Job Creation Through Building the Field of Impact Sourcing

Provides an overview of the field of impact sourcing - using business process outsourcing to create sustainable jobs for the lowest-income populations. Offers case studies, examines models, outlines challenges, and presents an action agenda

The domestic turn: business processing outsourcing and the growing automation of Kenyan organisations

After observing the growth of the Indian and Filipino Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sectors, Kenyan policy-makers and managers made substantial investments in international internet infrastructure and BPO marketing campaigns. While observers continue to discuss the sector in terms of its international work opportunities, in recent years the sector has increasingly focused on contracts sourced from Kenyan and other East African clients. The government has also refocused efforts on attracting international BPO companies. This domestic turn signals both the difficulties of gaining access to overseas work due to the power of incumbents and the increasing use of the internet and ICT-enabled automation within Kenyan organisations. In effect, better connectivity has enabled a two-way globalisation of services: Kenyan BPO companies can access international work opportunities but connectivity has also contributed to the inflow of international business practices into Kenya. The conclusion examines what these shifts might entail for the sector and its workers in future

Internet Predictions

More than a dozen leading experts give their opinions on where the Internet is headed and where it will be in the next decade in terms of technology, policy, and applications. They cover topics ranging from the Internet of Things to climate change to the digital storage of the future. A summary of the articles is available in the Web extras section

India’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Closed Doors to Open Souk

Abstract: Spectacular liberalisation of trade and investment policies opened the floodgate of capital flows in and out of India from the mid 1990s. This colossal capital flows facilitated the rapid economic growth and raised the country’s profile as one of the super powers in the region. The recent surge of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from India has a significant balance of payments as well as enormous socio economic effect in securing the country’s position as a new economic power in the global context. Since the study on the OFDI is sparse, this paper attempts to contribute to the literature by examining the major determinants of OFDI from India using the cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model over 1970 and 2009. The results of our study indicate that the dramatic financial and trade liberalisation has instigated the gigantic outflow of investment and acquisition by India’s firms. Furthermore, the domestic economic environment including the growing human capital stocks, increasing international competitiveness, large influx of inflow of foreign capital and increased domestic savings are positively and significantly influencing India’s huge outward capital flows in recent decade. However, improvement in domestic technological capabilities, rising standard of living and increased interest rates are deterrents to the OFDI of the country in the long run. Granger causality test also indicates that while all the above mentioned independent variables are Granger causing OFDI, nevertheless, outward FDI does not Granger cause any of the factors determining the OFDI from India.Keywords: Inward FDI, Outward FDI, Economic Growth, India, Cointegration, VECM, Endogeniety test, Granger Causality Test

ICT Infrastructure, Applications, Society and Education

Proceedings of the Annual Strathmore University ICT Conference 2006Proceedings of the Annual Strathmore University ICT Conference 200

Information and communication technologies and the digital divide in the Third World Countries

The technophiles' view is that the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) herald the arrival of the new information era and are key factors for social change. The technophobes view the advances in ICT as new and sophisticated tools that would further the industrial imperialism. In spite of these opposing views, it is a fact that ICT have been contributing to a significant part of the economy of many developing nations. This is substantiated by the actions of almost every Third World country in treating ICT as a high priority item in their economic planning. ICT is seen to play an important role in political, socioeconomical, and cultural globalization process. Many international organizations including the World Bank, United Nations (UN) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), have fostered multitude of initiatives in the Third World countries that not only help in bringing the benefits of ICT to the Third World, but also create a framework for influencing policy formulations, open up markets, introduce competition and deregulate the ICT market. The changes brought about by ICT are rapid and ubiquitous. The uneven diffusion of this fast-changing technology has also caused the digital divide within the countries and between the countries. It is almost certain that the countries which do not adopt and adapt to these changes will be marginalized, widening the digital divide. Third World countries are precariously poised at this juncture and a careful planning on their part would decide if the ICT would bring economic growth for them or push them deeper into technological isolation. In this paper, we discuss the emerging trend in ICT, the state of their assimilation world over and the emerging digital divide

Breaking From Tradition: India and the Path to Development

How could a country with more than 300 million illiterate people also have the kind of scientific human resources that bring some of the world\u27s largest corporations to base their R&D labs in India? (Tripathi, 2007, p.68). This question acknowledges the coexistence of two vastly different worlds within one country. On one hand, India is making significant progress on the path to becoming a developed country;one that can provide the basic fundamentals of living for its citizens while sustaining progressive economic growth; on the other hand, it must overcome challenges to this goal that relate to a crumbling infrastructure, poverty, urban sprawl, decline of rural industries, and a failed public education system. Yet, India is perhaps unique in that it maintains a steady focus of leveraging science and technology to solve its problems. This study seeks to address whether or not India\u27s rise represents a new model for growth. It does not compare and contrast the best methods of development, rather, it highlights the unique path India chose to take and the continual emphasis placed on the use of science and technology;not only as a mechanism for growth, but as a way to solve all of the country\u27s challenges. It points to India\u27s culture, education, government, and rural urbanization as the primary factors which, while influencing India\u27s success, also represent potential barriers for sustainable economic growth. As other countries seek to follow in India\u27s footsteps in hopes of the same rapid success, there are many lessons these countries must consider;the most evident being that science and technology only represent part of the economic development equation, not the complete solution

Surviving and Thriving in the Global Economic Crisis: The Journey and Potential of the Romanian IT&C Sector

AbstractWe are living in a new, post-industrial age which is best described by all kinds of new information technologies. This new reality is leading all of us into the society of the future, a society of new knowledge. This statement also describes the present reality of Romania, and the upward trend of its information, technology and communication (IT&C) sector. Even with the negative impact of the recent global economic crisis on the overall Romanian economy, the IT&C sector not only found a way to weather the global crisis, but also propelled Romania into one of the top countries worldwide in this field. For the first time in Romania's economic history, the IT&C sector contribution to the economy (∼6%) surpassed all the other sectors, including those of agriculture and construction. The economic future of Romania looks bright; especially considering that globally, the technology sector is poised to grow faster than any other, and for this country the IT&C sector represents a very important competitive advantage. This article presents: (1) how the IT&C sector survived the economic crisis; (2) how it changed during the last couple of years, and (3) what the economy of this country will look like if Romania successfully doubles the growth of its IT&C sector, knowing that it already has become one of the most attractive nations for outsourcing because of its strong workforce talent

Business process outsourcing: A new development initiative for South Africa

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS)South African Economic Development strategy has in the previous 15 years, and even leading back as far as the late 1950s, followed the bias of conventional modernisation theory which traditionally equates economic development, and associated job creation, with industrialisation. However, in the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGI-SA), the South African government’s most recent Economic Development Strategy document, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Tourism, both Service sectors, have been put forward as the priority sector development areas. This mini-thesis outlines the factors and evolving economic development theories, both global and national, which have contributed to this shift in strategy. This study pays detailed attention to the BPO sector by reviewing and establishing its capacity and potential to meaningfully contribute to economic growth and accelerated job creation, globally and, specifically in South Africa, in reference to the South African government’s stated development objectives. ‘Exportable’ Services, and specifically the BPO sector, has only in recent years shown its potential as a significant contributor to economic development, and South Africa and other developing nations have little precedent and few guidelines as to how best develop the sector to achieve accelerated economic growth and job creation, thus, this study goes further by outlining possible strategic development issues for successful development of the BPO sector in South Africa. The underlying message of this thesis is that there is a case for development strategists and planners to continue to investigate, pursue and prioritise the development of ‘exportable’ service sectors