[kictanet] Newest Name for AID ? Impact Sourcing ...

Tue Jun 21 18:22:51 EAT 2011

Admittedly I'm feeling a bit ranty about this. Successful countries have
created a successful private sector with plain-vanilla, for-profit
companies. They employ people, train people, pay taxes, provide products and
services. If you make profits, the sky is the limt. If you don't, your reach
is restricted by the amount of subsidies/donations you get. None of these
endless and headline-grabbing contortions of impact sourcing/impact
investing/refugees/marginalised youth/social entrepreneurship. Good grief.

I've been commissioned to write an article on mobile 'buzzwords' in emerging
markets. The commissioning editor suggested including txteagle. I wasn't
convinced to start with, but have tried to find out a bit more how txteagle
actually works (beyond the claims of 100+ corporate partnerships with
telcos, and a 2bn+ potential network of people). If anone here has done any
work with them, I'd appreciate a direct email - I can't actually figure it
out from their website.

In the meantime, I've assemble a list of topics/'buzzwords' that are mostly
a lot more focused on straightforward business and investment issues. Just
to show that yes, Africa can actually be perfectly dull in a familiar way:
corporates, suits, boardrooms, accountants, stuff. It's not all touching
refugees in camps and marginalised youth.

Rant over. Off to find some chocolate.

On 21 June 2011 17:47, Muchiri Nyaggah <muchiri at semacraft.com> wrote:

