Reader Points to Leapfrogging Example
"Don, I think one of the clearest examples of leagfrogging is occurring in the developing world with telephone infrastructure. Many are skipping traditional land lines and going straight into mobile phone networks. In a related note, there is an excellent article in the July 9th issue of the Economist on the role mobile phones play in entrepreneurial development in developing countries.
Jared Diamond, author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel", would argue it's all due to a geographical accident. Growing the right crops such as wheat and barley that are easy to store, having animals that can be domesticated (goats & sheep v. lions & elephants), and a surplus of agriculture to allow labor specialization. PBS started an excellent adaptation of his book last night with more episodes to follow."
Dennis Pruitt
Montgomery County Action Council
posted by Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. at
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
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Grameen Phone is the groundbreaking project, started in 1993, to bring mobile telephones to villages and rural areas in Bangladesh as a tool for both local empowerment and developmental leapfrogging. The program has been remarkably successful; Grameen Phone has more than 3.5 million subscribers and has distributed over 115,000 "village phones" throughout the country, where they serve as "owner-operated" pay phones. In and of itself, this has enhanced rural life. In particular:
The Grameen Phone scheme has had a big impact on the lives of women.
Known as Grameen phone ladies, these women provide villagers with a vital link to services such as hospitals and to relatives both at home and abroad, in a country with the lowest number of phones in South Asia.
"A woman with a mobile becomes important in a village," he said. "This changes the power distribution."
Read more at WorldChanging.org
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003115.html#more
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