Comat's Rural Business Centre

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Rural Business Stripe

E-Governance Rural Business Centre

Enter the Rural Business Center (RBC)

The debate about how to bridge the digital divide has been going on for years. There's been a lot of talk, hope and consequent rural technology deployments. But there have been few, if any, noteworthy results. Looking at the bright side, we now know what doesn't work. You can't make a lasting impact with a PC-based knowledge center connected to the Internet and operated by a small businessman. There isn't enough throw weight to create momentum.

The business model itself assumes that there will be sufficient revenue generated for the local businessman to repay the loan he took to purchase the hardware while making a healthy profit.

Second, it assumes the entrepreneur will know how to offer a suite of meaningful services for the local citizen. In other words, after setting up shop, he'll be able to create and orchestrate a meaningful platform of services single-handedly.

Lastly, it assumes that the entrepreneur will be able to handle ongoing technical maintenance while expanding infrastructure service offerings and keeping pace with rural community needs.

In reality, upfront costs are high, around Rs 45,000. Local citizens often perceive the services to be irrelevant to their needs. And the service model tends to be narrow, or it lacks clear strategic focus. Worse, the burden to improve service and support is on the back of the entrepreneur who has a limited ability to enhance it or effect change.

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The Comat Vision

Background

Comat takes a new and different approach to bridge the digital divide. It's called the Rural Business Center (RBC). The RBC offers rural citizens a place where they can connect with a broad range of services from leading business institutions, government agencies, education programs, and healthcare services -- all at an affordable price. And, because Comat owns and operates the RBC, it can ensure consistent high quality service at each RBC; and it can provide improvements in service offerings in the future.

Comat has several years of experience working in rural India, but did not have kiosks that delivered services to the community. Comat wanted to combine its vast rural knowledge, especially in Karnataka to set up kiosks that will allow citizens to get the benefits of Government and other services at their doorstep.

There are 700 million people living in rural India - most of them with very limited access to digital technology and structured professional services.

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The RBC is located with convenience in mind. Instead of making it day's journey for a land record, we intend to make it a journey of a few minutes. In fact, every RBC will be a short walk from the local village school or a short distance from the village.

Namma Service

The RBC evolved from award-winning technology projects that Comat deployed in rural communities in India over the past decade. Projects that include the digitization of land records and ID cards in the state of Karnataka. These are multi-year projects involving thousands of villages across the state.

Consequently, Comat understands the distinct needs of rural communities. We know what works and what doesn't. And, with the RBC pilot project we are testing new concepts to ensure that we provide relevant technology and services at the right price.

Comat has been operating/managing IT enabled citizen centric services in rural / semi urban areas. At present Comat is operating over 350 kiosks of ICICI group in the state of Maharashtra.

Unlike their counterparts in the city who have access to a range of services like banking, healthcare, government services, education, and Internet access, the rural citizen lives in a parallel universe: disconnected and disenfranchised from this modern context. They live on the other side of the digital divide. And this means that few, if any, have a personal computer with an Internet connection. And for most, a landline or mobile telephone is the equivalent of an up-market luxury item.

So, what do you do if you live in a rural community in India and you need a land record?

You'll probably take a day off from your job and ride a bus for two hours to get to the nearest government office. And, when the day is done, you'll have the land record but at a cost of about 100 rupees in lost wages and travel expense. That stings, especially when you earn about 90 rupees per day.

What if you need a small business loan? You turn to local lenders -- many who operate informally on the street - because they are your only source of credit. Trouble is, you may not be aware that their interest rate can verge on usury. A professionally run bank that offers micro-credit loans could change all that by bringing a fair loan structure to a system that has been long on informal loan processes and short on competitive rates.

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And for school age children, living in a rural community comes at a price because, these days, learning without a personal computer and Internet access is akin to learning without paper, pens and books. The consequence for these children is an uncertain future in the job market that could spell a life disjoined from economic prosperity.

These are just a few of the elements that make up a constellation of issues that hinder economic growth, limit education and reduce life expectancy.

But fortunately, rural communities around India are on the cusp of a new trend that holds the potential to transform their communities, spurring economic expansion, offering better educational and healthcare access and improved access to government information and services.

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