Technology Empowers
Presentation at Poverty Forum,
United Nations
by Iqbal Quadir
November 16, 2006
The story of GrameenPhone starts with personal events:
1993
1971
Virtually no phones back in 1993
Only 1 phone per 500 people
Virtually none in rural areas
where 100 million people lived
Connectivity is productivity
ITU research:
Adam Smith: Specialization
Productivity
Specialization needs dependability
Dependability needs connectivity
Connectivity
Connectivity
Dependability
Productivity
Specialization
Productivity
Myths
Facts
Lacking buying-power, the Production tools create
poor provide no market.
buying power.
Initially individual buying
power may be too low.
Shared-access reduces
costs for everyone.
Provide food, water and
shelter to the poor.
With rising incomes
people can meet their
needs. We can help them
establish businesses to
meet these needs.
The real problem in the rural areas:
A lack of other infrastructures
Micro-credit org.s:
•No credit checks.
BRAC/Grameen Bank
•A few bank branches
to collect bills.
•Contact points for
customer service.
• Branches/offices throughout the
rural areas.
• Each has 2-3 million borrowers.
• Excellent repayment records.
• About 95% borrowers are women.
Money
Milk
Money
Money
Money
Service
Money
Money
Organizing resources: 1993 - 99
Basic Results
•Telenor provided know-how
•Grameen family provided rural
distribution channel
•Both provided equity capital
Coverage at the end
of 2004 (green) and
2005 (red and green).
In 2005, another $300
m was invested.
There are about 250,000 women retailing telephone
services in 60,000 villages giving access to 100 m.
These 250,000 telephones are producing revenues for
GrameenPhone around $800 each annually. Each entrepreneur
makes about $2/day in profits, or about $700/year..
Increasing Incomes / Improving welfare
Increasing incomes
Profits for entrepreneurs
Better info for farmers
Deals made over phones
Improving welfare
Calling doctors
Contacting loved ones
Avoid unnecessary trips
Commercial performance of GrameenPhone
Country’s largest telephone company
with 10 million subscribers.
250,000 village phones (with 10 times as
much usage than regular urban phones)
generate about a third of the total call
traffic.
The 2005 net income was $180 m.
Contributed $200 m to the national
treasury (through taxes, custom duties,
license fees, etc.)
Some people think
GrameenPhone demonstrates
Govts need to provide economicallyviable services
Private companies can provide them
Govts need to subsidize private co.s
Private co.s help govts with taxes.
Poor people are recipients.
They are a resource.
Services cost too much for the poor.
Their involvement reduces costs.
The uneducated poor can’t do much.
They are eager learners and capable survivors.
Poor countries need aid.
Businesses raise resources far more than aid.
Rich countries can either help or
exploit poor countries.
By making people more productive, both rich
and poor countries can benefit.
What if there was electricity available throughout
rural Bangladesh?


People could extend their time for
work into the evening
Children could study longer at
night with better lights than
kerosene lamps
A pharmacy is illuminated

Current Status: Nearly 100 million people do not
have regular access to electricity in rural
Bangladesh
What if you found a way to preserve herbs and
medicinal plants?


Farmers would grow these higher
value items and significantly raise
their income while using less land
The potential for jobs in food
preservation and food processing
would increase, while boosting
export opportunities
Herbal Plant

Current Status: In absence of good preservation technologies,
people tend to produce low value crops (rice, potatos, etc)
because they are unable to reach high income markets
What if cost effective fish feed and organic
fertilizer was widely available?



The production of fish, a high value
item, would be grown more
effectively in place of lower value
crops
Farmers would grow greater
quantities of fish, herbs and
medicinal plants
A school of fish
Current Status: Farmers tend to use chemical fertilizers or
no fertilizer at all. The current availability of fish feed does
not meet with growing demand.
Solution from Emergence BioEnergy (1)

Use local resources in tandem with profitable technologies to
produce:
– Electricity
– Food dehydrators
– Organic fertilizer/fish feed
Electricity
Cow Dung
Biogas
Stirling Engine
Heat for
Drying
Biodigester
Fertilizer
Fish Feed
Solution from Emergence BioEnergy (2)



Manure processed through biodigester creates fertilizer + biogas.
Biogas powers Stirling engine that produces electricity and heat for food
dehydrators
Sludge is a good organic fertilizer. By adding certain proteins and minerals it can be
a good fish feed
Electricity
Cow Dung
Biogas
Stirling Engine
Heat for
Drying
Biodigester
Fertilizer
Fish Feed
Resources in Rural Bangladesh


There are 21 millions cows dispersed throughout rural areas
100 million underutilized people live in rural areas


Extremely fertile soil and
favorable climate to grow
herbs and medicinal plants
Large potential for fisheries
Two of Bangladesh’s 21 million cows
The Potential for Using Existing Resources
to Solve the Problem


21 million cows produce manure
that can yield 200 million cft of
methane gas per day
25% of that can run 500,000 onekilowatt Stirling engines
producing:
– 500 megawatts of electricity 8 hours
a day
– Substantial amounts of heat that
can be used for drying agricultural
products
– Rich, organic fertilizer
Typical village fish farm in Bangladesh
Achievements in 2005

Produced electricity and heat in
two villages in Bangladesh for 6
months in 2005 from biogas
Typical village in Bangladesh

Received very positive feedback
from consumers and
international press.
Stirling Engine
What We Want To Do Next: The Path Forward

Explore various uses of waste
heat
– Enhancing value of agricultural products
– Develop market for fertilizer and other
related products

Refine business and technology
models
– Determine optimal biodigester design and
management
– Further test Stirling and other engine
technologies
– Integrate various elements in a sustainable
micro business model
A typical scene in rural Bangladesh