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Business Management Models for Telecenters

Business Management Models for Telecenters. DOT-COM-ALLIANCE (Digital Opportunity through Technology and Communication) : Access and Applications USAID PROGRAM (www.dot-com-alliance.org/dotorg.htm). The LearnLink Experience. LearnLink’s Goal:

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Business Management Models for Telecenters

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  1. Business Management Models for Telecenters DOT-COM-ALLIANCE (Digital Opportunity through Technology and Communication): Access and Applications USAID PROGRAM (www.dot-com-alliance.org/dotorg.htm)

  2. The LearnLink Experience • LearnLink’s Goal: • Explore models for sustainable public access to IT • Help integrate IT into USAID Mission project portfolios • Share lessons learned

  3. “Adoption” Governmental Commercial School A Typology of Models

  4. NGO or local community group sponsors Objective is service, not profit Fee-for-service to cover operating costs Examples: Songhai Center in Benin Multiple NGOs in Ghana The “Adoption” Model

  5. Government subsidy for public access Objective is development, equity Often fees are prohibited Examples: Asuncion, Paraguay U.S. Public Library model The Governmental Model

  6. The Commercial Model • Local entrepreneur opens facility • Objective is profitable business • No special brief for development applications or content • Examples: • Bulgaria, Haiti • Business centers • Cybercafes

  7. The School Model • School-based computer “labs” sometimes open to local community • Objectives: education, job preparation • Some systems charge fees • Examples: • Guatemala, Morocco, Namibia, Uganda

  8. Some Common Lessons • Plenty of demand, acceptance • Community involvement helps • All the models can work • Most problems “institutional”, not technical

  9. Some Common Challenges • Maintaining development focus • Concurrent work on access, content, market growth • Structuring the incentives correctly • Efficient operations • Responsibility for development content • Including marginalized areas and populations • The question of subsidies

  10. Everyone’s Needs Are the Same • Help to get started • Technical assistance • Management training • Locally-appropriate applications and content • A long term plan

  11. Technical Assistance • Network design, equipment selection • Technical management -- network mgt, disaster recovery, virus protection, maintaining connectivity • Real-time technical support • Staff and user training • Offering ancillary services -- desktop publishing, web site design and hosting, dial-up services

  12. Business Management Needs • Management training • Financial planning -- pricing, billing, equipment replacement cycles • Collective action -- bulk purchasing, rate negotiation, lobbying

  13. Demand aggregation and stimulation Who subsidizes the public good? Surviving while the client base grows Investing in clients skill acquisition understanding of new services Nature of demand Marketing Issues

  14. Longer Term Issues • Professional support organization • Local content • E-commerce platform • Involvement in creating hospitable regulatory environment • Sustaining pro-social focus • Lessening the “digital divide”

  15. For More Information, Contact: • Dr. Dennis R. Foote, Vice President • LearnLink Project Director • Academy for Educational Development • 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20009 • Ph: 202-884-8708, Fax: 202-884-8979 • Email: dfoote@aed.org • URL: http://www.aed.org/learnlink

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