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Enabling Access to Information on Enterprise Development through Decentralised Kiosks
Information and innovation are shaping modern society by influencing how people interact and make decisions every day. India too is undergoing a digital revolution crossing half a billion users in 2018. To leverage this growing penetration of the internet, CSC 2.0, in continuation of the Phase I scheme from 2006, was launched in 2015 to reach all 250,000 Gram Panchayats. More than 200,000 Common Service Centres (CSCs) have been operationalised for last mile delivery of G2C (Government to Consumer) and B2C (Business to Consumer) services and information to the rural hinterland. While the last-mile delivery of these services is enabling digital and financial inclusion of local communities, recent increase in type of schemes and revisions of the documentation requirements (especially around enterprise development); individuals in rural India find it extremely challenging to access relevant, trust-worthy information despite improved access to smartphones. From the deep research conducted in Work 4 Progress (W4P), a social innovation programme for entrepreneurship-led job creation managed by Development Alternatives in India, it was discovered that access to information was a major barrier in enabling entrepreneurship for youth and women. Individuals across geographies echoed the need for an easily accessible facility to solve challenges of:
In the village of Lacchapatti, Mirzapur, one can witness a crowd in front of a CSC run by Gulshan Kumar Bind, a 25-year-old commerce graduate. He started with just INR 10,000, which he won as a scholarship in his college, and transformed his basic internet café with a PC and printer into a CSC. He jumped at the opportunity to set up a W4P information kiosk and is now catering to the needs of local entrepreneurs in areas pertaining to business planning, online certification, enabling trade-specific training and connecting them to local institutions that provide credit. Through these interventions, his CSC has now transformed into a one-stop solution for entrepreneurship. 18 W4P entrepreneurs, including Gulshan, have set up information kiosks and are coaching and providing mentorship to interested individuals and existing entrepreneurs in their nearby villages on enterprise development. Out of these 18 information kiosks, 8 have an average annual income of INR 200,000+. To further scale these kiosks, Development Alternatives is now working to leverage their existing infrastructure and customer base, co-create new enterprise support service tools in sync with needs of the communities and build capabilities of these entrepreneurs to accelerate job creation and create shifts in the local entrepreneurship ecosystem of Bundelkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. ■ Reference:
Debasis Ray, Saubhagya
Raizada
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In
order to overcome these challenges, W4P created ICT-enabled,
decentralised “Information Kiosks” which act as local platforms to
enable access to enterprise development solutions and other digital
services for improved livelihoods. They offer free services like
information booklet with guidance and tools to enable decision making
for enterprise development and compendium of business plans. A few
examples of premium services offered are business plan development, loan
applications and linkages to support service providers. These kiosks
help develop strong connections with local entrepreneurs and partners,
and assist individuals interested to set up enterprises. As part of a
larger, global W4P network, these kiosks facilitate sharing of learnings
and global best-practices by leading Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks and
help create innovative and commercially successful enterprises in India.