The World Bank e-Development Thematic Group/GICT and

The International Financial Corporation (IFC)

present a BBL on

Village Phone:  Adding Value to our Clients, Creating Opportunities, Improving Lives

Thursday, 8 November, 2007; 12:30 - 2:00 pm ET
Location: F8-186 (IFC Building) with Live Webcast

Welcome & Introduction

Sujata Lamba, Manager of the Global Linkages Unit, IFC

Presentation by

Lauren Rawlings, Project Manager, Village Phone, Sector Leader, IFC

Program Description

Please join us for an informative session on the Village Phone Program to learn how IFC is helping extend access to telecommunications into underserved areas by linking rural microentreprenuers with large mobile operators through a sustainable business model

• Village Phone Evolution - past, present and future, hear from the beneficiaries themselves and the impact it has had on their livelihood and that of their community
• Investment and Advisory Services Linkages- an example of where advisory services and investments work well to add real client value
• Global/Local - how the HQ Based Global Linkages Department, GICT and PEP Africa worked together to design and implement a project

Audience Q&A and discussion on the future of Village Phone with Village Phone team: Lauren Rawlings and Colin Shepherd, and Bill Kerr-Smith  and Arata Onoguchi of Telecom and Media, and Global Linkages Unit, respectively.

To join our mailing list, please write to edevelopment@worldbank.org.

The e-Development Thematic Group is powered by GICT in collaboration with ISG, WBI, PREM, and other partners. Visit us at http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment to download materials for this and all previous e-development seminars (over 100 since Sept 2003).