iKidEducation for unprivileged Kids

Rajendra Inani

ELP Program for IIM Indore @ Katz School, Univ. of PittsburghFeb 2010

Product Pull Factors

• India - 1 billion plus population– 61% literacy– 72% rural population – 25% people below poverty line

• A large population of kids having no access to school and basic education (Bottom of Pyramid)

• Similar situation exists for kids in many third world countries

Product Pull Factors - continued…

• Lack of facilities in remote areas – school facility, teaching staff, study material

• Parents unable to send their kids to school – Kids forced into child labor

• No connectivity of kids with outer world – No motivation to learn and educate themselves

• These illiterate kids becoming source of social problems in later years

• Stressed Kids

Hi-Tech Solutions for Poor?

Should hi end technology be taken to poor?

OR

Wait for technology to become ordinary for their use?

The Proposed PDA Device: iKid

• Leapfrog approach to rural education with use of current technology and infrastructure

• Inspired from success of Nano – Family car for $2000 produced by Tata

• A low cost PDA Device under $25 (Personal  Digital  Assistant)

• It’s a handheld device which combines– Computing capabilities , Web

browsing and networking, Telephone / fax, Handwriting and voice recognition, Webcam features

• Currently, low end mobile phones starts under price of $10

The Program Implementation

• Providing Education Solutions (beyond Tele-Education)

• Program Execution at root level, while monitoring at central level

– Video / Audio conferencing with kids ensuring their direct involvement – Individual Interaction

– Standard education fed to all kids– Instant access to books and other multimedia

information– Extreme low cost of implementation of any education

plan and material distribution– Kid directly connecting to entire world (parents no

hindrance)

Project feasibility?• Technology

– Available mobile technology and everyday reducing cost of electronic hardware

– Increasing communication bandwidth with reducing cost (3G / 4G)

– Internet communication covering the globe

• Program Implementation – Lowest cost of implementation per child in a highly

scalable model– NGOs monitoring and ensuring quality of information

flow– Availability of ever increasing Social Networking

solutions

Kids of a new World Family• Free flow of communication

among kids – development of tolerance in kids towards different race, religion and societies

• Network of the whole world’s kids – Every kid in the world could get enrolled in to it – most powerful database in making

• Development of true global citizen from an unprivileged child

• Development of Global Village – brotherhood, Ethical & Moral Values, high on spirituality

The Challenges & Successes• Funding - Cost of distribution of

PDA device and Program implementation– With economies of scale, it would

cost less than government funding for child’s basic education

– The long run cost to society, due to an uneducated child is far higher (Cost of managing social evils, terrorism, drugs and health problems)

– Success of this program would result in reduction in spending on Rural and Social welfare, law enforcement etc.

The Challenges & Successes– continued…

• Reaching out to each eligible Kid• Development of low cost device

is key • Development of Education

program for different age groups and regions

• Extended for other social welfare program – Rural Adult Education, Farmer’s Education

• With involvement of communities and initial selling, this program would run perpetually

• The success can be repeated in other geographies

Market Summary• Market: past, present, & future

– Niche market - No existing player – Unlimited opportunity– Entry of other players would further grow market

size

Early Adopters/Pioneers

Mass Market/Followers

End of Life

Time

Number of

customers

Can we create a better World for future generations?

Thank You