10.29.2007 - 07:00am ET

(CSRwire) KIGALI, RWANDA AND SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA - October 29, 2007 – Despite the ongoing mobile phone explosion across the developing world, millions of people in poor, rural communities continue to be left behind. To help expedite the provision of affordable telecommunications access and business opportunities in these communities, Grameen Foundation and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) today launched the Village Phone Direct Manual to guide microfinance institutions and other organizations in developing microfranchise Village Phone operations.

The manual is being released simultaneously at the ITU Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, and Grameen Foundation's Microfinance Partner Conference in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Over the coming months, it will be translated into several languages, including Spanish, French and Arabic.

"Our past success in Africa proves that Village Phone is a viable and sustainable tool in the continent's ongoing telecommunications expansion, especially in poor, rural areas. With the new Village Phone Direct Manual, we have a greater opportunity to expand access and create new technology business opportunities for poor microentrepreneurs, not only in Africa, but throughout the developing world," said Peter Bladin, director of Grameen Foundation's Technology Center who is speaking at the summit in Kigali.

Grameen Foundation's Village Phone initiatives build on the successful model which Grameen Telecom pioneered in Bangladesh a decade ago.

The Village Phone Direct Manual was developed based on the experience of Grameen Foundation's successful Village Phone Replication initiative that established national-level operations in Uganda and Rwanda, where there are now more than 10,000 operators. The manual provides microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations with the resources and information they need to independently develop a local, targeted Village Phone product for their clients. This microfranchise approach for extending Village Phone gives organizations greater control in building operations that are tailored to meet the needs of their clients and the flexibility to choose the partners they work with.

Grameen Foundation has also developed an online assistance center, www.villagephonedirect.org, that serves as a central hub for exchanging the information and resources that organizations need to create their own Village Phone products.

About Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of partners in 25 countries that has impacted an estimated 18 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. Grameen Foundation was founded by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with Grameen Bank founder, and recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Dr. Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation’s board of directors. For more information on Grameen Foundation, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org.

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