Computer training & e-commerce

Author : Gladys Mabaso
Date added : 2003-08-20

Brief Project Background

My project is located in the residential suburb of Mbizo, Kwekwe. Mbizo is a high density suburb which is home to mainly the low-medium income earners. The suburb has a high population of semi-literate and unemployed people. It is in this context that my project was launched and is established.

A significant number of the residents of Mbizo are self employed running businesses such as garment making and other handicrafts. For most, if not all, of these people (the majority of whom are women) Kwekwe is the only town they know and it is their world. Kwekwe is a very small city even by Zimbabwean standards. This meant that the women had a very limited market for their wares.

Having looked at these factors, I decided to set up my project in Mbizo. In 1996 I then sought to purchase computers for the project. The trouble was finding suitable PC’s with the programme that I required which were also offordable. Since the project was targeting the self employed women, (it should also be appreciated that nine out of ten of these women are single mothers and /or widows in difficult circumstances) with low income it was therefore highly imperative that all costs be kept at the barest minimum. The only solution to this problem was to buy used P.Cs. Used PC.s that are still in a reasonable condition are hard to come by in Zimbabwe. After about a year I managed to secure 2 PCs that were in a fairly good condition. With my PCs installed I then went about advertising my project. This turned out not to be as easy as I had imagined it would be. To those who responded to my advertisements I began to offer computer training.

The project was implemented for community benefit and so I only charged a nominal fee for the computer training. I wanted the women to fully appreciate computers and how they could be of use to their business ventures.

I offered computer training starting from the most basic course which is Introduction to Computers to specific programs such as MS-Word, Excel and Pastel. Most of the beneficiaries of this project did not know what a computer is let alone what it could do for them I really had to start from scratch and dispel the various misconceptions most of the people had in regards to computers. For instance some believed that only the highly educated can use computer whilst some believed that once you have a computer you can sit back and relax and it will do everything for you.

In setting up my project I received assistance from TIPS - UNDP. I attended a few training workshops they offered on development and information technology. They were quite helpful in the initial stages of my project.

With time the beneficiaries of the project became computer literate. This meant that they could now design some of their products using computers, maintain records and do basic bookkeeping. This greatly enhanced their business enterprises which was also of great benefit to the community of Mbizo.

In year 2000 I procured a fax machine. I then offered training to the community on how to use a fax machine and what benefits one can derive from using a fax. By and by the people became well versed in the use of the facsimile and began to appreciate the advantages over traditional methods of communication such as writing letters. This was a step in the right direction for their products as they were now receiving orders from virtually all parts of the country.

I also offer training in the use of the internet to enhance one’s business enterprises. Since the world is now more of a global village than anything, through the internet, it now means for the poor people of my community that the simple wares they manufacture in their backyards are now marketed globally via the winner website. With the assistance of Tips I have managed to train the beneficiaries of my project in e-commerce.

Through access to the internet the women have also been able to keep up with trends in the world. They have been able to clinch some deals and offers advertised on the internet.

The women have also been able to network with other organisations doing similar work or that share similar interests the world over. This has served to broaden the horizons for those whose world had only meant the boundaries of Kwekwe.

I.C.Ts have also improved our accessibility. People from all corners of the world are able to access us online or via cellphones and /or fax. We in turn can get in touch with almost anyone, anywhere and at any time.

Our computer training program is very popular in Mbizo and we now offer the International Computer Driving Licence accredited by the Computer Society of Zimbabwe and the City and Guilds Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Computer Courses.

Our internet facilities are also popular as we have a large number of people visiting our offices to check the e-mail or to surf the net.

The project is therefore one that seeks to link the people of Mbizo with the rest of the world. At the same time it also seeks to train, educate and be a source of information to the generally backward and impoverished community.

Results

The results of the project are not easy to quantify. Nevertheless, there have been a few noticeable results which emanate from the project. The first one that is worth mentioning is that of raised computer literacy in the target population. I find this worth writing home about considering the fact that I established this project in a community that did not understand anything about computers. At present there is profound appreciation of these gadgets of communication technology. The project still has a long way to go towards achieving anything close to 100% computer literacy but things are beginning to slowly take up shape as for an increasing number of people computers are becoming a part of their lives more and more each day.

Introduction of internet facilities in my community has meant improved communication. More and more people now realise and acknowledge the value of modern communication technologies. The electronic mail has overtaken the "snail mail" in more way than one. This acknowledgement by the members of my community has improved their lives considerably. Where they used to send snail mail and wait for weeks if not months before receiving a reply they can now receive a reply on the same day.

