DesiCrew is a unique Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) initiative that provides high volume data related services at an affordable cost from rural areas across India. The model provides cost cutting alternatives to urban clients and new sources of income and employment to the villagers, by leveraging Internet technology. The DesiCrew central team in Chennai manages training of rural workforce, distribution and monitoring of work, quality control and client interaction all remotely. In this paper, we describe the Rural BPO model and one specific application, data entry of forms. We describe the software, Pegasus, developed for this purpose and explain the management of the distributed workforce.

Young people from marginalized communities are applying newly acquired technical knowhow to leapfrog the socioeconomic levels of their families and communities. This article explores the impact of ...

Untapped Resources! Amazing Potential! TeNeT’s Rural BPO Initiative

Gender-differentiated Impact on Minority Youth of Basic Computer Education in Mumbai City

Microwork in cybercafes is a promising tool for poverty alleviation. For those who cannot afford a computer, cybercafes can serve as a simple payment channel and as a platform to work. However, there are questions about whether workers are interested in working in cybercafes, whether cybercafe owners are willing to host such a set up, and whether workers are skilled enough to earn an acceptable pay rate? We designed experiments in internet/cyber cafes in India and Kenya to investigate these issues. We also investigated whether computers make workers more productive than mobile platforms? In surveys, we found that 99% of the users wanted to continue with the experiment in cybercafe, while 8 of 9 cybercafe owners showed interest to host this experiment. User typing speed was adequate to earn a pay rate comparable to their existing wages, and the fastest workers were approximately twice as productive using a computer platform.

background

/pdf/exploring-employment-opportunities-through-microtasks-via-30spzrn0ob.pdf

Exploring Employment Opportunities through Microtasks via Cybercafes

https://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9780387736969-c2.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-494902-p173750290

Untapped Resources! Amazing Potential! TeNeT’s Rural BPO Initiative

Citations

Gender-differentiated Impact on Minority Youth of Basic Computer Education in Mumbai City

Exploring Employment Opportunities through Microtasks via Cybercafes

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