Conference features technology for Third World countries

From...

by Bob Trott

SEATTLE (IDG) -- One organization utilizes technology to help poor Africans establish credit. A Seattle company, meanwhile, offers an online marketplace for artisans and merchants around the world to sell their wares.

Both organizations, as well as the rest of the attendees at the Creating Digital Dividends conference here, heartily agree that it is in the best interests of the high-tech community -- as well as the world -- to close the technology divide that exists between affluent, developed nations and the Third World.

"We would like to bring you in to help these people," said Jonathan Campaigne, chairman and CEO of the Pride Africa Group, a network of micro-finance institutions that provides small loans to entrepreneurs in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia.

Sponsored by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Creating Digital Dividends conference drew about 300 people to discuss ways to close the gap between those with access to digital technology and those without.

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According to the WRI, fewer than 2 percent of the world's population is online. The rapid spread of digital networks, in theory, could connect "every village and every family on the face of the earth" by the year 2010, the organization claims.

The appeal to the high-tech community from organizations such as Pride Africa is twofold: help save the world and make some money doing it. Bringing technology -- particularly those technologies that leverage the Internet -- to underserved regions of the globe will lift up populations economically, spur international commerce, and establish tech standards worldwide.

Pride Africa has 100,000 clients who, with the organization's custom software and smart cards, build their credit. With a swipe of the card, users can link to a database of loan suppliers and apply for small loans.

"Africa is a continent of middlemen," Campaigne said, "and if you reach over that obstacle it creates an opportunity for people that was not there ... These people will do just about anything for you if you give them the opportunity."

Viatru also connects people in widely different locations. The Seattle company offers "digital windows" technology for retail stores, catalogs, and online retailing that lets customers meet remote artisans, see their villages, and understand what kind of an impact a business will have.

Formerly called World2Market, Viatru works with humanitarian organizations to ensure that the artisans and merchants it features are receiving fair wages and work in good conditions, according to Michelle Long, vice president and founder.

Viatru's merchandising team works with retail buyers and artisans to create custom-designed collections tailored specifically to retail stores' needs. The firm employs designers who travel to remote areas and collaborate with artisans on issues such as color schemes, fashion, and trends.

"We do have an opportunity to make some real outcomes if we connect," Long said.

One issue that many at the gathering expressed concern about was applying traditional business models to meet the needs of the world's underprivileged. That could be particularly tricky for a high-tech industry that, thanks to the Internet, has already redefined what constitutes a "traditional" business model.

The WRI unveiled a $750,000 project designed to answer those questions, hoping to incorporate what it learns at the Seattle conference.

"Digital technologies are being used right now in very innovative ways that are creating significant social and environmental benefits for the billions of people who do not yet have access to the Internet," said WRI Chairman William D. Ruckelshaus. "Market drivers will be required to quickly and effectively bring the benefits of connectivity and participation in the e-economy to all of the world's people."

The WRI will create road maps for these opportunities, document the experience, analyze the markets they operate in, and outline the social or environmental benefits they have generated. The information will be made available to companies, governments, entrepreneurs, and other organizations.

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G8 leaders fail on digital divide
July 25, 2000

Annan calls on richest nations to bridge digital divide
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Business leaders present digital-divide proposals
(IDG.net)
Clinton aims to conquer digital divide in U.S.
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(IDG.net)
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Creating Digital Dividends
World Resources Institute (WRI)

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