50.oN 36477 repaP 6002 Cybermonks and rural entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka lirpA Ismail Radwan Can telecenters bring together business and development? Although still in the early stages, telecenters in Sri Lanka, offering internet based services to remote rural areas, are proving to be popular hubs Ismail Radwan is a for training for school-aged children and places for adults to access information on health, education senior PSD specialist and and agriculture. In future, the centers will provide access to on-line government and business services. Task Team Leader for the Structured along commercial lines and with initial public support, the centers harness entrepreneurial e-Sri Lanka project. talent and create new development opportunities. ICT is important for development The program includes five major compo- In today's knowledge economy,new technologies nents that will revamp government, expand are becoming increasingly powerful and neces- information technology (IT) training, develop sary tools for participating in markets, fostering grass roots awareness of ICT,and develop the na- competitiveness, promoting political account- tional ICT industry. The final component is the ability, improving the delivery of basic services, information infrastructure component -- this and enhancing local development opportunities. includes a high bandwidth rural telecommuni- Without access to new technologies, such as the cations network and a network of ICT service internet and email, rural communities risk be- centers or Telecenters. ing left behind on the wrong side of the digital divide. Furthermore, availability of these tech- Telecenters provide ICT access to nologies offer unique ways to address some of rural populations the most difficult development issues. Companies like Microsoft, Dell, Intel and Apple Successive Sri Lankan governments have are eager to market their products to a wealthy understood this vision of Information Com- munication Technology (ICT) as an enabler for customer base that is able to afford them. In the development. In collaboration with the World developing world, the majority are poor and Bank, they developed the e-Sri Lanka initiative there is only a thin layer of consumers that are to meet this challenge. E-Sri Lanka is an ambi- able to afford even a basic computer. The aver- tious integrated rural development program that age annual income per capita in Sri Lanka is ap- aims to bring the benefits of ICT to every village, proximately US$1,000 only slightly more than to every community, to every school and small the retail price of a PC. The challenge for gov- business and to change the way that government ernment and business is how to provide access and business thinks and works. to the majority of the population that are unable Cybermonks and rural entrepreneurs to afford their own PCs and how to do this on a While total public funding is unlikely to re- sustainable basis. sult in the best outcome,an assessment of the case The telecenters were proposed as a means of for a partial government subsidy should be based overcoming this challenge. A telecenter is sim- on the underlying market failures and a cost-ben- ply an Internet café/business center. They offer efit assessment of any proposed intervention. In a range of services such as computer use, email, practice, most successful and sustainable models, internet, phone, fax, photocopying and scan- even in developed countries, have relied on some ning, typesetting as well as training. element of private sector financing. Are the best telecenters run by the Cybermonks versus rural private sector? entrepreneurs Ideally, the benefits derived from a rural tel- Private telecenters have mushroomed in urban ecenter program should have a high impact on Sri Lanka but they have yet to appear in the rural the community and be financially sustainable areas. Since the private sector has not established through user fees that would cover both the on- telecenters in rural areas, it is safe to assume that going operating costs as well as the cost of up- some public support is necessary at least in the grading and replacing the equipment in future. short term. There are two models of publicly Some have argued that the telecenters are supported telecenter operation under the e-Sri so necessary in today's information society that Lanka project. they are as important as health care and educa- The first model is the rural knowledge cen- tion and as such government should fund them ter or RKC and the second is the e-library model, entirely. This view is unwarranted for at least leveraging the strengths of religious institutions. three reasons; (i) developing country govern- Under the RKC model, the government -- ments rarely have surplus finances to establish through the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka -- solicits such a network of centers, (ii) public funding bids from rural entrepreneurs wishing to oper- alone is unlikely to ensure that the centers are ate a proposed center. The government provides responsive to local demand, (iii) public funding all the initial hardware and software as well as is unlikely to be sustainable in the long run.1 a managerial, logistical and technical support package. Connectivity is provided on a declining subsidy basis.The successful bidders have to pro- vide a suitable building to house the center and cover all the utility bills and other infrastructure costs, and ideally provide a return on equity. In some areas, the project will also experiment with parallel funding through a voucher pro- gram (targeted at women and vulnerable youth groups) that will stimulate the demand side. To ensure their sustainability, telecenters are targeted at a population of between 2,000­5,000. The community must have a secondary school of Lanka at least 300 pupils, have reliable electricity pro- Sri of vided from the grid, and be close to a fixed mar- ket center with at least 15 wholesale vendors. Agency Then-Prime Minister (now President) Rajapaksa ICT This model is basically a public­private opening an e-Library. His leadership has been a critical success factor for telecenters. partnership model, based on competition, fi- Photo: nancial viability and rural entrepreneurship. In lenges. Firstly the e-libraries were run entirely by many ways, the system operates like a traditional men and frequented largely by men. It appears franchise scheme and as the ICT agency is not that women are reticent about entering a place funding the construction of new premises, it has "devoted to monks". It also appears that some been able to roll-out the telecenters at a rapid monks tended to focus their efforts on providing pace. More than 70 RKCs were established in the services to the rest of the clergy at the expense of first year of operation alone. the general population. In 2004 a new government came into power Furthermore, since there is no monetary in Sri Lanka including a Prime Minister who was benefit, and most of the centers are run by a sin- interested in the telecenter model but was keen gle monk, there is no incentive for them to stay that services should be offered free of charge to open late and most of the e-libraries closed early the poor. The Prime Minister also recognized around 5pm just at the time when the RKCs that in Sri Lanka as in many other countries, or- were getting going. Some critics of the e-librar- dinary citizens trust their religious leaders more ies also complain that once a service is