allAfrica.com: Africa: Ten Success Stories in Bringing ICT to Rural Communities - 0 views
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CTO's Chief Executive Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah said these ICT business models have proven successful because of the involvement of public-private-peoples' partnerships which involves nurturing local ownership of rural ICT projects.
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Villagers in the rural areas of Uganda that have no direct access to telecommunications have relied on village phone operators for their communications needs. Bringing information and communication technology (ICT) to rural and isolated communities in Uganda has been made possible through an MTN and Grameen Foundation project established in 2003. This project facilitates the purchase of specialised mobile phones by rural entrepreneurs through microfinance loans to enable them to serve as village phone operators in areas with no telecommunication infrastructure. The Grameen Foundation acts as a facilitator between the telecom and microfinance sectors. To date, close to 7,000 new village phone operators have set up business in Uganda.
