Name: How mobile phones can fight poverty
Uploaded: 2006-10-10T00:11:00Z
Duration: 15 min 38 s
Description: Iqbal Quadir tells how his experiences as a kid in poor Bangladesh, and later as a banker in New York, led him to start a mobile phone operator connecting 80 million rural Bangladeshi -- and to become a champion of bottom-up development.

Iqbal Quadir tells how his experiences as a kid in poor Bangladesh, and later as a banker in New York, led him to start a mobile phone operator connecting 80 million rural Bangladeshi -- and to become a champion of bottom-up development.

How mobile phones can fight poverty

Economic development thrives when citizens are empowered, not sidelined by top-down aid. In rural Bangladesh, just one telephone served every 500 people, wasting untold hours and opportunity. Connecting villages with mobile phones turned connectivity into productivity, helping 80 million people access new markets and information. Real change arises when people gain tools that create business, income, and self-reliance.

Phones Empower Villagers More Than Aid Ever Could

Since the Talk: The case for bottom-up innovation

business

communication

culture

global issues

invention

poverty

technology

transportation

finance

renewable energy

international development

investing

TED Stage Talk

Iqbal Quadir: How mobile phones can fight poverty