Original Title : Amar Desh Amar Gram (“My Country My Village”)
Media Format : Computer & Internet
Website : www.amardesheshop.com
Producer : FSB (Future Solution for Business) Ltd
Language : Bangla & English
Location : Dhaka, BANGLADESH
Contact : info@fsb.ltd.uk

The project Amar Desh Amar Gram creates a virtual marketplace named as Amar Desh eSHOP for better economic opportunities for the farm producer rural communities of Bangladesh.

Everyday villagers come with their products (anything they produce even if it is just a gourd) and catalogue it on the internet at the e-Centre. A city buyer, may be hundreds of miles away, glances through the catalogue and places an order with an electronic card. In less than two days the person receives the product which otherwise may be available at a higher price from the city markets. Back in the village, the producer receives a fair price as the money gets electronically transferred through a highly secured e-commerce payment gateway to the producer’s bank account upon delivery. The project Amar Desh Amar Gram is broadly categorized and run under three main programs, namely Amar Desh eSHOP (online platform for rural trade), eDesh (country wide web portal) & Ami Hobo Shonirbhor ( ICT training for rural Development).

The Jury recognised that the Amar Desh Amar Gram project has taken computers and web access to the lowest income groups in the remote villages and it has met with the success of empowering them with better economic opportunities through better market access. It was also noted that the project could create and facilitate a new set of entrepreneurs in the rural area and specifically opened up employment opportunities for women in rural areas. It was also observed that the project is getting more acceptance over the period as the Project website has seen 29% increase in traffic (per month) from December 2010 to the month July 2011 and till date, the Amar Desh website has made the sales worth 9, 50, 000 taka. The Jury felt that the initiative, when sustained effectively, in the long run, would be able to bridge the digital divide and would be able to take the technology to its end users.

Original Title : Kumari Bank – Mobile Cash
Media Format : Mobile based
Website : www.kumaribank.com
Producer : Kumari Bank Limited
Language : English & Nepali
Location : Kathmandu, NEPAL
Contact : sanjay.poudyal@kbl.com.np

The project Kumari Bank has been launched in 2010 with a service called “Kumari Mobile Cash”, which uses mobile phones to provide access to financial services.

This service epitomizes the “mobile wallet” concept, which allows users to store cash balances in their mobile phones. Users are able to deposit and withdraw cash from their mobile phones and use the stored cash value to remit to anyone anytime anywhere, with the push of a few buttons. Kumari Bank has also added various utility bill payment services through this service, enabling people to make payments from the comfort of their homes rather than stand in line for hours. All transactions are secured through a Personal Identification Number (PIN) code. In addition, Kumari Bank has also set-up limit on transaction amounts and has also installed mechanism to monitor transactions to prevent money laundering activities.

The Jury noted that the concept of using mobile phones for financial transactions is very apt and effective for the country like Nepal and the project uses the Short Messaging System (SMS) based payment mechanism through mobile phones very effectively. It was noted that delivery of financial services is executed in a fast, secure and low cost manner to the unbanked population, both rural and urban. The Jury also noted that significant roll out of the project has taken place since its launching in 2010 and at present, the service is available through all of Kumari Bank’s 29 branches and 189 authorized agent locations nationwide. It was further observed that the service is being used by 11,000 users with more than 5,000 users with no conventional bank account with the bank. The Jury felt that with increasing proliferation of mobile connectivity, the project has the potential of reaching every unbanked mobile user of the country, thus greatly helping the cause of financial inclusion in the country of Nepal.

Original Title : CoCubes.com
Media Format : Internet
Website : www.CoCubes.com
Producer : VIA Human Resource Solution Pvt. Ltd.
Language : English
Location : Haryana, INDIA
Contact : anand.s@cocubes.co

The web-based initiative CoCubes.com, developed by venture funded firm based in Gurgaon (India), connects colleges and companies online for campus recruitment.

The word CoCubes derives its origin from the first two alphabets of the three words i.e. connecting, colleges & companies. With the help of CoCubes.com., companies can create a job post and make it available to all or select colleges, based on a region, or set eligibility criteria like marks, branch, certifications etc. The job post, when viewed by the Training and Placement Officer (TPO) of any particular college, can either be passed on to the students (by accepting it) or denied (by rejecting it). If accepted, eligible students get to see and respond to the job post. Companies can then interact with applied students through SMS and notifications sending tips, reminders and other details.

The Jury noted that the initiative CoCubes creates higher level of engagement between the job-seeking eligible students and the employing companies, increases reach and convenience for the students and also helps companies to reduce cost of recruitment, thus creating win-win situation for all stakeholders. It was also observed that this initiative would specifically help colleges in Tier II Cities by getting online and being more visible to companies, thus increasing opportunities for the concerned students. For the premier colleges, the portal would save thousands of hours of TPO and student time, by streamlining internal communication and by providing them with mailing, calendar and SMS utilities. The Jury also noted that spread of the initiative has been significant with 2000+ colleges, 600,000+ students and 300+ companies including 4 of the Top 10 IT Companies have already started utilising the same. It was noted that the user companies have seen over 4 million page views for their engagement profiles on CoCubes.com and over 10,000 students have so far been made offers through this platform.