Affordable green computers to Uganda
Microsoft is working with the U.N. to donate three to four-year-old computers to an upstart company in Uganda to get affordable machines to businesses. Gretchen Wilson reports on the computer restoration efforts.
Wiring up the harddrive (Dean Purcell/Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Executives from Microsoft are in Africa today. They're working with the U.N. to open a new business: the Uganda Green Computer Company. Gretchen Wilson has more from Johannesburg.
Gretchen Wilson: The idea is that Western companies will donate their three to four-year-old computers to this upstart business in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Technicians there will recondition and resell them.
Will Poole is a vice president with Microsoft:
Will Poole: A PC purchased from the Uganda Green Computer Company might cost between a third and a half of what that PC would cost new.
Starting at $175. That's more affordable to small businesses like dress makers and coffee farmers. They'll use the computers to manage orders and income -- and reach out to new markets.
Poole says this means new markets for Microsoft products, too. Each computer is loaded up with genuine Windows software.
Poole: In the short term, we may not make any direct returns on some of these efforts. But in the long term, we are unquestionably building future customers.
The Uganda Green Computer Company plans to restore 10,000 PCs this year. And when these computers reach the true end of their useful life, the firm will take them back for recycling.
In Johannesburg, South Africa, I'm Gretchen Wilson for Marketplace.
Comments
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From kampala, 11/25/2008
We need some serious business if this is true;the nature of education is soon becoming a thing of museum if computer's price is not subsidize. even at that rate of 175 dollars still sound expensive. Refurbish pcs should be more cheapter. Welcome to Uganda.
From kampala, 11/10/2008
hello, i think this iniative is a good one if i can be handled with more seriouness since as i write now,i neither know the official website for green computers uganda nor their physical location. the impact of this iniative is yet to be seriously realised in uganda today. the biggest percentage of the population of uganda that will greatly benefit from this kind of iniative are university students. from my estimation about 30% only of university students have access to pcs and yet they seriously need them for coursework, research, entertainment and practice or even business.Am a student myself at Makerere university and a computer reseller at that,but pcs on the market are still outrageously expensive for an average campus student to afford.but with planning, clear business models and more funding from bodies like the IMF, i think this cost can seriously be cut to levels that are affordable for any students.
Any one who might have any interest in dealing with refurbished computers for university students should contact me.
thanks
david(faculty of technology, makerere university).
From Omaha, NE, 08/13/2008
Having worked in this field in Uganda since 2000, I would say their greatest challenges will be 1) quality control on the USA hardware donation end. Without hardware screening/testing and careful packaging for transport, they will receive a lot of junk. 2) there is also a serious lack of trained technicians for maintenance & repair outside of the main city. Such skills are needed to keep small problems from quickly become large and expensive on old PCs or new. I wish them well. Our goal is to one day work ourselves completely out of a job. www.computers4africa.org
07/17/2008
Ah, As an Ex Microsoft user I never intend to buy another MS product,
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