Yesterday I attended a press release for a book published by FATE Foundation in conjunction with MTN Foundation. (MTN is one of the major cell phone networks in Nigeria and the MTN Foundation is in charge of MTN’s CSR work.) Before attending the event I expected the book to be a boring business manual, but it turned out to be something far more interesting.
FATE Foundation and MTN Foundation have seized the idea that cell phones can promote capital accumulation. The book they produced is a how-to manual for low-income Nigerians to create their own “call centers.” Call centers, found all over Nigeria, are places where someone who owns a cell phone charges a fee to someone who wants to make or receive a call on the phone. That way, people who can’t afford phones can talk for cheap, people who can afford phones can make money, and communication between people is made a lot easier. The book is free to the public.
I like the above picture for a few reasons: It shows FATE Foundation’s managing director, at left, talking business with two of the foundation’s board members; it shows two posters that highlight two of MTN Foundation’s goals: providing shelter and helping women; and at left, it shows what looks like a model of a call center but is actually a cake! I didn’t believe it was a cake until I ate some of it myself.
The Nigerian press were all over yesterday's event. I'm checking newspapers for photos and if I can, i'll upload some of them later.
