HP transitions Kuppam i-community project to pvt hands

BANGALORE: HP has announced that its three-year MOU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on the Kuppam i-community initiative has been transitioned to private hands.

The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BASIX, an NBFC engaged in providing livelihood promotion services to take over and manage the Kuppam project.

The MOU seeks to provide sustainable livelihood promoting services along with micro finance business and community development. BASIX has vast experience and expertise in administering sustainable developmental programs apart from microfinance programs in several areas. ICICI Bank will promote microfinance and other similar initiatives in the Kuppam area by providing financial assistance to BASIX.

For HP, the transition to BASIX and ICICI Bank is the logical sequence to the Kuppam pilot as the company looked at refocusing its efforts toward the larger scaling in the country leveraging the lessons of the i-community initiative.

The programs, capacity, infrastructure and some solution frameworks created by HP were replicable, and made it possible for a private player to take over and innovate on the programs for the benefit of the community.

Launched in 2002, the Kuppam project was a three-year pilot program that was conceived by HP with the overarching goal of using the power of HPs technology to serve disadvantaged communities.

In the ensuing three-year period, the initiative helped build an economically and socially progressive ecosystem through a variety of entrepreneurial programs. The program created job opportunities and access to new markets, government programs, education and health care solutions.

HP has also created significant capacity in the Kuppam community by training over 100 people for successfully promoting community development and entrepreneurship in addition to certain key ICT infrastructure of common value to the community at large.

The program sparked a spirit of entrepreneurial leadership among Kuppam youth, ensuring a brighter future for the region. Kuppam's citizens will continue to benefit from HPs presence, partnership and technology for years to come.

The program also helped forge a network of public and private partners whose dedication and committed leadership made it possible to make Kuppam a fertile ground for future social and economic opportunities.

As the project enters a new phase, BASIX may re-design the initiatives and their implementation processes based on requirement, while making community development and livelihood promotion its overall objective.

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