> Andrea,
>
> Your comments on that article have put a big grin on my face :) Samasource
> definitely wasn't any good to the KenCall sized BPO operators but a few
> smaller players. Samasource bids for work with large players in the west and
> finds operators with 'social impact' to work with apart from setting up shop
> in Dadaab.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
>
> *Muchiri* Nyaggah
>
> Principal Partner
>
> @muchiri
>
> +254 722 506400
>
> Semacraft.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 5:28 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <
> andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
>
>> Two years ago, I stumbled over this little Samasource PR clip:
>>
>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/iphone-app-provides-kenya_n_318692.html
>>
>> As you can see from the comments underneath, it was probably at a slightly
>> undersugared, over-caffeinated moment of my day :)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 21 June 2011 17:22, Andrea Bohnstedt <
>> andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
>>
>>> How did Samasource help BPOs get started? I don't remember Nik Nesbitt
>>> from KenCall, for example, talking about Samasource (but maybe I wasn't
>>> paying enough attention).
>>>
>>> I do remember Nik Nesbitt and a number of others talking about perception
>>> issues: that Kenya is not seen as a BPO market internationally, it's not on
>>> anyone's radar screen, the operations are still too small to carry weight
>>> etc. I very much doubt that an NGO-type outfit like Samasource, with people
>>> in refugee camps, does much to create a perception of Kenya as a punchy,
>>> professional, grown-up BPO player.
>>>
>>> On 21 June 2011 16:57, Muchiri Nyaggah <muchiri at semacraft.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Not quite aid, leans more towards trade (or traid). Players like
>>>> Samasource have helped BPOs here get started.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Muchiri* Nyaggah
>>>>
>>>> Principal Partner
>>>>
>>>> @muchiri
>>>>
>>>> +254 722 506400
>>>>
>>>> Semacraft.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 4:34 PM, Agosta Liko <agostal at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> First, they called is Social Entrepreneurship, Then impact Investing
>>>>> ....now its Impact Sourcing .......
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/press-releases/rockefeller-foundation-foster-impact
>>>>>
>>>>> Press Releases
>>>>>  ShareThis
>>>>> Rockefeller Foundation to Foster Impact Sourcing in Africa: Poverty
>>>>> Reduction through ICT Jobs
>>>>> June 17, 2011 / Press Releases
>>>>>
>>>>> *New York, NY*—A new report funded by the Rockefeller Foundation
>>>>> estimates that the field of Impact Sourcing, employing socioeconomically
>>>>> disadvantaged people in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centers, is
>>>>> currently $4.5 billion and has the potential to reach $20 billion and employ
>>>>> 780,000 by 2015. The report, conducted by Monitor Group, suggests a strong
>>>>> business case for Impact Sourcing, which can provide high-quality, reliable
>>>>> services at prices that are at least competitive with traditional BPO
>>>>> centers and, in some cases, almost 40 percent lower than what traditional
>>>>> providers can offer.
>>>>>
>>>>> The findings, contained in the new working paper, *Job Creation
>>>>> through Building the Field of Impact Sourcing<http://www.monitor.com/Portals/0/MonitorContent/imported/MonitorUnitedStates/Articles/PDFs/Monitor_Job_Creation_Through_Building_the_Field_of_Impact_Sourcing_6_16_11.pdf>,
>>>>> *also finds significant potential for poverty alleviation because
>>>>> Impact Sourcing workers can earn incomes up to 100 percent over alternative
>>>>> employment options.
>>>>>
>>>>> The working paper is part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Poverty
>>>>> Reduction through Information and Digital Employment (PRIDE) work. Through
>>>>> PRIDE, the Rockefeller Foundation plans to support the development and
>>>>> testing of Impact Sourcing business models, support research on
>>>>> interventions and continue to build the network of key Impact Sourcing
>>>>> stakeholders to advance the field.
>>>>>
>>>>> Impact Sourcing employs individuals with limited opportunity for
>>>>> sustainable employment as principal workers in Business Process Outsourcing
>>>>> (BPO) centers to provide high-quality, information-based services to
>>>>> domestic and international public and private-sector clients.
>>>>>
>>>>> “Harnessing the global BPO trend, PRIDE exemplifies the Rockefeller
>>>>> Foundation’s commitment to promoting growth with equity, in which the poor
>>>>> and vulnerable have more access to opportunities, such as ICT employment,”
>>>>> said Dr. James Nyoro, Managing Director, Africa.  “The Foundation is proud
>>>>> to partner with Monitor on this important research, which drives the idea
>>>>> that employing low-income workers will provide them with sustainable income
>>>>> which can lead to positive social outcomes, ultimately helping to improve
>>>>> livelihoods and build relevant skills for employment in the fast growing ICT
>>>>> sector.”
>>>>>
>>>>> *Job Creation through Building the Field of Impact Sourcing<http://www.monitor.com/Portals/0/MonitorContent/imported/MonitorUnitedStates/Articles/PDFs/Monitor_Job_Creation_Through_Building_the_Field_of_Impact_Sourcing_6_16_11.pdf>
>>>>> *features case studies on current Impact Sourcing models in Africa,
>>>>> India and other regions, including those of Foundation grantees like Digital
>>>>> Divide Data, a social enterprise with the objective of creating jobs for
>>>>> poor and disadvantaged youth in Cambodia, Laos and Kenya; and Samasource, an
>>>>> intermediary that markets and sells Impact Sourcing services to clients
>>>>> based in the United States and United Kingdom.
>>>>>
>>>>> “Based on more than 120 interviews across 13 countries with Impact
>>>>> Sourcing managers, providers of BPO services, outsourcing experts,
>>>>> employees, outsourcing clients, government officials, and other individuals
>>>>> linked to the Impact Sourcing space, this analysis creates a shared
>>>>> understanding of the current situation, the size of the opportunity and
>>>>> action agenda necessary to build this field,” said Michael Kubzansky, Global
>>>>> Heald of the Monitor Inclusive Markets Initiative.
>>>>>
>>>>> * *
>>>>>
>>>>> *The Rockefeller Foundation*
>>>>>
>>>>> The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of
>>>>> people throughout the world has remained unchanged since its founding in
>>>>> 1913.  Today, that mission is applied to an era of rapid globalization.  Our
>>>>> vision is that this century will be one in which globalization’s benefits
>>>>> are more widely shared and its challenges are more easily weathered.  To
>>>>> realize this vision, the Foundation seeks to achieve two fundamental goals
>>>>> in our work.  First, we seek to build resilience that enhances individual,
>>>>> community and institutional capacity to survive, adapt, and grow in the face
>>>>> of acute crises and chronic stresses.  Second, we seek to promote growth
>>>>> with equity in which the poor and vulnerable have more access to
>>>>> opportunities that improve their lives. In order to achieve these goals, the
>>>>> Foundation constructs its work into time-bound initiatives that have defined
>>>>> objectives and strategies for impact.  These initiatives address challenges
>>>>> that lie either within or at the intersections of five issue areas: basic
>>>>> survival safeguards, global health, environment and climate change,
>>>>> urbanization, and social and economic security.
>>>>>
>>>>> * *
>>>>>
>>>>> *About Monitor Group*
>>>>>
>>>>> Monitor works with the world's leading corporations, governments and
>>>>> social sector organizations to drive growth in ways that are most important
>>>>> to them. Monitor Group offers a range of services—advisory,
>>>>> capability-building and capital services—designed to unlock the challenges
>>>>> of achieving sustainable growth. Monitor brings leading-edge ideas,
>>>>> approaches and methods to bear on clients' toughest problems and biggest
>>>>> opportunities. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the firm employs
>>>>> more than 1,500 people in 18 countries worldwide. For more information,
>>>>> visit www.monitor.com.
>>>>>
>>>>> Monitor Inclusive Markets (MIM) catalyzes support for market-based
>>>>> solutions to social challenges. MIM does this by understanding and improving
>>>>> the business models of enterprises currently engaging people that live at
>>>>> the bottom of the economic pyramid, particularly helping these enterprises
>>>>> reach scale and commercial viability. For more information, visit
>>>>> www.mim.monitor.com.
>>>>>
>>>>> ###
>>>>> For media inquiries, please contact:
>>>>> Svetlana Vaisman
>>>>> <svaisman at rockfound.org>            917-975-5318
>>>>>
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>>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>>
>>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
>>> Publisher
>>> +254 720 960 322
>>>
>>> www.ratio-magazine.com
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
>> Publisher
>> +254 720 960 322
>>
>> www.ratio-magazine.com
>> Find/post East Africa careers<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/careers/index.php>
>> Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business events<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/businessevents/index.php>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
Publisher
+254 720 960 322

www.ratio-magazine.com
Find/post East Africa careers<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/careers/index.php>
Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business
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