Bringing the IT generation to the masses

Looking around at Rwanda it is amazing the steps we are taking to build a future based on IT and communications. Every nation undergoing this change has to go through the same process in trying to adapt this new technology to their development. There is always the information gap, the same type of people exist in every culture and nation. You have early adopters – these are people who are eager to use and adapt new technology, on the other extreme you have naysayers who will never adapt but the vast majority of people are fence-sitters. It has little to do with levels of education, it is according to the character or personality, education can affect your character but it is more or less set. You can be highly educated but not an early-adopter, you can be illiterate but pro-technology. When I speak to the masses of computer programmers we produce, I find the same thing – they are not focused on bringing technology to the masses. They look at it from a platform perspective, they say that until Mr. and Mrs. Muturagye go and get blackberry’s and I-phones there is no point focusing on them. We need to find a way to bridge the gap, before technology was made available to the masses in the form of gadgets we has technology centers then call centers to link you to the technology. If you didn’t have a computer, you could call a call center and they told you what your phone bill was. Companies have to realize the importance of taking their services to the masses, but most companies are operating at full capacity albeit low, they operate without truly trying to expand their customer base because they can’t handle the few they have. There is little uptake on new technologies even highly useful applications like the unimaginatively titled Mobile Money, there needs to be a deal between MTN or Tigo and a bank to promote that. This is the perfect synergy – one company has a communication network, the other has services to deliver to the masses. For that to happen the price of calling has to come down, the telecom companies have to see other revenue streams, and service companies have to see the need to reach the lowest customer. Over 3.5 million Rwandans now own phones but not enough is being done to tap into that. There is a saying that you can drag the cow to the well but you can’t force it to drink, but we have to force the cow to drink in this case. We need call centers, computer terminals, radio interaction, sms connectivity but above all we need a change of attitude away from focusing on the high end of the market towards a focus on the low end of the market. It is something ingrained in our culture to please the wealthy but the real path to riches is the poor man. If all the Rwandans now averaging $560 a year paid you $1 each you would turnover $11m a year, if they gave you $10 a year then $110m. Do the math’s, we just need to tap into the market. Ends