eGov services as a way to sustain ICT Infrastructure in poor areas

Prof Alfredo Terzoli

Rhodes and Fort Hare Universities

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How can we make possible real & empowering ICT deployment

in marginalized / disadvantaged areas?

The big puzzle

Why is it not working?

• the cost of ICT infrastructure is too high to be supported only by the resources in marginalized areas

• the applications that are relevant in this context are just a handful and rarely move beyond the proof of concept

• the expertise of standard ICT solution providers is at best inadequate

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What is needed?

• something that reverses the classic telco equation: the resources to support the local infrastructure have to come from the outside, rather then from the inside

• a way to maximize the utilization of any ICT infrastructure

• real, well organized software production centres, with good current software engineering practices, as well as specialized ICT solutions providers

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a point of presence is used for training

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Digression…

Google core business model: monetizing the access to

consumers

Who would / does pay

to access poor people?

The eGov business model

municipality Software Factory DAN

in a nutshell…

• The ICT infrastructure hosts an ‘application server’, holding many applications (services) that make sense in the target community

• Each application has a ‘revenue stream’ attached in the form of a pre-agreed contract with an organization that has the need to access the target community

• The revenue stream for each application is generally small, but together the applications will generate a substantial stream

to be more practical..

• An application in TeleWeaver can be used to report births to Home Affairs

• Home Affairs agrees that they will pay a fixed amount per transaction (reporting a single birth) or maybe a monthly fee, independent from the number of transactions

• As soon as a copy of TeleWeaver is licensed and deployed, the contract is activated and Home Affairs pays the holder of the TeleWeaver license (for example, a municipality)

the dance steps…

• Step 1: an entity (example: a municipality) picks up the upfront costs and RHS licences TeleWeaver

• Step 2: the entity activates the pre-agreed contracts with organizations that need to access the community where TeleWeaver is deployed (for example, a gov department, a bank, an NGO)

• Step 3: the entity starts receiving a revenue from the installation

game changer!

the ICT infrastructure moves

from a cost centre to an income centre,

through the simple effort of sending off the pre-signed contracts that come with the software

licence

advantages

• Defragmenting the efforts to bring significant ICT in poor areas. At the moment there are efforts /

plans by the Department of Communications, Department of Basic Education, Department of Rural Development, Department of Health, Department of Home Affairs.

• Exploit the efficiency of multipurpose use of the infrastructure

advantages

• Distributing costs proportionally to use: if a gov department ‘consumes’ more, it pays more

• Few new resources needed by the departments: the services need to be provide no matter what, often in more expensive ways.

• Initial investment capital reduced through the distributed model of DAN ownership

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local revenue streams anyone?

• Yes, TeleWeaver will activate local streams too, through obvious applications such as e-commerce, resale of prepaid coupons, support for b&bs etc

• Although this streams will be, for a period of time, a small source of revenue, it is an additional source nevertheless. More importantly, it will stimulate local economic activity!

UFH

RU

Telkom CoEs

Siyakhula Living Lab

Siyakhula Living Lab Management Unit

Reed House Systems (software house)

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The ICTD eco-system for innovation

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Siyakhula Living Lab

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