tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682170725479792522012-02-26T21:14:36.053ZIn search of sustainable telecentres and telecentre sustainabilityHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-27433875936923938552008-09-22T09:24:00.007+01:002008-09-22T12:28:07.615+01:00

I have prepared this summary presentation, aiming the telecentre operators who struggle to find a way to Sustainability. Hope this may helpful.Telecentre Sustainability GuideView SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: sustainable operators)

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-18019042870631321132008-04-01T08:08:00.006+01:002008-12-12T07:43:33.921Z

How to attract the rural computer-illiterate to telecentres (branded as Nanasala) has been a serious question for ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), when they start setting up hundreds of telecentres across the rural landscape.‘Subsidy Voucher’ has been a unique concept they have formulated together with expert contributions of Sarvodaya (building upon the ideas of Public Interest Program Unit of

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-87942758748507217522008-03-31T17:53:00.008+01:002008-12-12T07:43:34.247Z

SITU (Sarvodaya IT Unit) is the pioneering telecentre program of Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka. Though it had multiple sustainability elements inbuilt from early stages, the organizational priorities (of Sarvodaya) were on social-welfare delivery than revenue generation. Thus, SITU lacked the conducive organizational environment to materialize a cohesive economic program. As a result, the program was

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-42619087648911231202008-03-31T14:29:00.008+01:002008-03-31T18:08:50.655+01:00

Shilpa Sayura (Sea of Knowledge), is a local language digital learning system based on National Curriculum of Sri Lanka. Targeting remote, rural students to improve self learning capacity to prepare for national examinations, utilizing rural telecenters, project was initiated by e-fusion pvt ltd with a grant of Rs 5 mil (50,000$US) received from ICTA under e Sri Lanka Project.Absence of competent

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-91316228511442038832008-03-28T17:22:00.004Z2008-12-12T07:43:34.347Z

Emergence of corporate sector models in the donor dominated telecentre eco-system is becoming a trend. They begin telecentres with economic sustainability as the primary goal, thus demand for essential entrepreneurial elements from the inception. They aim to penetrate to the bottom of the pyramid communities, thus create services recognizing double bottom lines of Social Goals and Economic

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com284tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-36841002227296170622008-01-24T08:13:00.000Z2008-01-24T08:20:45.579Z

Are there sustainable Best Practices around the world?Following are the answers from multiple panellists during GK3 – Sustainability First panel. (See un-synthesised report)Ugabytes - Uganda: Ugabytes has a regional network, going down to the national and the individual telecentre levels. These layers contribute to the sustainability of each other at the individual telecentre level. This is

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-34076365341216343592008-01-23T18:33:00.000Z2008-01-24T13:52:07.550Z

From the outset a telecentre is a single isolated entity located inside a particular community. But in reality, it is not. It is a part of another eco-system constituted by multiple stakeholders (see the blog> elements of telecentre eco-system ).Why does the eco-system matter? This had been a question raised during Sustainability First panel discussion during GK3. Following are the answers (

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-31647422859791172262008-01-21T18:36:00.000Z2008-01-24T13:56:27.481Z

‘People need to fill their stomachs before touching computers’ – poverty activist at a development forum.ICT is not a basic human need like food, water or shelter. For the people struggling to survive through acute poverty, ICT is not a solution. Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) is infested with myriad of poverty issues. How can one expect to generate money from BoP?Most of the telecentres are, by

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-21785687162350017112008-01-21T18:28:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:34.766Z

‘Telecentres, a good way to dump your money. They are not sustainable!’That was a very confident statement of a member from donor community, that I heard during WSIS, Tunis, in 2005.When we begun the sustainability research in mid 2006, whenever the word telecentre comes to the discussion, the synonym associated was ‘No’ they are not sustainable. Pandits were busy illustrating pictures from South

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-29067453930490092922008-01-18T14:53:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:34.932Z

(Report of GK3 Sustainability Panel)Panelists:A.M.M. Yahya, Grameenphone CIC, BangladeshReshan Dewapura, ICTA, Sri LankaSulah Ndaula, UgaBYTES, Uganda,Karishma Kiri, Microsoft Corp., GlobalMiguel Raimilla, OneRoof, Maxico & IndiaMark Surman, telecentre.orgHarsha Liyanage, Sarvodaya-Fusion & telecentre.orgSession SummaryTelecentre sustainability has been a burning issue for over a decade. Recently

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-65083124837556573502008-01-18T12:31:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:35.207Z

Panel title: Sustainability First: Making Telecentres WorkTuesday 11 December14:00 to 15:30EM3: Emerging Markets Workshop / Parallel Workshop 2Room: FR406-407, Level 4Session SummaryTelecentre sustainability has been a burning issue for over a decade. Recently, a number of franchise networks and others have emerged with new models that promise more sustainable solutions to public access to