For those who are into trading, the project has opened up new doors and new opportunities for them. Through the use of Information and Communication Technologies such as cellphones and the internet, they are now able to stay in touch with both their suppliers and market without having to travel.

It should, however, be noted that the project is still miles away from achieving the objectives that were set at its implementation. The aforementioned results are part of the desired objectives and are to be taken as leaps in the right discretion. Most of the results are still pending.

At present the project has only been able to serve a very small percentage of the population of Mbizo. The vision of this project is to make Information and Communication Technologies accessible to all those who desire to access these technologies. The project has not, as yet, been able to reach these magnitudes but the results achieved to date are quite encouraging. There are some hinderances towards achieving our objectives. The first one being that of lack of suitable premises from which to operate. At the moment the project is operating from a house that we have turned into offices. The space is extremely limited meaning that we can only serve a few people at a time.

The building we are currently using is for rent and therefore we cannot carry out any renovations that we may wish to. This is very restrictive as we cannot adapt to changes when they arise.

Another stumbling block we have to contend with is the prohibitive costs of the required equipment, hardware and software including cellphones. Since the project caters mainly for the low income earners capital and running costs have to be kept at a minimum otherwise the project might become a white elephant. By managing to keep our operating costs low we are also able to keep our charges low. To this end I can safely and proudly state that we are the cheapest service provider in Kwekwe charging $12 per minute for access to the internet. Operating costs are extremely high and threaten to derail our objectives as we sometimes have to operate at breakeven point.

Lessons

The first lesson I learnt was not to be too radical in my approach. People need time to get used to new ideas and methods before they discard the old ones to adopt the new. This is exactly what I withnessed people do not have what is considered by some to be a simple and basic instrument of communication like the telephone. Most of us do not think much about picking a telephone and calling someone. The situation in Mbizo is that there are some people who are yet to learn to operate a telephone let alone own one Introducing advanced technologies of communication such as the internet is a bit too much to people who still find cellphone technologies somewhat overwhelming. Far fetched as it may sound it is a true, though sad, fact of life in Zimbabwe.

The advice I would give to anyone who wishes to set up a project like mine ie. an internet café is to start from the basics. The first thing would be to offer people training first. These things need to be introduced in bite size pieces so as not to overwhelm the people. Introduction should be gradual until the targeted people begin to appreciate the technology being availed to them and what it would mean to their lives.

Another lesson I learnt is that location of project is exceedingly important. The project should be located at a place or places easily accessible to the target populations. My advice therefore would be that a suitable location be sought prior to setting up the project. The premises have to be attractive or appealing while at the same time avoiding to be intimidating especially in a case like mine where my target group was the low-medium income earners who might feel out of place in poshy places.

I also learnt that care should be taken in choosing equipment and machinery for the project. While cheap items may be attractive as they mean the dollar will go a lot further it may be important to not that cheap items tend to be expensive in the long run. It is my advice that one should buy well known good quality brands that do not constantly break down and cause disappointments.

Choice of an Internet Service Provider is equally important. It is advisable to contract the services of a reputable Internet Service Provider with follow up or backup service.

For my project where I was seeking to buy relatively cheap equipment and therefore preferred to buy used equipment since I had very little capital, I learnt the hard way. Having set up my project I discovered a horror of horrors. The computers were literally falling apart and a space bar would operate as something else and so on. My advice is that when buying used equipment one should have it inspected by qualified service personnel before purchasing. Once the project is established the equipment needs to be serviced regularly by competent technicians.

Development Impacts

The project possesses great potential for development. Owing to the increased demand for the facilities offered by the project I have recently secured a site where I intend to construct bigger premises to set up an Internet Café.

With the high levels of unemployment the project once it has reached its full potential will offer employment to a number of people in the community. This will help raise the living standards of those employed and their beneficiaries. This in turn will also lead to community development.

The project also affords users the opportunity to network with individuals and organisations of similar interests. The resultant exchange of ideas and information can be a positive development for the community.

At the moment the project has trouble finding a suitable network cards and easy café software to be able to launch an Internet Café at a large scale. The required network cards and software, besides being hard to come by also cost a bomb. This means there is still plenty of room for the project to develop a lot further.

Project Information

Organisation : Rodwel Foundation
Country of activity: Zimbabwe [ZW]

Contact Information

Gladys Mabaso
rodwel@telco.co.zw
567 - 4 Mbizo, 263, Kwekwe, +263-55-40263

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