the case of CellBazaar, a mobile-based electronic marketplace (e-marketplace) in Bangladesh, perhaps the first of its kind to reach the BoP in a developing market. It is a real-time collection of classified advertisements accessible even through the most basic mobile phone. Taking CellBazaar as a starting point, this article explores the potential for providing a wider range of e-marketplace services, including secure payment and delivery of the goods/services traded in a country with a significant BoP population such as Bangladesh; it looks at some of the obstacles that may arise in such a setting and discusses possible solutions."

Title: The Future of the Public Payphone: Findings from a Study on Telecom Use at the Bottom of the Pyramid in South and Southeast Asia
Authors: Nirmali Sivapragasam, Juhee Kang
Pages: 12 pp.
ISBN: 1544-7529
e-ISBN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies & International Development; Vol 7, Issue 3 - Mobile Telephony Special Issue, 33-44 pp.
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Date (published): 09/09/2011
Date (accessed): 13/09/2011
Type of information: Peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Public payphones, such as traditional payphone booths, have been in use since the late 19th century. However, with growing telephone ownership, particularly of mobile telephones, demand for public payphones has experienced a decline in recent years, in both developed and developing countries. Despite this, provision of public payphones continues to be a part of universal service obligations in some South Asian countries. This article examines the changing demand for these phones in developing countries, particularly in the context of low-income earners, through two consecutive surveys of bottom of the pyramid telecom users in 2006 and 2008 in six South and Southeast Asian countries. The study finds that, although demand for public payphones is declining in general, they still play a role among the poorest of the poor, and even among mobile owners. It recommends alternative forms of public payphones based on mobile technologies and suggests more inclusive mobile services for all."

Title: Bottom of the Pyramid Expenditure Patterns on Mobile Services in Selected Emerging Asian Countries
Authors: Aileen Agüero, Aileen Agüero, Juhee Kang
Pages: 14 pp.
ISBN: 1544-7529
e-ISBN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies & International Development; Vol 7, Issue 3 - Mobile Telephony Special Issue, 19-32 pp.
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Date (published): 09/09/2011
Date (accessed): 13/09/2011
Type of information: Peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"This article analyzes patterns of expenditure on mobile phone services at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP), following users in six Asian countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Thailand. We examine whether mobile phone services in the selected countries display characteristics of a luxury good or those of a necessity. We first evaluate the expenditure patterns of mobile phone services among five income groups within the BoP. Then, we estimate the income elasticity of mobile phone services using Engel curves. Based on these analyses, we conclude that mobile phone services are necessities at the BoP. We also find that any increase in price or tax adds the greatest burden on the poorest of the poor. We argue that the current high tax on mobile phone services in developing countries in Asia has an adverse effect on the poor."

Title: Learning with Mobile Devices Somewhere Near the Bottom of the Pyramid
Author: John Traxler
Source: Educational Technology Debate
Publisher: UNESCO
Date (published): 06/07/2011
Date (accessed): 17/07/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Mobile phones hold out enormous promise as the single ICT most likely to deliver education in Africa, and to do so on a sustainable, equitable and scalable basis. I think however that so far, we have not often seen much progress beyond fixed-term, small-scale and subsidised pilots and it is worth exploring whether mobile phones can really deliver their promise.

Delivering education in Africa using mobile phones probably strikes governments, institutions and practitioners as easy and obvious because mobile phones and mobile networks are almost universally accessible and reliable in places where environment, economics, infrastructure and security might variously militate against any other ICTs and where the demographics of mobile phone ownership, access and competence, unlike most other ICTs, takes us near to the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ – the actual ‘bottom of the pyramid’ is of course populated by people who can’t even afford mobile phones! Furthermore, mobile phones are an individual ICT not an institutional or corporate ICT and are not predicated on access to colleges, business centres, cyber-cafes or maybe even cities. Therefore, learning on mobile phones should work.

The current World Bank Group and the African Development Bank study is intended “to raise awareness and stimulate action, especially among African governments and development practitioners”. These are indeed vital prerequisites but perhaps ‘critical awareness’ and ‘rigorously evidence-based action’ are even more vital. This is important debate is often characterised by simplifications, misplaced optimism and untested assertions. Hopefully this piece will strike a better balance.

My contention is that whilst many good projects using mobile devices to support learning, by definition, do good work and thus deserve to be praised and celebrated, our problems start when we try to understand these projects, when we try to reason and infer about these projects, when we try to explain and disseminate them in the hope that we can reproduce and replicate them. This is all the more worrying as we overlook the far larger number of less successful projects or when we group, organise and cluster projects in order to find common generalisable themes, forces, causes and mechanisms. Therein lies our problem with scale, sustainability and equity.

Something is wrong and we need to dig beneath the surface. What are my reasons for advocating such caution?"

Title: Tweaking technology for the bottom four billion
Author: Kafil Yamin
Source: SciDev.Net
Date (published): 30/07/2010
Date (accessed): 03/08/2010
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Texting is great if you are literate. But for those who cannot read and write it is a useless feature of a piece of technology — the mobile phone — that is otherwise beautifully pro-poor.

Romdoul Kim, who works for the nongovernmental organisation Innovative Support To Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters [InSTEDD] in Cambodia, would muse on this problem as she witnessed its consequences: the poor could not benefit from the flow of information that could otherwise have been passing between health workers and patients in her area.

The solution, Romdoul told a conference earlier this year in Jakarta, Indonesia, was GeoChat, a facility that turns the spoken word into the written word and allows information to be gathered on subjects ranging from disease outbreaks to rural businesses.

GeoChat is an example of a technology that has been tweaked and adapted so it can reach the poorest people — those who inhabit the "base of the pyramid", or BoP.