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-42716876661392075522007-12-03T23:42:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:36.484Z

Well, that is a question raised by some members in the Ugabytes discussion group. There will be many more out there thinking the same.In simple language – break even point is where the total revenue in an enterprise meets the total cost. But in application it is not that simple, especially for a socially driven, donor funded telecentre operation, who used to convince a donor to balance their

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-14939166670273709762007-12-02T15:50:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:36.666Z

Telecentres full of computers – but without customers ..? A common question in many parts of the world.‘Just provision of equipment and building the skills of telecentre operators alone would not solve the problem. It may require attention into broader socio-cultural aspects beyond technology, management and entrepreneurship’. That is the finding of an action research carried out in Sri Lanka,

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-68276815114102124212007-12-02T15:17:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:36.887Z

Imagine a villager visiting a telecentre to feed a local news clip to an e-Newspaper that circulates to 100,000 people a day, and get a payment for the news feed..! Well I have eye witnessed that was happening in Chile. In this case it was the telecentre operator (local girl) does the newsfeed.‘Telecentro San Rafael’, small telecentre with 4 computers, located in a mix community of 6000 people,

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-68206276564569571932007-11-01T13:17:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:37.124Z

C + M + P = SSEWhere C stands for Active Community Involvement, M for Sound Management and P being relevant Partnerships. The result SSE is Successful Social EnterpriseThis equation is not conclusive but the idea is that we have to bring everyone who matters onto the table and the key person here remains the community. They are the King. They know what they want and can even suggest the best

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-13162631593506083252007-11-01T12:47:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:37.351Z

A major question emerged in a very dynamic, online discussion facilitated by UgaBYTES with over 600 telecentre activists, mostly representing Africa.'mission drift - mean the risk of de-prioritizing or abandoning their social mission to focus on income-generating activities'. - Loic Comolli, NESsTTelecentres have the major mission to serve the communities, the Economic sustainability push them

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-44487603712417281392007-10-31T20:09:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:37.687Z

Prepaid valet is an equivalent to the prepaid mobile card model in telecentre eco-system. In the pre-paid card model, customer has to load an amount of money into a designated account in advance. Then variety of services will be bought to match the money value. When money depletes, the account will be toped up by the customer.Prepaid Valet is the latest enterprise model introduced by Drishtee to

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-54637507929601508452007-10-31T10:52:00.000Z2008-12-12T07:43:38.061Z

When the attention on Sustainability builds up, the challenge grows up to draw the lines between the stakeholders within the telecentre eco-system. Because, so far the research engagement did not try to distinguish the sectors (stakeholders) constituting the telecentre eco-system, instead attempted to map the issues, constraints, champions, best practices etc looking at the broader picture (

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-6437130959579301802007-09-30T11:16:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.195Z

According to a recent study, 41% of the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) in Sri Lanka owns a phone, and among these 22% owns a mobile phone. The growth of the mobile phone sector since 2001 is phenomenal: 22% in Sri Lanka, 76% in Thailand, 60% in Philippines, and 23% in Pakistan.In Sri Lanka, BoP consumers alone represent four million people who live below 2$USD a day. Despite the cost burden, they

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-16717532328619284942007-09-30T10:52:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.384Z

Most of the grassroots telecentre networks are leadership driven, according to my observations. In Sri Lanka, most of the successful Nanasala are driven by charismatic leaders. In India, Bangladesh and Chile, I have observed the same character though conditioned by the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the country. Originally, I thought it was my Sri Lankan (Sarvodaya-ness)

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-80477466380995920222007-09-30T10:28:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.571Z

As I travel across the world – Asia, Africa, America, Europe – the common question raised – “Are the telecentres sustainable?”. It sounded, at times as a statement rather than a question..! I tried to analyse it, as it was quite intriguing. So following is my own self-questioning;Who are the most common people raised this question?Donors, consultants and policy makers!What is their affiliation to

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-4436256914790394022007-09-30T10:06:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.709Z

They are unique because they offer very unfamiliar services from Telecentres; Solar panels, Clean water filters, HIV Counselling, Carrier counselling, Insurance and loan arrangements, all under one telecentre roof. One Roof Inc. is a US based private company having subsidiaries in Chennai, India and Veracruz & Yucatana, Mexico. The company emerge as a ‘Social enterprise’, converting the

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-39633234259512503692007-08-30T04:22:00.000+01:002007-09-16T14:40:45.681+01:00

