Internet Kiosks in Rural India: What Influences Success?

33 Pages Posted: 12 Oct 2006

See all articles by Jake Kendall

Jake Kendall

University of Washington, CSE

Nirvikar Singh

University of California, Santa Cruz

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2006

Abstract

In this paper we investigate an example of a very widely applied model for the delivery of IT services to rural and poor populations. The model is one where limited intervention to support infrastructure and coordinate resources is combined with market-based delivery of IT services to the end user (what we call here the "sustainable franchise model"). Though this model has been deployed world-wide by governments, NGOs, and development institutions in the past few years, few researchers have studied the determinants of success in such a model. In this paper we examine the example of n-Logue, a franchise of over 1000 locally-owned, internet kiosks in rural villages in India. We seek to assess how this new sustainable franchise model has worked in practice by analyzing data from 74 of n-Logue's kiosks. Among other things, we find that gender and education do not affect success, while location and other measures of social standing (age and caste) do. We also find that the uses that villagers have for IT services are not so different from those which first world users have. The lessons we draw from this example are that while local customs and practices must be taken into account (e.g. the caste system), it is not a foregone conclusion that social biases (e.g. against women) cannot be mitigated by good program design.

Suggested Citation

Kendall, Jake and Singh, Nirvikar, Internet Kiosks in Rural India: What Influences Success? (September 2006). NET Institute Working Paper No. 06-05, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=936482 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.936482

Jake Kendall (Contact Author)

University of Washington, CSE ( email )

Seattle, WA 98195
United States

Nirvikar Singh

University of California, Santa Cruz ( email )

Department of Economics
E2 Building
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
United States
831-459-4093 (Phone)
831-459-5077 (Fax)

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