Beyond markets for mobiles: the development sector and pro-poor impacts of ICTs

1. Beyond markets for mobiles: the development sector and pro-poor impacts of ICTs Presentation for Mobile phones: the new talking drums of Everyday Africa? Workshop in Leiden , Netherlands, 9 December 2010 Ben Garside Researcher – Sustainable Markets Group International Institute for Environment and Development

2. Background • Mobile subscription rates booming • Prices coming down, coverage increasing • Subscribers still predominantly in cities but slowly changing • Boom has been predominantly driven by the market • Increased competition • Innovation from free market

3. Context • Passive diffusion versus active intervention – why? • A short history of ICT4D • The role of government • The private sector and passive diffusion • From access to impact – what evidence • Challenges going forward

4. Development interest and ICTs • ICTs are part of the MDGs (Goal 8, Target 18, Indicators 47-48) • ICTs have an impact on achieving other MDGs • ICTs can negatively impact MDGs

5. Goal 8: Develop a global partnershipfor development Target 18: “In cooperation with the private sector make available the benefits of new technologies, specifically information and communications.” Indicators: • Total number of telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants • Personal computers per 100 inhabitants Internet users per 100 inhabitants • ITU – Digital access index – infrastructure, affordability, knowledge, quality

7. Development interest and ICTs • 1980’s – little or negative interest • Mid 90’s – big infrastructure projects • Digital Divide push • Predominantly focused on telecentre model Telecentres -> Access to ICTs -> Provide services->Assist development • Continued to mid-2000s • Gradual donor and practitioner dis-interest • Efforts to mainstream ICTs in development

8. Perceived contribution of ICTs to development (Heeks 2008)

9. ICT4D evolving in a bubble Disciplinary foundations for development informatics research (Heeks 2010)

10. Yet lots of examples of innovative active intervention • E.g. knowledge centres. ALIN in East Africa, MS Swaminthan Research Centre in India • Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) • Information/communication for what? • Participatory approach in tailoring information services to communities • Use of informediaries and local CSO/NGO for sharing and dissemination • How to better understand model & adapt/scale

11. Public sector and ICTs today overview of telecoms sector reforms In Africa (InfoDev 2008)

12. Public sector and ICTs today • Commonwealth African Rural Connectivity Initiative (COMARCI) • De-regulation of incumbent telecoms companies partial success • Weak regulators • PRSP’s and cut/paste e-strategies • World Summit on the Information Society (2005) – UN ICT task force • "lend a truly global dimension to the multitude of efforts to bridge the global digital divide, foster digital opportunity and thus firmly put ICT at the service of development for all” • Football!

13. Private sector and passive diffusion • Lots of citizen innovative uses of mobiles e.g. flashing, bumping, beeping, Ushahidi (to some extent) • What of bigger business? • Focus on access, pre-pay models etc • Access divide greater than perhaps imagined • E.g. Ghana 83% city, 16% other urban,0.4% rural • Sharing varies hugely by culture e.g. India and Sri-Lanka only 7% share with non-householders • Sharing improved by interventions – e.g. Grameen village phones Bangladesh • s

14. Private sector & passive diffusion • Beyond access to ICTs - to services • Bigger business not so many pro-poor targeted services • Example 1 - M-PESA • 13 million users in Kenya alone, expanding rapidly • Evidence of impacts on poor, including unanticipated benefits • Builds on traditional payment practices • Extensive network of trained distributers

15. Private sector & passive diffusion • M-PESA started with DFID challenge money • Worked with smaller company and MFI (Faulu) – multi-stakeholder & active intervention • Product evolved with consumer use • Smart regulation key – Kenya vs India

16. Private sector & passive diffusion • Example 2 – Google Trader Uganda • Based on learning lab. • Grameen applabs • Google • MTN • Local NGO (Busoga Rural Open Source Development Initiative) – HIVOS support • Built on trust networks to produce Farmer’s Friend

17. From access to ICTs – to use of ICTs • Many examples of access but little uptake • e.g. national telecentre rollouts across SSA – Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda • Many examples of “successful” pilots but failed replication • “success” very undefined • ICT4D field has tended to be technology rather than people led • “neat” solutions and latest tech • sometimes left to private sector • Mainstream development has ignored or ‘mainstreamed’ ICTs • Lots of exciting example of innovation coming from local developing contexts • Passive diffusion mantra is strong

18. Evidence of livelihoods impacts? • Market pricing systems mixed results, from Keralan fish (Jensen) to Tanzanian tomatoes (Molony) • Lack of evidence that ‘mobiles are a tool to solve development problems’ • ICTs and growth causality weak • Perhaps the wrong question • Types of information and communication needs – ways ICTs can fit with socio-cultural context to deliver them

19. Measuring what works • From outputs to outcomes and impacts • Not only information but money, skills, motivation, trust, confidence, existing knowledge • Multi-disciplinary research into better measuring impacts • Frameworks Infodev ICT Rural Livelihoods knowledge map • Synthesising new approaches – Heeks ICT impact compendium • People-centred solutions taking considering socio-cultural contexts • “the poor” as innovators as well as consumers • Long term sustainability – fostering demand, creating incentives

20. Challenges going forward • Better measuring impacts • Development sector needs to engage • Mainstreaming ICTs won’t work • Fostering learning labs • Multiple stakeholders • 3rd way between passive diffusion & active intervention • How to engage business? • Public sector integration • Smart regulation • National strategies linked to e-strategies • Grounded in local ownership, innovation, & diversity

21. Thank You