Again I have witnessed the same repetition at the eIndia2007 telecentre forum in August — the exact repetition year after at the same hall. Only the difference was, while majority continuously question about telecentre sustainability, some smiling faces (though very few) started demonstrating their models, which are heading in the direction of sustainability.But the others were not convinced. Why

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-21213112739640972332007-08-30T04:20:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.104Z

They regard themselves as a Profit making company with a Social mission. The mega milestones they reached just over a 7 year period, convince that they deliver the talk.Drishtee started with just 3 kiosks in 2001. By 2007 they serves over 1650 Kiosks, all are operating in rural pockets, as franchises. The most impressive is their ability to reach financial milestones well before their intended

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-20485029373056727412007-07-24T18:40:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.114Z

During the early age of Sustainability journey, in mid 2006, Fusion (http://www.fusion.lk/) started experimenting on BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) as a new product to introduce at telecentres. The convincing factor was - had the BPO's being introduced at telecenters, it can bring dual benefits to the telecentres; a) it can be a micro-enterprise offered at telecentres to the local communities

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-33615685985301111152007-07-24T18:27:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.401Z

The word 'Capacity building' is no more exciting in the development sector. Common question - how are these capacity building workshops truly add the value?A compelling story was found in Sri Lanka, with Sarvodaya/Fusion (www.fusion.lk). The value addition was done by another non-traditional partner; NESsT (Non-profit Enterprise and Self-sustainability Team: www.nesst.org). NESsT engagement with

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-44540191227923121052007-07-23T19:43:00.000+01:002007-07-23T19:48:20.090+01:00

In many parts of the world, telecentre operators recognize ICT skill development as the default path to income generation. Yet, many telecentre activists argue against this choice. Why..? One argument is - telecentres are opportunity windows to empower communities. ICT Skill development is a too narrow educational engagement. The other argument is that telecentres can become ICT training centres

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-33939680251866012992007-07-23T19:28:00.000+01:002007-07-23T19:32:57.900+01:00

At telecentre forum of eGov - India, 2006, the auditorium was very electric when 'sustainability' was taken to the discussion.'We should build Sustainable telecentres..!'''Many of the telecentres would be closed down when the donors disappear..!'....'Well...! Social Enterprising is the only answer to Sustainability problem..!!'I thought every body would jump into the idea when I threw this to the

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-30682455620393810342007-07-23T18:53:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.439Z

I have seen this problem repeating many times in many parts of the world. And I have seen it again at Gampaha, a suburban village in Sri Lanka.Economic sustainability needs the cultivation of entrepreneurial qualities. In simple terms - greed to make profits. For a Socially Driven community leader who thrive on altruistic motives - helping poor, offering volunteer spirit - this is an utterly

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-64322605048442192582007-07-23T18:49:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.450Z

It is certainly challenging how to justify the corporate tactics in the social (development) landscape, when the scale of operation demands complex engagements (especially in the developing country context). Grameen Phone (www.grameenphone.com) of Bangladesh, excited me too much recently when I saw their brand name parading from Dhaka Airport to the poorest villages all across the country....

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-46236753594603715862007-07-23T18:43:00.000+01:002007-07-23T18:48:45.763+01:00

Selling information to the poor communities....!?! Well sounds impossible. But it is happening in the real world, with the mastery of D.Net (www.dnet-bangladesh.org) the Applied research based, development NGO of Bangladesh.Pallithtaya kendra (telecentre) (http://www.pallitathya.org/), model of D.Net has so much to offer in the sustainability quest. They offer knowledge / information services,

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-33276953512885772632007-07-23T18:39:00.000+01:002007-07-23T18:43:06.657+01:00

Mobile lady - is a popular figure in extreme rural communities of Bangladesh. People await to see her arrival to access very basic information - at times which not only decides the prices for their harvest, occasionally helps to find a medical help too. She is playing a vital role, as her visit to the village, help people to avoid days long journeys to the distant town ships to acquire the same

Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-13320658427952465372007-07-23T18:20:00.000+01:002007-07-23T18:38:12.444+01:00

Water testing kit is familiar subject in agricultural laboratories in many parts of the world. But in Bangladesh, it has become a popular equipment at rural telecentres. More interestingly, it is part of the tool kit carried by the mobile-lady (http://smilingharsha.blogspot.com/2007/07/mobile-lady-is-popular-figure-in.html) who peddles the bicycle from village to village, offering services while

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Marketable products at Telecentres? If the services / products offered at telecentres are not marketable, how do you expect to earn money? The majority in the world provide Computer services, Photocopy, Printing, Photo-printing...and also telephone calls at very remote areas. But the list is quite narrow, unfortunately in majority places. Nevertheless, the happy news is there are places offer an

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