Global Policy Forum

By Rob Colenso Jr.

In an effort to stem the expansion of the "digital divide," a local Web veteran is creating a "techie Peace Corps" that will help developing nations bridge that ever-widening gap. The company, known as GeekCorps, will be just that -- a volunteer corps of computer programmers, marketers and business professionals that will travel to foreign countries and help bring emerging high-technology industries to fruition.

At the helm is Ethan Zuckerman, a Internet veteran who was on the team that first launched Tripod Inc., the local success story that has helped bring about the emerging Silicon Village in Northern Berkshire. Once GeekCorps is up and running here, Zuckerman's volunteer high-tech experts will travel the world, using their skills to bridge the gap between those who have access to the Internet for business and personal purposes and those who do not.

While much of the U.S. government's efforts have been poured into closing the digital divide on home soil, the problem is far worse overseas, Zuckerman said. In America, one in four people have regular access to computers linked to the Internet. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the number is one in 1,000, according to a study commissioned last year by the United Nations. And in Southern Asia, only one in 2,500 people is tied into the Internet, the study states.

"These are all huge, huge problems that need to be addressed," Zuckerman said. "There is a five-year window before the problem starts looking a little insurmountable. Right now, I'm enough of a believer that I can believe there could be a burgeoning Net economy in Western Africa in the next five years." But if the problem is not addressed soon, he said, two things will likely happen to those countries left behind as others adapt to a world that has been completely changed by the emergence of the Internet as a business tool.

First, he said, countries that are riding the crest of the technological wave will likely opt to not trade with those nations that aren't Internet-capable, choosing to instead deal with those who can do business online. Or, he explained, countries will do business with the emerging nations, but will conduct their transactions through Western middle men who have jumped on the technology bandwagon and accordingly reap a lion's share of the profit from the transactions they broker between countries.

But starting this fall, six volunteer "techies" will take three- to six-month sabbaticals from their current jobs and travel to the West African nation of Ghana as part of GeekCorps' pilot program. Once there, they'll fan out to six different companies and work with local contacts to improve upon the businesses' technological assets. "In many cases, people have some things going on, but they could be running better," Zuckerman said of overseas companies. "Or they could use our help in getting up to the next stage."

As an example, he said a "cybercafe" in Ghana with Internet-ready computers in-house could upgrade to a faster communications network with the assistance of a GeekCorps volunteer. Or an emerging exporter of native goods could use a hand in launching an online version of their business, heightening their appeal to U.S. vendors who increasingly deal solely with Internet-capable overseas distributors, he added. "We're looking for businesses that are already wrestling with issues and have a specific need," he explained. Once a specific company's need has been identified, GeekCorps would then match it to a volunteer with a specific skill -- be it marketing, computer programming or business management.

Zuckerman, who left Tripod last summer after spending nearly five years with the Web page hosting and building site, chose Ghana as the pilot-program country based on his extensive personal experience there. A 1993 Williams College graduate who holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy, Zuckerman spent a year at the University of Ghana as a Fulbright visiting scholar of African music. While there, he worked with the National Theatre of Ghana, in the city of Accra. He also studied the drumming styles of the Ewe people and the xylophone styles of the Dagadi people.

He returned to the U.S. in 1994, and joined Tripod as vice president of research and business development. Later, he assisted during the transition as Tripod was acquired by Waltham-based Lycos Corp. in early 1998. Since leaving Tripod this past summer, Zuckerman has thrown his efforts into the development of GeekCorps, a company he sees as an outlet for those who have tired of the fast pace at Internet-related companies. Through GeekCorps, these people can take a break from the grind, travel to a foreign country and use their skills to assist an emerging company.

The concept is one that hits close to home for Zuckerman, who said in an interview yesterday that "there's still a little bit of the burned-out techie in me." He is currently talking with officials at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art about renting space to serve as the headquarters of what will likely become a worldwide nonprofit group. If the pilot program in Ghana meets with success this fall, the Lanesboro resident said he foresees sending about a dozen volunteers to work with two to three additional countries next year. Countries that those volunteers visit could include Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The common denominator between the Latin American and African nations being considered is that all are in the lower third of technological development and they all have a reasonable amount of political stability. And with the Peace Corps already operating in those nations, an American support network is already in place. Plus, he noted, "people can get excited about traveling to these countries."

The goal is to have volunteers working in 10 to 15 countries within five years, provided the nonprofit organization can obtain enough working capital through grants and other contributions. Zuckerman, his New York City-based partner Elisa Korentayer, and a group of about a half-dozen volunteers from the Silicon Village community are now working to raise funds, identifying volunteers willing to take sabbaticals from their current jobs and finding companies in foreign countries that are in need of GeekCorps' services.

As the company is a nonprofit organization, grants will be a key funding source at the outset. Zuckerman is also seeking funding from those who have made their fortunes through Internet-related ventures, however, as online companies owe their success to Internet development efforts begun by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s. "They really inherited the Internet and have a responsibility," he said. In addition, GeekCorps will seek contributions from emerging high-tech companies that are willing to turn over a small percentage of their initial investor stock to GeekCorps, with the nonprofit group receiving the dividends. Later in the development of GeekCorps, Zuckerman said he hopes to introduce a venture capital fund as an alternate investment opportunity.

"When we're matching volunteers to companies, if in the process we identify winners that are capital-strapped," he said, the GeekCorps venture capital fund could provide the financial boost that these companies need. Essentially, he explained, there would be a for-profit arm of GeekCorps that would operate independently of the nonprofit organization. "In many cases we're talking about markets that have little venture capital," he said of the overseas high-tech companies, adding that GeekCorps venture capitalists could blaze a path of overseas investment for other investors to follow.

This concept seems innovative, but it has been proven right here in Berkshire County, Zuckerman said. The Berkshires Capital Investors venture capital firm has already blazed a trail through the local community with only $5 million in initial venture capital. With that initial investment from local contributors, BCI officials helped to draw in another $40 million from firms outside Berkshire County for investment in local Internet-related companies. Zuckerman foresees a time when GeekCorps could do the same for countries like Ghana and Zimbabwe.

Once GeekCorps' associated venture capital fund is off the ground, investors would then have some "interesting choices," he explained. They can either donate to the nonprofit arm and see a return of "social" dividends, or put money into the venture fund and see a financial return. If all goes well, Zuckerman said he expects that at least six people would be employed locally, mainly training volunteers about to head out for a six-month stint overseas. "There would be a whole stream of tech people coming through here," he said, noting that a training session would likely last two weeks before the volunteer heads to a foreign country.

Once there, two in-country employees would conduct another week of acclimation training prior to sending the volunteer to a specific company. "It's always easier to travel when you have something to be doing," Zuckerman said, noting that life-changing experiences could come out of a stint as a GeekCorps volunteer. "You can see the world with a purpose," he added. "And you can make ties that will last beyond your stay."

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