Access to computers for the rural poor has been on the radar
of the development community for quite some time now, with both advocates and critics
vividly promoting their personal views.
The primary point of the critics is rooted in the opportunity-cost of
investing in computers, meaning that there are many more important things that
the rural-poor may need (such as clean drinking water, improved health, and access
to teachers) than a computer.
In many cases I agree. However, in some cases there are real
needs, and an economic-case to be made for access to computers. I came across one such case during my recent
travel to Swaziland, where some advanced farmer-companies consisting of poor
rural farmers wanted a computer and appropriate accessories to effectively
manage their business. This included simple tasks such as photo copying,
typing, emailing, accounting and budgeting. One company we visited had already
started to budget for purchasing equipment and planned to invest in a computer
shortly. However, for an entrepreneur
living at the base of the pyramid, the barriers to entry into owning a computer
are often too high.
 |
| Farmers in Swaziland prepare the soil for new planting season ©IFAD |
A simple Google search reveal that even equipment envisaged for
rural Africa is very expensive. For example, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) cost
more than $209 in 2011[1].
On the basis of such expenses, if the 40% of the global population living on
less than $2 a day would want to access a computer, they would have to spend
around 30% of their annual income. With average global spending on Information
communication technology (ICT) being around 3%[2],
it is unrealistic to expect a rural-poor user to be able to absorb such a cost.
It would take 10 people to share the cost
in order to reach “global expense levels”, and even then the cost would be at
the expense of other vital things such as food, medicine, or education for your
children. Other low-cost initiatives estimate prices at $500[3],
or the $350 Nigerian Inye tablet[4].
 |
| Raspberry Pi - courtesy wikipedia |
This was until recently, when the Cambridge-designed
Raspberry Pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org/ ) was introduced. The Pi (as it goes
as) can be bought in two models at $25 and $35 respectively. The price can be a
little deceiving as you only buy the circuit board, and would need to obtain an
SD card; power cable; keyboard; mouse; and some sort of screen separately, but
it still leaves some room for excitement, and here are my four reasons why:
A big expense with imports are always the duties, and
unfortunately, most computers currently tend to be produced outside of Africa
(the Inye for example is produced in China). If you import a $1,000 or even
$500 item, taxes can add up. However, at $35 unit cost, taxes should not have
such a huge effect as even a 100% taxation would result in a $70 unit.
The Raspberry Pi is highly flexible in terms of cost,
you can use it with almost any type of television set (which often is available
in rural areas) ; without a case or possibly build one yourself; and can run it
completely on opensource software, saving licensing fees or having to use
pirated software.
When I visit rural areas I often see “old” non-functioning
computers left in some corner of an office. I would argue there are a range of
accessories available locally, such as computer mice, cables, or even monitors
that could be acquired at a relatively low price.
The Pi is based on Linux, which is virtually virus free.
Viruses are a huge problem with windows machines in Africa. In addition, the
system is installed on an SD card, which can be very easily (and at a
relatively low cost) replaced, possibly resulting in less computers being left
unused due to software problems.
As the Pi is simply a circuit-card, it opens up the
opportunity for a local market where cases and used accessories can be
sold. Similarly, the use of opensource software would arguably make it easier
for local entrepreneurs to provide tech support and additional services around
software packages. Although it would probably not be a comparatively huge
employment-generator , it may create
additional jobs and create an IT-ecosystem that is less dependent upon non-African
supply-chains. For example, a certified Microsoft supplier will need to have
gone through certain training and pay a fee to Microsoft, which may act as a
barrier-to-entry for local entrepreneurs.
Additionally, working with opensource will lower the
barriers-to-entry into software development for local developers as per
definition, almost anyone can contribute to an opensource software project. It
would most possibly open up a need for software developed for local context and
needs, and thus create a demand for local software developers. Subsequently, more
activities and demand in the African-software-development-sphere would quite
possibly result in increased innovation and software being developed from the
continent.
Obviously the Pi is not the solution to all problems, and there
are potential challenges. One being that the Linux operating system is not as
widely used as Windows. However, there are Linux capable people on the
continent and vibrant communities emerging that could support the introduction
of the Pi. To explore the potential of low-cost-computers further, a
few Pi’s are being tested in IFAD-financed programmes in Mozambique and Swaziland. The pilots include the Pi as a business tool for rural-farmer-companies and rural extension offices, and as a mean to access information online such as extension services through small rural-youth-run internet cafés.
What do you think? Could the Pi make a difference in Africa?
[1]
Rawsthorn, "A few stumbles on the road to connectivity", Available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/arts/design/a-few-stumbles-on-the-road-to-connectivity.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
[2] Martin Hilbert, "When is Cheap,
Cheap Enough to Bridge the Digital Divide? Modeling Income Related Structural
Challenges of Technology Diffusion in Latin America". World
Development, Volume 38, issue 5, p. 756-770
[3]
Balacing Act Africa, "Intel and AMD battle for low-cost computer
market", Available at:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/en/issue-no-310/computing/intel-and-amd-battle/en
[4] BBC, "Nigeria's low-cost tablet computer", Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18895366