[UgaBYTES] Are n't Internet cafes becoming a threat to telecentres?

[Meddie Mayanja]

What a discussion this has been. 

I have been on March break last week but what I find on this subject is very interesting. I agree with Polly that telecentres will be very competitive for the next couple of years as long as they continue to focus on the people and technologies. Internet cafés are often un-interested in this. I have to say though that a few have realised that they can just sale services - so you have Internet cafés in Nigeria and Ghana that really help the people to take advantage of technologies.

Who knows...may be telecentres and internet cafes will be friends.

Best, Meddie



-----Original Message-----
From: ugabytes-bounces at lists.ugabytes.org [mailto:ugabytes-bounces at lists.ugabytes.org] On Behalf Of Polly Gaster
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 7:38 AM
To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
Subject: Re: [UgaBYTES] Are n't Internet cafes becoming a threat to telecentres?

Hello all

I think Dean and Yacine between them make the point - if all the telecentre is doing is performing as a 2nd class Internet cafe, selling access and photocopies and suchlike, then it could be in trouble when competition appears. And no doubt some of our telecentres could be in this situation. But if the telecentre is doing what it is supposed to do in terms of contributing to local development activities, involving itself in the community, providing services that nobody else is offering, then it can survive.

It's also true that when the private operator appears the first thing he does is steal all the best people trained by the telecentre - that's happened in Mozambique on various occasions. But we know when we work with volunteers that it's inevitable that people will move on, whether to a private Internet cafe or elsewhere - that's why the training strategy is so important, and the sharing of information and good working methods of the telecentres.

The Internet cafes have learned from the telecentres and are now providing more services - in Mozambique in the beginning one couldn't even print out, or copy onto a diskette or flash, and they never gave any training or support.
Now they are doing these things. But one CMC in a largeish town with quite a few "competitors" told us that their demand for training never ends, because the word has gone round that the CMC's training courses are the only good ones. So quality of service is another factor where the telecentre can demonstrate its social goals in practice...

Polly

----

Polly Gaster
TICs para Desenvolvimento/ICT4D
Centro de Informatica da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM) Campus Universitario, Maputo, Mozambique
e-mail: polly.gaster at uem.mz
cel: +258-82-3264540
tel/fax: +258-21-485779
Skype: polly_gaster


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