Articles by Mark Beckford
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Monday
March 8
2010The Bottom of the Pyramid: A Disruptive Force to be Reckoned With?
The rationale for why emerging markets are a source for disruptive innovations is simply because in order for a product or service to be successful, it has to be more affordable, easier to use, and offer more value then existing products on the market. I was recently referred to an article written by Niti Bhan on this topic...
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Thursday
January 28
2010Rice paddies and culture
If you haven’t read Outliers, or Malcom Gladwell’s previous books The Tipping Point and Blink, you are missing out on some of the most insightful, entertaining and mind opening dissection of human behavior. In Outliers, Gladwell explains what makes someone extraordinary successful.
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Friday
January 8
2010The Top 5 ICT4D Trends for 2010
The year started with the world teetering on economic and financial collapse. The technology industry withered in general due to lack of demand. Intel, for example, reported its first loss in 21 years in the second quarter. As we head in to 2010, things seem to be on the mend, albeit slowly. So what will 2010 look like for ICT4D?
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Monday
November 23
2009Do Public/Private Global Initiatives Make a Difference?
Over the last five years, the public and private sectors have introduced a number of initiatives aimed at bridging the digital divide and bringing computers to under-served markets. Intel’s World Ahead and the UN’s Global Alliance on ICT Development are just two examples. Five years is enough time to assess how successful these initiatives are.
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Thursday
October 8
2009A Simple Solution for the Information Divide
I guarantee that anybody reading this blog takes for granted the wealth of information at their fingertips. Looking for something? Google it.But for the billions of of people in the developing world that don’t even have a mobile phone, what do they do?
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Tuesday
September 15
2009Social Capital Markets 2009: Lessons Learned
A summary from a panel featuring socially-focused venture capitalists and investment firms and the lessons they have learned over 10 years investing in social ventures, from small businesses to solar energy and micro-finance.
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Tuesday
July 28
2009A Lesson Learned
In this article, I discuss the importance of disruptive business models, using the success of the Amazon Kindle as a disruptive innovation and business model to the publishing world. Unfortunately, what once could have been a device that could have had a significant impact to the BoP, is now another gadget for the well-to-do.
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Thursday
July 9
2009Join the Debate: 1:1 vs. Shared Access Computing
Infodev and UNESCO have developed a new discussion and debate forum to explore the role of ICT in learning in developing countries. Called the Educational Technology Debate, it promotes a multi-week discussion over one month with two participants debating two sides of an argument, and additional user comments supporting or refuting either side.
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