Small-scale entrepreneurs in a developing nation
Small-scale entrepreneurs in a developing nation have come for the rescue of poor villagers. These entrepreneurs are studied in the context of delivery of IT services to rural and poor populations. Sriram Raghavan is one of them. He intends to prove that the world’s billion-plus rural poor can produce sizable profit for online services. Raghvan’s challenge - 36 year-old Raghvan once built a software for U.S. corporate clients. But now he has devised something which has proved profitable for his own company. Raghvan runs Comat Technologies in southeast Karnataka. In the past 5 years, Comat’s revenue growth has been from less than $1 million to $15 million. Providing internet services to poor villagers who actually need it helps Comat gain a modest profit from their 800 kiosks. They called it ‘Nemmadi’ which means ‘peace of mind’ in Kannada, which is Karnataka’s official language. Villagers come to file their applications for a certificate that will help their children go to school....