Digital Divide Data News
Report from Vietnam
This is a guest post by Tony Vu. He is currently in Vietnam, where he is working with a team of consultants to perform research for DDD on the digitization and IT outsourcing landscape there.
Posted on 10.09.01 at 4:13 PM by Tony Vu
Imagine you’re in a crowded room heading towards the exit in a less than orderly fashion. Next, replace each one of those people surrounding you with a motorbike. Don’t forget the exhaust from the bus ahead of you spewing in your face as you fight to prevent other motorbike drivers from cutting ahead of you.
Welcome to 5 o’clock rush hour in Hanoi, Vietnam!
My colleague Hue and I had just left a meeting with a successful business owner when it struck me what potential impact I could make here in Vietnam. His fast growing company is serving the financial sector here and has only just begun penetrating the potential market — picture the tip of the iceberg that befell the Titanic to get an idea. It goes to show that the landscape of opportunities to make a difference is incredible here. Vietnam’s developing economy will necessitate services that cater towards the growing middle class, as evidenced by the firm we met with. Just as an example, something as simple as a directory to search for consumer businesses, akin to the Yellow pages in the U.S., doesn’t yet exist. How about a website with restaurant reviews? And how about...
More DDD News
Leadership In The Making
About six months ago, DDD was looking for a Senior Project Manager, someone who could take responsibility for all of the data-entry and digitization projects running in DDD’s largest office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The Lao Way
The first time I visited DDD’s office in Vientiane, Laos, I combined it with an extended weekend-trip to Luang Prabang; a picturesque town on a river island in the highlands of Northern Laos. I had a limited amount of time on hand (it being a work trip, after all) and therefore I favored the 40 minute flight over the 12 hour bus journey.
Why Stories Matter
Storytelling is an art form as old as time and the fact that stories are compelling and captive is hard to deny. Phenomena, such as the rapidly growing TED movement, emerging storytelling groups and networks, as well as the frequent use of storytelling components in marketing and advertising, show us that storytelling still draw people in, even in a modern, fragmented, and digital society. But what is the power of the story?
DDD’s Latest “Graduate”
This summer, our San Francisco office had the pleasure of hosting a summer intern. Goyette was a Youth Fellow in the Coro Center’s Exploring Leadership program, which aims to empower local youth to be leaders for community change. We felt a kinship with Coro’s program, as it resonates with our own social mission in Cambodia and Laos.
How To Teach
Last night, I was having dinner with some of my DDD colleagues. The three of us are all expats, educated in and with work experience from the Western world, but currently working in Laos. While we work in very different roles, a large part of all of our jobs is to build capacity with the local staff.
DDD in Madagascar?
Cambodia, on the other hand, is by no means a fully developed business environment, but the amount of time and money it takes to set up a business here is much smaller. As a result, there is greater capacity, more industry, and more job opportunities in Cambodia than in Madagascar. And from what I have seen since I have been with DDD, this opportunity shifts people’s mindset.
Girl Power
Chansamai, Kingkoulap, Phinseng, and Kounkeo are four young Laotian women who work as data entry operators in DDD’s office in Vientiane. They’re busy girls—working at DDD is only one part of their day–and I asked them what their days look like.
Humbled
This spring, we piloted a ‘Home Visits’ program, aimed to familiarize our non-Asia-based staff with the reality of our employees in Cambodia and Laos.
Staying at DDD
When we think about our model, we generally consider DDD a stepping stone; a bridge to a better future. But some people not only start their better future at DDD, they also stay here.
