Tele-Centre.org Foundation Launch 03 rd March 2010 Reshan Dewapura Chief Operating Officer ICT Agency of Sri Lanka the Sri Lankan tele-centers
SiL Sri Lanka - Country Facts Land Area: 65,610 Sq. Km Population: 21,130,000 130 000 GDP: US$ 40 Billion GDP/cap: US$ 2000 Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee Time Zone: GMT +5:30 Capital: Colombo (Commercial) Sri Jayawardenepura (A) Languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English People: Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher Exports: Garments, Tea, Gems, Rubber, Tourism, IT/BPO Administr n: 9 Provinces, 25 Districts, 325 Divisional Secretariats
Developing the ICT Infrastructure t Information Infrastructure EQUI QUITY Vision Re-engineering Government PEACE ICT Policy, Leadership & Institutional Development ICT Human Resources Capacity Building e-society ICT Investment & Private Sector Development GROW OWTH A user-friendly environment and state-of- the-art ttechnology infrastructure t throughout Sri Lanka that enables all citizens to have ready access to dynamic information, modern communications and electronic services and content that realize quality of life improvements Objectives Establish a network of ICT delivery centres (Nenasalas) Establish a high end ICT centres mainly to access educational content via video conferencing (Distance & elearning Project) Install a state of the art Information & Communication backbone covering all of Sri Lanka (National Backbone Network) Establish the backbone ICT infrastructure for the Government (Lanka Government Network ) Establish a national e-service hosting and delivery infrastructure (Lanka Gate)
Island-wide Nenasala Implementation ti Jaffna 5 600 Nenasalas Vauvniya - 5 www.nenasala.lk Anuradhapura - 41 Puttalam - 17 Trincomalee - 16 Kurunagala - 45 Kandy - 49 Kegalle - 32 Gampaha - 15 Colombo - 12 Ratnapura - 42 Kalutara - 22 Galle - 30 Matara - 32 Polonnaruwa - 23 Batticaloa 16 Matale - 19 Badulla - 42 Ampara - 32 NuwaraEliya - 24 Monaragala - 32 Hambantota - 32 40 centres established with grant support of Government of India
Nenasala Diversity it - Different Models Entrepreneur s Religious Institutions Community Based Organizations Selected Rural Schools Public Libraries Individuals Partnerships Woman Temples Kovils Mosques Churches Rural Development Groups, Women, Youth, Rural Banks, Welfare Groups Special Sites Railway Station Foreign Employment Bureau Colombo DS office Camps
Nenasala Implementation ti Considerations Rigorous Selection Process for Locations & Owners 1. Competitive 2. Minimum Guidelines High Speed Data Connectivity Teams to provide Technical, Managerial and Operational Support and to conduct Performance Monitoring Connectivity paid for by ICTA on a declining subsidy. Year 1&2: 100%, Year 3: 66.6%, Year 4: 33.3%, ICT Equipment Subsidy from ICTA (PCs, printers, phones, fax, copier / scanner, software) Demand side assistance through a well designed Voucher Program ICTA led capacity building program: initial & ongoing training Content: Local & Localized, for rural communities, in Local Languages
Support, Monitoring i & Evaluation Regional Impact Teams (RITs) 8 Regional Impact Teams assigned to monitor performance and support Nenasalas Monitoring & Evaluation Capacity building Deployment of Content & Services to Nenasalas Annual Asset verifications Survey findings for learning & improvement
Electronic Voucher Scheme Voucher programme introduced to Nenasalas to promote ICT services among rural community LKR 52.2Mn worth of Vouchers utilized by issuing over 1 Million vouchers to communities around the centres. 350,000 300,000 No. of vouchers 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Ampara Anuradhapura Badulla Hmabnthota Kandy Kegalle Kurunegala Mathale District Matara Monaragala Polonnaruwa Rathnapura Trincomalee Puttalam Nuwara Eliya
Nenasala Usage Who? 621 - Average users per month per centre Gender wise usage Adults (more than 25 yrs) per month per Nenasala 17% Age wise usage Children (less than 11 yrs) per month per Nenasala 17% Female users per month per Nenasala 41% Male users per month per Nenasala 59% Youth (12-25 yrs) per month per Nenasala 66%
Nenasala Usage for What? 1% Users for other services (Hardware rep., Laminating, Printouts, ts etc) 14% Computer users 3% Users for Photocopying 10% Users for Scan 4% Users for CD Writing 2% Fax users 3% Telephone users 34% 29% Freedom to innovate in Trainees provision of services contributes significantly Internet the users success of the tele- centre 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
Nenasalas How are they doing? Poor 18% Excellent 20% Fair 19% Good 43% The Sri Lankan Nenasala experience has shown that the tele-centre owner is the key to it s success. Depending on their enthusiasm, entrepreneurship and community involvement, any tele-centre model may it operate as a business, a community service or a public good will succeed.
Has it had an impact on ICT Literacy? 28 % 2009 50 % 2012 Dept of Census and Statistics
Nenasalas What do we want out of them? - 1 Nenasala are a public good Only a means to an end - not the end game Subsidizing, supporting for good (or long time) is not taboo it is considered Does it / Will it: Increase ICT Literacy in the country Create an ICT Savvy society in the village Open-up p the minds of the rural youth Provide them with new knowledge and new skills Bring out the innovator and entrepreneur in them Open-up opportunities that were beyond them
Nenasalas What do we want out of them? - 2 Through that does it / will it: Connect poor/rural communities with dynamic opportunities Revitalize Rural Development - Social & Economic Increase Employment Reduce Poverty Empower rural communities i Empower Women & marginalized groups If the answer is yes to all or most of these we need to keep the tele-centres running / keep them subsidized Building 600 business enterprises that are sustainable on the long term is NOT the objective
Thank you. the Sri Lankan tele-centers the Sri Lankan tele centers www.nenasala.lk