“We need to put money in places that create knowledge, not things,” said Wolfram Drescher in a New York Times article today . Drescher is not a University professor. He is a German entrepreneur in the Technology industry--more precisely in the chip-making field. And he is making the case for re-thinking the economy of a region not in terms of manufacturing, but in terms of knowledge creation, research, thinking. His line that I quote here, and another one ("knowledge beats production") made me think of the effort that many Ashoka Fellows are doing, particularly in Rural Africa. Think about Ashoka Fellow Adrian Mukhebi.
Dr. Mukhebi is reducing the exploitation of small-scale farmers by equipping them with information that allows them to negotiate better prices for their produce. Unlike programs that work for farmers or adjust markets around them, Dr. Mukhebi is empowering poor farmers to be fully informed market participants so that they can remain legitimate forces in the open market without risking exploitation.
Through the establishment of Market Information Points (MIPs) across rural Kenya and the creative use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs), Dr. Mukhebi collects, processes, and disseminates accurate and timely information on commodity prices, offers to sell and bids to buy, and available markets. A simulated stock exchange at each MIP and the distribution of information through both text message and voice technology gives even illiterate small-scale farmers greater bargaining power when dealing with buyers. At the same time, Dr. Mukhebi’s model channels commodity supply and demand information from farmers into the trading system, allowing a more responsive market that balances the distribution of surplus and scarcity.
Knowledge is power. And to quote Mr. Drescher for a third time, think about what makes a community succesful... What makes Silicon Valley different from Detroit?
“Silicon Valley isn’t a factory anymore,” he said. “It’s a think-tank.”
Photo credit: Marion Post Wolcott
