Voice Plans in the Village

Grameen Foundation has recently announced that they will be providing two entrepreneurs seen money to develop Village Phone programs. It will be run through its Village Phone Assistance Center.

Launched in 2007, the Village Phone Assistance Center guides MFIs and other organizations in developing Village Phone products that provide poor communities around the world with affordable and reliable phone access and cell phone business opportunities. One critical resource is the Village Phone Direct Manual, first published in 2007 in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union. The English-language version has been downloaded more than 1400 times, and it is now available in four additional languages: Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish.

The grants will be on the order of $10,000, and initial applications should be e-mailed here. The deadline for the first round is August 24, 2008. More details can be read here.