It's become increasingly apparent lately that there are exciting things afoot involving technology and social entrepreneurship. As technological devices continue to get smaller and more cost-efficient, they are opening up a great deal of opportunity for improving quality of life in the developing world. This is especially evident in the mobile phone sector.

Mobile phone technology can be used to enhance lives in many ways, beyond simple communication. For example:

Agriculture - Farmers can get messages about crop prices and general information via SMS, arming them with more information and increasing their ability to compete in a market economy.

Healthcare - In rural Ghana, people are using mobile phones to better administer health care to pregnant women. Also, a recent New York Times article described a $10 cell phone attachment that could turn the phone into a microscope. This could revolutionize how labwork is done as well as how disease is detected and treated.

Financial - Money transfer via mobile phone is not utilized heavily here in the U.S., but is quite popular in African countries. The ability to have financial capital flowing freely can open up great possibilities. Imagine financing a loan, receiving disbursements, making payments, and receiving updates all electronically via your phone.

There has been recent blogging lately about cell phone maker Nokia, who has lost market share to Apple and the iPhone, but also provides a product that can be used by people in the Bottom of the Pyramid (people who live on less than $1 a day). Nokia's expansion in this sector of the developing world presents a great growth opportunity for them, while providing a valuable service to their customers.

Additional Readings:

Acumen Fund - "Dialing for Development", David Lehr
NY Times - "In Rural Africa, a Fertile Market for Mobile Phones", Sarah Arnquist

This January I'll be going on a two-week seminar through the Carlson School, to Alajuela, Costa Rica. There, we U of M students will be in classes and field trips with students at the Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas (INCAE). The focus of the seminar will be on green, sustainable business - how businesses can maintain and even increase profit by taking care of the environment.

It should be very exciting and challenging! I've got my passport in hand and I'm trying to read applicable materials in my spare time. (I obtained an English-Spanish Field Glossary of sustainable development terms.)

You can find a video about the program here. I'll have plenty of my own pictures to post when I get back!

This spring at the University of Minnesota, a seminar in sustainable design was held with the goal of student groups creating viable engineering solutions to compete in the Acara Challenge, sponsored by the Acara Institute. The winning team went to Mumbai, India this summer to hit the ground and do further research about bringing their solution of delivering clean drinking water to fruition. If there are any MBA students such as myself, you may be interested in the business plans the student groups presented. They offer a good glimpse of the start-up venture side of social enterprise.

About this time last summer, we here in Minneapolis were fortunate to have an exhibit at the Walker Art Center that addressed the topic of product design for the poor, a traditionally underserved group of people. The exhibit was called "Design for the Other 90%," and it was associated with the non-profit design group D-REV.

One of the items featured in the presentation was the Hippo Roller, shown here. This is a simply designed product, and yet, is effective in its design because it allows a person to transport 24 gallons of water, five times the amount collected using the traditional methods. As improved access to water is crucial in developing countries, this is quite a product.

I was reminded of the Hippo Roller again recently because I was perusing the website of Engineers Without Borders. Our EWB group here at the University of Minnesota has been involved in very interesting work in Haiti and Uganda regarding access to water.

Even though I'm not an engineer by trade, the idea of creating products that make a meaningful impact seems like it has truly uplifting qualities. I think a lot of major companies are now coming around to the idea that simple yet thoughtful products, albeit with modest profit margins and targeted toward a demographic of limited income, can promote both profit and social good.

Jacqueline Novogratz, social entrepreneur and founder of the Acumen Fund, which invests in promising business models in developing countries, will be appearing at the Barnes & Noble in Edina next Tuesday evening (June 16, 7:00 PM). She'll be discussing her book, "The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World." I'm trying to get through the book right now (and prepare for summer class, which starts next week as well)!

Barnes & Noble
3225 W 69th St.
Edina, MN
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