Mobile An Agent for Development - a panel presentation at the USID 2012 conference at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore on October 11, 2012

1. MOBILE: AN AGENT FOR SOCIAL
INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Ganesh N Prabhu
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
October 2012

2. MOBILE FOR DEVELOPMENT
A mobile phone essentially creates a contact node. A
contact node for potentially for every adult in the country.
A contact node that can be used by agencies to inform,
educate, entertain users and to know about users.
A node that can be used by users to contact other users.
A node that can be used by users to contact agencies.
 As seen in the next few slides, all these linkages can be
used effectively for developmental purposes provided
every adult has a mobile or even just a registered SIM. 2
October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore

3. EXAMPLES OF MOBILE FOR
DEVELOPMENT - 1
National Kidney Foundation Singapore – used mobiles in 2002 for
getting people to donate in millions by dialing a phone
number appearing on a TV program. The donated amount
(usually $5) was added automatically to the user’s phone bill.
Earlier a family made one donation on a land line – with
mobiles each person in a family could potentially donate
individually and the NKF donations actually multiplied.
A possible way to get people to donate for development or for
causes. The mechanism exists (premium SMS) but has not
been used for getting donations at low user transaction cost.
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October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore

4. EXAMPLES OF MOBILE FOR
DEVELOPMENT - 2
South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies - uses mobiles and
radio to inform fishermen at sea the prevailing prices for
each type of fish at each landing beach market so that they
can chose the right market to land for higher prices.
A possible way to get daily wage laborers to find employers for
the day – use mobiles to inform them where their demand
exists so that such laborers can find a job for the day.
The mechanism exists but has not been used as much as it can
be for effectively filling such information asymmetry that
leads to lower income than possible with market demand. 4
October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore

5. EXAMPLES OF MOBILE FOR
DEVELOPMENT - 3
Mobiles for forex remittances information by UAE Exchange – users
(typically poor Asian workers at construction sites) get their
salaries at their worksite through UAE Exchange. They can
remit to their relatives in Asia through a single data ID card
integrated to their mobile phone. They get immediate SMS
on safe delivery of cash to their relatives in remote areas.
A premium service designed for low income group customers.
A possible way to get illiterates in India who do not have bank
accounts to move money safely with ease, assurance and low
transaction costs (transaction cost of money order is 5%).5
October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore

6. EXAMPLES OF MOBILE FOR
DEVELOPMENT - 4
SIM Cards for Banking in Afghanistan – users who cannot afford a
mobile use just SIM cards to do banking transactions from
the nearest retail outlet that doubles as a banking agent.
A possible way to get those who cannot afford a mobile to just
keep a SIM card to do bank transactions – this reduces their
overhead of keeping an identity card – a SIM with a
fingerprint reader should be enough to authenticate.
The mechanism exists but has not been used as much as it can
be for low cost and decentralized banking transactions that
reduce financing and transaction costs for the rural poor. 6
October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore

7. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR
DEVELOPMENT
1. Enabling rural services - transport, medical, veterinary, retail
at lower financing costs and transaction costs for the poor.
2. Integration of post office savings database with SIM cards
to enable low cost transactions across post office locations.
3. SIM Cards with finger print authentication for development
funds transfer to target population without siphoning.
4. Rapid voting and counting using SIM card and fingerprint
authentication on local, social and development issues.
5. Tracking actual rural to urban migration through SIM card
movement once nationwide roaming becomes free.
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October 2012 Ganesh N Prabhu@IIM Bangalore