The document explores the impact of mobile technology in emerging economies, highlighting the '8 Cs' of wireless ecosystems and their various dimensions. It discusses opportunities for startups, the role of mobile media in social causes, and the forming of networks for innovation in regions such as South Asia and Africa. It also addresses future challenges and trends, including a focus on local cooperation and global resources through platforms like mobilemonday.

1. Mobile in Emerging Economies:
Impact Areas and Opportunities
Dr. Madanmohan Rao
Editor: “Asia Unplugged,”
“AfricaDotEdu”
http://twitter.com/MadanRao

4. The “8 Cs” of Wireless Ecosystems
 Connectivity
 Content
 Community
 Culture
 Capacity
 Cooperation
 Commerce
 Capital

5. Dimensions of the Wireless Ecosystem
 Wireless as Instrument
– Providing affordable access to ICTs, local language
content/tools, sectoral benefits (news, education,
healthcare, environment, business, government)
 Wireless as an Industry
– Boosting digital content industries, venture capital,
stockmarkets, technical skills, regulation, global
alliances

6. Classification of Wireless Information Societies
 Restrictive eg. Myanmar
 Embryonic eg. Afghanistan
 Emerging eg. Nepal
 Negotiating eg. China
 Intermediate eg. India
 Mature eg. Australia
 Advanced eg. Japan, South Korea

7. New Media and Emerging Economies
 Disaster reporting and relief
 Human rights, freedom of expression
 Healthcare (epidemics/pandemics)
 Poverty alleviation
 Improving education, environment
 Social inclusion, access to capital
 Connecting diaspora
 Cultural preservation
 Government transparency, accountability
 Enhancing private sector, SMEs, informal labour

8. Disaster Reporting and Relief
 Mobile alerting systems (eg. SMS warnings)
 Citizen reporting and collaboration
 RFID tagging on relief shipments
 Mesh, WiMax “in a box”
 Examples
– Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
– Earthquake in China
– Terrorist attacks in India
– AIDS/HIV in Africa

11. Mobile Media in Asia
 Japan: cutting edge of broad-based ecosystems;
reduce the digital divide (eg. for disabled citizens)
 South Korea: leader in WiBro, mobile banking/gaming
 China: government concern - use of SMS/blogs for
spreading rumours and political messages
 India: connecting startups with social entrepreneurs
 Philippines: m-payments (remittances)
 Nepal: communicating across mountainous regions
 Bangladesh - Grameen Telephone: shared access +
microfinance (village “phone ladies”)

13. Mobile Payment
 M-PESA in Kenya
 Zain’s Zap
 MTN’s MobileMoney
 PLDT’s Smart Money

14. Mobile Activism in Developing Countries
 NGO Breakthrough in Bangalore has SMS HIV/AIDS
helpline for answering queries; also domestic violence
 IKSL.in offers agri "voice SMS" messages and helpline
to Indian farmers in local languages
 Suruk.com offers SMS-based info/rating services for
autorickshaw (tuktuk) drivers
 Informal labour: GreenMango, BabaJobs, CellBazaar
 Greenpeace: SMS to raise funds (India), monitor forest
destruction (Argentina), send climate alerts (Australia)

18. Startups: Networks, Innovation, Awards
 MobileMonday!
 India: NASSCOM Foundation, MSSRF
 Frost & Sullivan: African Excellence Awards
 South African Innovation Fund

19. Opportunities: Startups, Services
 Hardware: chips, tags, multiprotocol readers (eg.
Intermec, ThinkMagic)
 Content/service (eg. Yulop)
 Integration (eg. OATsystems)
 Offshoring (eg. TCS, Infosys/OnMobile – India)
 Support services (eg. certification)
 Investors: VC, corporate (eg. UPS Strategic
Enterprise Fund: Savi, Impinj)

20. Issues for Entrepreneurs
 Industry lifecycles: size, growth; rural areas
 Mentoring
 Getting/publishing case studies and research
 Top-down v/s disruptive
 RoI, metrics
 Localising, globalising
 Alliance strategies
 Exit strategies

21. Year 2030: Outlook
 Spectrum issues
 e-Waste
 Energy
 Theoretical frameworks for mobile media
 Innovation: “micro-multinationals,” “global brain”
 Personal knowledge management
 Visioning/scenario strategies
– eg. 20 Year Stepping: 1950, 1970, 1990, 2010, 2030, 2050
 “Silver” technologies and applications

22. The MobileMonday Advantage
 Local-to-local
– Peer networks, cooperation, awards
 Local-to-global
– Global MobileMonday resources: promotion, events,
awards, knowledge
 Global-to-local
– Global MobileMonday resources: knowledge, people

23. The MobileMonday Advantage
 People
– Chapter founders, mobile startups, investors
 Knowledge
– Research reports, news, books
 Events
– City/regional/global (eg. GSMA, Communicasia,
CTIA, DigitalAfrica)
 Partnerships
– Innovation Councils, World Bank

24. Tweets: http://twitter.com/MadanRao
madan@techsparks.com
digitalnomad@hotmail.com