tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682170725479792522024-02-20T07:20:55.125+00:00Sustainability FirstIn search of sustainable telecentres and telecentre sustainabilityHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-27433875936923938552008-09-22T09:24:00.007+01:002008-09-22T12:28:07.615+01:00Simple guide to telecentre sustainabilityI 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.com90tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-18019042870631321132008-04-01T08:08:00.006+01:002008-12-12T07:43:33.921+00:00Subsidy Vouchers; a unique model to catalyze rural poorHow 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.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-42619087648911231202008-03-31T14:29:00.008+01:002008-03-31T18:08:50.655+01:00Shilpa Sayura - Digital learning at TelecentresShilpa 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 competentHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-91316228511442038832008-03-28T17:22:00.004+00:002008-12-12T07:43:34.347+00:00EasySeva - ‘Franchise in a box’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-36841002227296170622008-01-24T08:13:00.000+00:002008-01-24T08:20:45.579+00:00Best practices of sustainability across the world: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-34076365341216343592008-01-23T18:33:00.000+00:002008-01-24T13:52:07.550+00:00Individual Telecentre vs. Eco-systems. Why?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-31647422859791172262008-01-21T18:36:00.000+00:002008-01-24T13:56:27.481+00:00Tapping the Bottom of the Pyramid‘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-21785687162350017112008-01-21T18:28:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:34.766+00:00Moving from ‘No’ to ‘Yes’ paradigm of Sustainability‘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 SouthHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-29067453930490092922008-01-18T14:53:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:34.932+00:00Sustainability First: Making Telecentres Work(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. Harsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-65083124837556573502008-01-18T12:31:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:35.207+00:00Sustainability Panel - at GK3 (Global Knowledge Conference 3), Malaysia, 11, Dec 2007 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.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-42716876661392075522007-12-03T23:42:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:36.484+00:00Is telecentre Break Even Point a myth..?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-14939166670273709762007-12-02T15:50:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:36.666+00:00Empty telecentres ..! Why..?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-68276815114102124212007-12-02T15:17:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:36.887+00:00Citizen newspapers; another social enterprise model?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-68206276564569571932007-11-01T13:17:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:37.124+00:00Formula for Sustainable telecentre Social EnterpriseC + 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-13162631593506083252007-11-01T12:47:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:37.351+00:00‘Mission Drift’ in the Sustainability journeyA 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-44487603712417281392007-10-31T20:09:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:37.687+00:00Prepaid Valet - a new Telecentre business modelPrepaid 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 toHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-54637507929601508452007-10-31T10:52:00.000+00:002008-12-12T07:43:38.061+00:00Elements of telecentre Eco-systemWhen 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+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.195+00:00Mobile penetration at BoP – An opportunity for telecentresAccording 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+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.384+00:00Leader-centric networks, are they sustainable?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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-80477466380995920222007-09-30T10:28:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.571+00:00How genuine is the question...sustainability?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 toHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-4436256914790394022007-09-30T10:06:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:38.709+00:00Every thing under ‘One Roof’ 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+01:00Why it is not happening?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. WhyHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-21213112739640972332007-08-30T04:20:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.104+00:00Mission 6K - Sustainability mission of DrishteeThey 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-33939680251866012992007-07-23T19:28:00.000+01:002007-07-23T19:32:57.900+01:00Enterprising or Socail Enterprising....which way to go..?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 theHarsha Liyanagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10115177771897411921noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568217072547979252.post-30682455620393810342007-07-23T18:53:00.000+01:002008-12-12T07:43:39.439+00:00Village dilemma at Social enterprisingI 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.com1