HarvestWISE:Harvesting Wisdom for Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship

ICT Business Incubation: Evidence from Mauritius

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the ICT sector in Mauritius and the ICT Incubator Centre managed by the National Computer Board that has been successfully initiated and implemented. The ICT sector in Mauritius has witnessed major development and undergone rapid and sustained growth over the past four years. The vision of the government to transform Mauritius into a Cyber Island in the year 2000 and making ICT the fifth pillar of the economy is gradually taking shape. One of the determining factors for the rapid development of the ICT sector is the high-level of political commitment through the ICT Ministerial Committee chaired by the Prime Minister. Under this Committee, three task forces were set up to manage the (i) Cyber City and Business Parks (ii) E-Education & Training and the (iii) E-Government. To this effect, the Government strategy has been fully geared to create a conducive environment to ensure unparalleled development of this sector.

As part of the ICT Development strategy, the National Computer Board had undertaken a feasibility study in May 2001 for the setting up of an ICT Incubator Centre, and submitted its recommendations to the parent Ministry. The document was instrumental to promote business incubation as an economic strategy and for securing funding to kick-start this project. In the Government Budget Speech 2001/2002 the following paragraph was noted “In our drive to make of Mauritius a Cyber Island, we are not ignoring the need to promote Mauritian entrepreneurship. Our young people are endowed with talent and potential for innovative ideas in ICT. They need to be provided with the necessary support and facilities. The National Computer Board will set up an ICT incubator to promote start- ups.”. The mechanisms for the procurement, commissioning were initiated thereafter, and the Centre was fully operational in January 2003 with initially four tenants. The project was customized for the local context while paying special attention to the main recommendations of the feasibility report. The document also elaborates on the stages of development of the ICT Incubator Centre since its conception as an idea to its implementation.

As an integrated effort to nurture ICT start-ups, the centre offers business support, logistics and infrastructural facilities to youngsters with innovative business ideas. The objective is to promote entrepreneurship and to create fledgling enterprises in the ICT Sector. The unit occupies a surface area of 500 sq mts and can accommodate nine start-ups. Besides the services and facilities provided, the Centre has developed a local network to promote and nurture its start-ups and to promote entrepreneurship. The Incubator Centre was initially conceived to help local entrepreneurs and gradually the joint venture undertakings comprising of local and foreign enterprises have been accommodated. Since its operations eighteen enterprises have benefited from the business support, logistics and infrastructural facilities offered by the ICT Incubator Centre. As at date five enterprises have successfully graduated from this facility. As a case study, three enterprises’ business track records during their tenancy at the ICT Incubator Centre will be examined namely M-ITC Co Ltd, Innovative Creative Lines (ICL) Ltd and AM Web Solutions Ltd.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN PROMOTING TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION SYSTEM FOR SMEs IN INDIA

Rural Electrification in India: Economic and Institutional aspects of Renewables

The paper assesses the demand for rural electricity services and contrasts it with the technology options available for rural electrification. Decentralised Distributed Generation can be economically viable as reflected by case studies reported in literature and analysed in our field study. Project success is driven by economically viable technology choice; however it is largely contingent on organizational leadership and appropriate institutional structures. While individual leadership can compensate for deployment barriers, we argue that a large scale roll out of rural electrification requires an alignment of economic incentives and institutional structures to implement operate and maintain the scheme. This is demonstrated with the help of seven case studies of projects across north India.

Land to Lab approach for promoting farmers innovation: a case study – Peermade Development Society, Idukki, Kerala

The scientists of Peemade Development Society (PDS), an NGO based in Idukki, Kerala, India, have initiated an approach ‘Land to Lab’ for the participatory technology development of farmers’ innovations and unique traditional knowledge practices. Documentation, development and dissemination of farmers’ innovations are the major activities envisaged under this approach. Significant achievements have been made in all aspects of intervention. A large number of innovative practices, technological innovations, and unique traditional practices have been identified and documented. The innovations and unique knowledge practices relevant to societal development were selected and subjected to various formal and informal validation processes and value-addition efforts before dissemination. Value-added knowledge practices and innovations are disseminated through various commercial and noncommercial sectors. The centre has developed unique replicable enterprise models for developing and disseminating local innovations and knowledge practices with the people’s participation. The paper describes the ‘Land to Lab’ approach, achievements and experiences, lessons learnt and major constraints.

Keywords: Farmer innovation, documentation, development, dissemination, women self-help groups.

Study of Marketing Options and Structures Available for Organic Products for Non-Governmental Organisations in India

The purpose of this study was to understand different forms of enterprises that an NGO in India can choose to promote and operate the commercial activity of marketing organic products and at the same time safeguard the farmers’ interest. Five enterprises having different structures were studied. It was concluded that if the enterprise model carried out as a society is proven viable, it would not be difficult to attract mutual fund investors particularly those keen on supporting rural enterprises. After the initial phase of establishment when the enterprise operations have stabilized and matured, the enterprise can be converted into a suitable form as a producer, public or private limited company, depending on the interest of the stakeholders. The results and analysis of this study would provide insights to various other development organisations involved in organic cultivation and marketing.

