Profile | robin.bartling

I completely agree with you and his Excellency regarding the importance of technology for developing countries. Just last week I saw a statistic showing that there are more people in the developing world using cell phones than in the developed world. This is truly amazing and gives a lot of hope! It's just a pity that there isn't anybody really trying to get the most out of this opportunity. The international aid organizations are still rather focusing on relief work. The bi- and multilateral organizations such as GTZ and World Bank are still focusing their economic development programs primarily on the cooperation with the government. Microfinance funds are well in place but coaching and advice for starting a new venture are very limited. The large foundations such as Gates and Clinton are doing an amazing job in supporting large scale projects (e.g. to increase crop productivity) but given their structure they can't provide the right support either. The point I want to make here is that there is currently no large international institution which is driving this topic. Some organizations look towards that direction but haven't arrived there yet. For example, I worked with CARE International over the summer and they are thinking exactly in this direction but it's quite a challenge to make this organizational change happen.

Dear James, Thank you for your interest in my venture. I would really like to follow up with you but don't have your contact information. Please let me know how I can get in touch you. Thank you! I look forward to talking to you soon! All the best, Robin