offered than their politicians or bureaucrats. Establish- for free -- it is difficult to withdraw it and the ing telecenters in religious locations including population will come to expect it to be offered temples, kovils, mosques, and churches appeared for free, which in the long term will have serious to be a way of creating a technical and moral re- effects on sustainability. Finally, the implicit sup- vival in the country and hence the second model port of religious institutions was not welcomed -- the e-library -- was born. by all and has continued to represent a conten- This model was supply driven, with senior tious issue in a country that is traditionally di- politiciansselectingthecommunities.Theequip- vided along ethnic and religious lines. ment is given to the monks, imams or priests and they are left to operate the center. Although the What the telecenters have achieved Bank team was skeptical of this arrangement, the Our short experience of telecenters in Sri Lanka initial outcomes are promising. has shown that there is enormous talent in rural The e-library model seems to be working for areas. Entrepreneurs are ready to risk their own a number of reasons. Firstly, Buddhist temples capital, partner with government and deliver are very well attended by visiting school children high quality products to their communities. The and pilgrims as well as the local community. Sec- youth are the early adopters of new technolo- ondly, some monks had IT degrees and were ex- gies. With reliable access, teenagers are able to tremely tech savvy. This background combined take on the roles of network administrators and with their social service orientation made them database managers as well as undertake simple ideal role-models, mentors and telecenter opera- upgrades and maintenance of PCs, creating new tors. Thirdly they did not charge for their servic- employment opportunities. Parents in the rural es and thus had the potential to serve the poor. areas are prepared to pay small amounts for ICT Finally the temples received so many donations training for their children. Once familiar with that the model was instantly sustainable. To a IT, it is the children that teach their parents and large extent the problem appeared to be ration- sometimes even their grandparents. ing demand rather than creating demand -- as The role of the telecom regulator in en- soon as they put up a sign post outside they were couraging and enabling improved connectivity overwhelmed with patrons and more than one at much lower costs, offering interconnection, temple was forced to take the sign down. service provision and competition is crucial to Despite this promising start the e-library maximize the befits of the telecenters and to en- model also suffered from some unique chal- sure their sustainability. for telecenter services in the short term. But a well-designed project can help lower rural connectivity costs, for example by expanding rural infrastructure and increas- ing competition. It can also help avoid technological lock-in into a Radwan costly proprietary software envi- Ismail Children learning at a Rural Knowledge Center (RKC) with satellite Internet connectivity ronment. On the revenue side, it Photo: can enhance the quality and quan- The Business and Development tity of services provided, and thus Discussion Papers encourage debate Future success lies in merging the motivate rural residents to use and pay for them. regarding the different forms of successful features of each model It can also raise the awareness of ICT enabled ser- private sector action for development We are already seeing a merging of the two mod- vices and provide the training to rural communi- and the sharing of best practices. The series is one initiative of the els as each paradigm learns from the other. The ties to be able to take advantage of such services. Business, Competitiveness and ICT Agency has extended the training provided In devising the program, one of the critical Development Program of the World to RKC owners to operators of the e-libraries. unknowns was the extent to which rural com- Bank Institute. Authors are committed Being part of the network of telecenter operators munities would adopt this new technology. In Sri to fostering sustainable and equitable development and effective multi- is an invaluable source of inspiration and learn- Lanka we have observed that there is great pent- sectoral partnerships. ing for all involved. The e-libraries are also being up demand in rural areas. Telecenters are able to asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding meet that demand and will in time become hubs For information on the Business, with the Agency that covers expectations of ser- for training (both face to face and distance), cen- Competitiveness and Development Program, and additional copies of vice provision and are being encouraged to ex- ters for the provision of government services, this issue, please contact Djordjija periment with payment schemes either on a vol- business and community centers as well as a place Petkoski, Program Leader at untary basis or for inconvenient hours in a bid to to communicate with family and friends through- dpetkoski@worldbank.org or visit make them more responsive to the broader local out the island and overseas. The telecenters, by http://www.developmentandbusi ness.org/. communities. RKC owners are offering free ser- offering the right incentives to entrepreneurs -- vices to religious leaders hoping that they in turn be it monks, rural youth or women, and access to Series Editors: Michael Jarvis will encourage their congregations to visit their technology by rural communities -- create both and Mehmet Can Atacik telecenters. Some RKC owners are also offering business and development opportunities at all Design: James Quigley limited free services as a way of serving the very levels for some of the most disadvantaged com- poor who cannot afford the US 40 cent charge munities. Tapping this potential often requires Disclaimer: The views published are for an hour of Internet use. the presence of a strong innovator, entrepreneur those of the authors and should not Having a strong champion in the form of and/or champion in a rural community. The ICT be attributed to the World Bank or any affiliated organizations. Nor the Prime Minister -- now the President of Sri Agency is starting to scale up its search for such do any of the conclusions represent Lanka -- to raise awareness of ICT and the pos- individuals -- they are the real heroes of the e-Sri official policy of the World Bank sibilities of new technologies has been a key in- Lanka program. or of its Executive Directors and the gredient in the success of the program. Another countries they represent. factor has been the establishment of the national Notes This paper was printed on stock ICT Agency staffed with a highly competent pro- 1. F. J. Proenza, N. Hanna, and R. Dewapura. 2004. "e-Sri containing at least 40% post- fessional workforce tasked with furthering the Lanka's Telecenter Development Program: Strategic consumer waste. Choices and Challenges of a High Impact--High Risk country's ICT for development agenda. Investment." Unpublished Working Paper. It is important to remember that a telecenter For more information on the e-Sri Lanka project please cannot improve a community's income overnight visit the government's website at www.icta.lk or contact or otherwise affect a community's ability to pay Ismail Radwan by email at iradwan@worldbank.org.