Spatio-temporal analysis of micro financing for agricultural innovation diffusion in Mezam division, Cameroon

Some rural development experts consider micro-financing as a panacea for food insecurity and rural
poverty alleviation. Development policies in favour of the rural poor using micro-financing have had
positive but insufficient impacts on the conditions of poverty. The study uses a combination of primary
and secondary data to make a spatio-temporal analysis of micro financing based on the innovation
diffusion model. It appraises the techniques of micro credit diffusion, maps the spatial diffusion trends
and analyses the evolution of the adoption process. The study like previous ones concludes that the
micro credit scheme has had positive but insufficient impacts on agricultural development. It therefore
identifies the bottlenecks in the use of micro financing in favour of the rural poor and the scope to
achieve a successful design of a community-based financial institution which is best adapted to rural
realities and will be accepted by local financial institutions and by the rural people alike. Micro
financing should aim at making available financial and technical assistance to the poor by adapting to
local realities, linking structures with the informal financial sector of the micro economy and innovating
institutions and procedures for access to credit.

Key words: Spatial diffusion, temporal diffusion, micro-finance, core-periphery, innovation adoption, agricultural development.

Innovation in agriculture and NRM in communities confronting HIV/AIDS: a review of international experience

This document aims to review international experience on the role of agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) in preventing and alleviating HIV/AIDS. In particular it draws attention to the importance of local innovation in these efforts and to the experience gained in identifying and boosting local innovation processes. Examples of local innovations of both a social and technical nature are described, as far as possible together with an assessment of the conditions that have favoured or hindered innovation. The purpose is to provide guidance to the country teams in their search for relevant local innovations and in planning for the workshops that they will be organising with partners in both the agriculture/NRM and AIDS/health communities.

We first outline some of the key features of HIV/AIDS epidemics and of their relationship with rural livelihoods dependent on agriculture and NRM. We then discuss in turn how the spread of HIV infection can be hastened when rural livelihoods are undermined and how the illness and deaths that follow infection can contribute to undermining rural livelihoods. This sets the stage for discussion of the roles local innovation play in the struggle with HIV/AIDS and for considering some of the local innovations that have come to light. We also ask why local innovation is not better recognised and appreciated, describe some of the constraints it faces and provide some ideas on ways this initiative can improve the situation.

Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS): An e-Government Programme for fostering agricultural growth, poverty reduction and sustainable resource use in India

Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, agriculture remains high on the international agenda because it brings together critical issues like water, poverty, hunger, and health. There have been both national and international efforts (DOT Force of the UN, the UN/ESCAP Committee on Poverty Reduction, the Millennium Development Goals, PovertyNet of the World Bank, etc) to improve information flows and communication services to eliminate poverty (ICT for Poverty Reduction), which are a necessary but not sufficient condition. In poor rural areas, where agricultural productivity is low and unreliable and there is food insecurity, better information and knowledge-exchange can be important in lessening poverty.

This Paper deals with the Government’s Digital Initiatives and Agenda (viz., AGRISNET, AgRIS, AGMARKNET, DACNET, VISTARNET, APHNET, FISHNET, HORTNET, SeedNET, PPIN, COOPNET, FERTNET, ARISNET, AFPINET, ARINET, NDMNET, etc), as a step towards “reaching” agricultural knowledge and technology to the Small Holders (Resource-Poor-Farmers) of the Country. To usher in “agricultural governance” in the country, the establishment of AGRISNET as the “national information infrastructure” is emerging as a pre-requisite. As “resources application and agronomic practices” are to match with soil attributes and crop requirements, the Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) is a “way-forward” to improve agricultural productivity in rural areas, and a much “needed domestic strategy” for sustainable rural livelihoods.

Development and Use of ICT in Agriculture has a promise in ushering agricultural growth, “but miles to go”. This digital opportunity is becoming a positive force for fostering Agricultural Growth, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Resource Use in India. What was a “technology push” in 1990s is taking the shape of “consumer pull” at grass-root level in India to usher in agricultural governance in the country. This is a step towards establishing a location-specific e-Government model for the Poor in India.

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“Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you have seen, and ask yourself, if the steps you contemplate are going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore to him control over his own life and destiny?”

… Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, India.

WHAT WORKS: ITC\’S E-CHOUPAL AND PROFITABLE RURAL TRANSFORMATION

Energy-Efficient Grain Drying Resources

The ambient air system for grain drying recommended for the United States by The Ohio State University and other grain belt research institutions, as well as the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, is now state of the art and slowly replacing systems using fossil fuels, chiefly natural gas. Although not as much recent research has focused on solar technology for grain drying, solar was shown by University of Maryland studies to be feasible for small- and medium-size facilities for drying grain for on-farm use. Payback time for installing a solar system varies with the cost of fossil fuels and the costs of labor and materials for a solar installation. Resources for evaluating these two systems include links to key sources and a condensation of two reports from the University of Maryland.