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Markets for the Digital Generation

I had the great pleasure of meeting Eleni in Arusha last June and was happy to see that her presentation on the commodity exchange she is building in Ethiopia is now up on TedTalks for all to see. Very exciting stuff. I look forward to catching up with her soon. Maybe she’ll even let me invest!

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For some time, I’ve been highlighting the similarities between Facebook and Bloomberg and the importance of social networks as the core foundation of successful markets and so it is nice to see that others out there agree:

Web 2.0 Summit: Wall Street Becomes One Big Social Network

Today’s “High Order Bit” talk from venture capitalist and “Infectious Greed” blogger Paul Kedrosky focused on the ways in which financial markets are coming more and more to resemble social networks. That leads to a pretty obvious question: Whom does increasing connectivity, correlation, and transparency in financial markets really benefit?

Although I would point out that a more accurate headline would have been: “Wall Street has always been One Big Social Network”. Facebook didn’t discover the social graph, they just put a name to it. Oh and Paul, insofar as it helps, you have my vote! (Do you really want that job?) And if you do get the job I’m open on discussing how my firm may be able to help you with your transformation plan.

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Not long ago I wrote about the challenge of improving financial literacy. So when I stumbled on to the Children’s Development Bank, I had to smile (from Springwise):

We’ve reported on programs run by banks in the Netherlands and the US that were focused on ‘kidpreneurs’—teaching children basic lessons about money and starting a business. A related and less carefree spotting came in from New Delhi, India, where more than 1,000 street children have joined together to create a bank that helps them manage the small sums they earn each day. Launched in 2001 by a volunteer aid group called Butterflies, the Children’s Development Bank aims to empower children in several important ways.

Like any other bank, CDB pays interest on the deposits that New Delhi’s street children make. That interest can be a vital incentive to kids who might otherwise spend their daily earnings on cigarettes, candy or other items—or worse, have their meager profits stolen. Money for the interest comes from the repayment of micro loans made to kids 15 years and older. But interest on income is only part of the picture. While adults stand at the ready to help, CDB is managed by children, helping them gain valuable work skills.

Some might argue that children shouldn’t work at all. But CDB’s adult patrons maintain that the economic circumstances in New Delhi and other parts of the world with large populations of street children provide no alternative and that CDB gives these children better control over their lives and earnings. And their idea appears to have legs. Besides India, banks have been organized in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. CDB also has some heavy-hitting international sponsors, including HSBC and Comic Relief. Proof that entrepreneurialism can bring positive change in even the most challenging circumstances?

What a terrific initiative. While the circumstances are different obviously, I wonder if it wouldn’t be equally valuable to create similar structures in developed countries as well. There is no better way of learning than doing and basic financial literacy is such a key pillar for success in any society or economy. Perhaps you could organise a children’s bank around a school (or group of schools) - integrated into the curriculum or as an extra-curricular activity.

The next step would be to leverage this to help these children join the digital generation. Help finance the distribution of mobile phones to these children and help them to connect to the internet and explore opportunities in commerce facilitated by mobile phones. Help them realize their potential as part of the digital generation. Jan Chipchase explains:

As Pablo Picasso once said:

Everything you can imagine is real.

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