Late last year we told you about a workshop held in Santiago de Chile for engineering professors from leading Latin American universities, which was all about introducing them to the important role technology can play in making new products and services available to the base of the pyramid. The organizers of the event are working on follow-up plans to create a network for ongoing discussion of these issues, but in the meanwhile, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recently held a conference in Washington, DC on the topic of “Engineering for the Developing World.”
The opening session featured three speakers who gave an overview of what’s meant by “the base of the pyramid” and some of the technology-related projects already established in developing countries. Iqbal Quadir, director of MIT’s Legatum Center , first offered some historical perspective, describing how technologies from the plow to the clock to the computer have contributed to the empowerment of citizens. He said that historically, development aid delivered directly to the governments of poor countries has tended to empower authorities , not citizens, but development of technology is changing this.
Quadir then told a story from his own childhood, when he was growing up in Bangladesh, and needed to fetch some medicine from a pharmacy that was several hours away. When he got there, he found it was closed. If only he could have called ahead and found out when the shop was open, instead of wasting an entire day on the errand! Driven by this memory, he founded a project called “Grameen Phone,” which has made community phones available to some 100 million people in rural Bangladesh who previously lacked access to any kind of phone.
Emeka Okafor, an entrepreneur, blogger and founder of Maker Faire Africa, then spoke about the importance of changing the way the developing parts of the world are viewed. He said that while poverty continues to be a persistent challenge throughout Africa, it is also home to 900 million consumers and that poverty rates are on a steep decline in parts of the continent. Events like Maker Faire are giving young African entrepreneurs and inventors the chance to network and find ways to improve their communities without having to work through the government. “Don’t help us – join us, partner with us,” he urged the attendees.
The third speaker, Lourdes Gallardo, an investment officer with the IDB’s Opportunities for the Majority initiative, spotlighted projects underway to bring technology to the BOP in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as an effort to install Internet connections in rural Mexican villages. She spoke about how Opportunities for the Majority is playing a unique role in working together with the private and public sectors, civil society and academia to support solid, replicable projects that can potentially improve the lives of millions of low-income people.
She concluded her presentation with some provocative questions to the attendees, including, “How do we create a ‘BOP fever’ within the engineering community?” and “How can we facilitate a new mindset of thinking about solutions for the poor, not only the rich?”
The three panelists then fielded questions from the audience. Unsurprisingly, given that most of the attendees were scientists or academics, many queries were about the role education plays in the developing world, from the quality of early education to the availability of higher education. In response to a question about how to create the “BOP fever” she mentioned, Lourdes Gallardo offered the example of the Chilean organization “Un Techo Para Mi Pais.” Many young college students volunteer with its emergency housing construction projects every year, and some go on to develop an interest in working on behalf of the BOP. The final question came from a man who expressed concern over whether introduction of new technologies might alter – even damage – the structures of traditional cultures. Iqbal Quadir replied that he does not share such worries, that such change should be welcomed. “I’m trying to disrupt!” he exclaimed.
After the panel, Lourdes Gallardo said she had enjoyed the different perspective of speaking to a gathering of engineers, rather than the economists and development experts she usually works with. She added that while she’s hopeful about what volunteer projects can do to get young people interested in the BOP, she believes that integrating information about technology and the developing world in engineering schools’ curricula will be the key to generating lasting enthusiasm and involvement in this sphere.
