Monday, October 22, 2007

Using the phone as an ATM?

This isn't a metaphorical phrase about the rise of innovation. Far from it, it's about how an amazing system has arised from the people on the streets of Uganda. Credits to TED and Jan Chipchase of Nokia for this excerpt:

Take the average man on the street. He's working in another city far away from his hometown. He wants to send some cash back home to his family, but he doesn't have a bank account; neither can he afford the high commission rates charged by remittance agencies.

In Uganda, they have these little things called phone kiosks. These are essentially like small phone stores, where people who need to make calls can go in and make a call, or rent a handphone.

Now back to the average man. He goes out and buys a simcard top-up, let's say worth $20. He calls the phone kiosk and tells them the code on the top-up card. The phone kiosk now has $20 worth of phone credit. It takes a commission, say 10%, and gives the remaining $18 in cash to average man's family.

And there you have it! A simple, elegant system. And all this, off the streets. I really marvelled at the simplicity, beauty and ease of use of it. As Mr Chipchase himself said, I dont think any of us would have been able to think of such a good system.

Not enough credit is being given to the poor for their own innovative techniques. A lot of times, many processes are already in place to help ensure their sustainability and livelihood. As aptly put by someone before (can't remember where I read this), Africa doesn't need saving. It doesn't need another celebrity adopting more of its children. It needs trade, and a chance to take its trade into the world market at an equal level. I think such micro-credit and -financing schemes are very viable and will definitely grow, maybe even forming the bedrock of developing economies.

Mrs Brightside at 7:58 pm

{xoxo}