What works: Tarahaat's portal for rural India
July 2001, Caitlin Peterson, Vivek Sandell and Andrew Lawlor, Digital Dividend
TARAhaat is a business enterprise of Development Alternatives (DA), an NGO focused on sustainable rural development in India, and its marketing arm, Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA). TARAhaat uses a franchise-based business model to bring computer and Internet technology to rural regions and plans to use these technologies to create revenue streams leading to financial viability for itself and its franchisees. It delivers a wide range of social and economic information, as well as educational and other services, earning revenues through fee for service, membership fees, and commissions. The locally-relevant content from market prices to marriage opportunities to educational material is what drives the model at the village and peri-urban level. TARAhaat hopes to stimulate employment and economic opportunities in the communities it serves. (Author annotation)