I agree fully that benefits must reach the very poor, whose greatest need is often livelihoods. And you are right that globalization--on the export platfrom model--has so far contributed little to such people. But I do believe that when companies target poor communities as customers, something different happens. Because to succeed, they need to build the capacity to consume in their customers; and to reach those customers, they may need to employ lots of local entrepreneurs, creating jobs; and given how price-sensitive low income customers are, the companies will have to have a compelling value proposition, and price performance ratio, or their customers simply won't buy. In Indian terms, it is the business model of Datamation, of n-Logue, of Drishtee, of Reliance--rather than the out-sourcing or export manufacturing models--than can have impact on poverty.
Allen L. Hammond Vice President for Innovation & Special Projects World Resources Institute 10 G Street NE Washington, DC 20002 USA V (202) 729-7777 F (202) 729-7775 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.wri.org www.digitaldividend.org On Monday, November 8, 2004, Chetan Sharma wrote: > Historical evidence suggests that technological developments of all > kinds can make improvements in the process, time management, convenience > for the consumer. However, to the best of my knowledge, no technological > innovation has demonstrated "enhanced" employability of the people. I do > not want to start my postings on a negative note; but if we talk of the > poor then we must talk about the poorest of the poor who probably do not > have the education, nor tools nor technologies for eking out livelihods > for themselves. ..snip... > If we do not have jobs of any nature--if we do not even have stable > livelihoods--then what has been the worth of Globalization and > technological advancement? > > It was said that when economies transitioned from agrarian economies to > manufacturing and then to services, that huge opportunities would get > created for the poor across the globe. > > Regretably, nothing of this sort has happened, at least in India where > it ought to have happened. So should we not hesitate to dig even deeper > into the African and Latin American malaise? ..snip... ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html>
