Institutional and societal innovations in information technology for developing countries

Abstract

Innovation in the developed countries is heavily based on R&D and is closely related to income, skills and infrastructure in those countries. Little is geared towards IT problems of poor countries. This technology does not suit the incomes, skills and so on of poor countries. Fortunately another model has evolved for these countries, which is termed local innovation because it is designed in and for the inhabitants of such countries. The alternative model is low cost and based on various forms of sharing which benefit low-income groups. In some cases, local innovations have had a macro rather than just a village-level impact. The sharing of mobile phones within families and between friends is emphasized as the most potent source of spreading information technology in developing countries.