At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. Our Smartpur project in India demonstrates what this looks like in reality.
Smartpur is designed to make it as easy as possible for remote communities in India to use digital technology in their daily lives. It allows villagers to access digital services related to education, healthcare, financial inclusion and other essential assets, which would be hard to access via traditional means.
Smartpur started as Nokia’s flagship CSR initiative in 2017 with 10 Smartpur centers in the state of Haryana, in partnership with Save the Children India and Digital Empowerment Foundation. The number of centers has since grown to 350.
The project has allowed us to prove that delivering connectivity can bring concrete benefits to local communities. Villagers use Smartpur centers to make use of skill-based training programs, telemedicine services, education in computer literacy, banking and government services.
The project has reached over one million beneficiaries since launch. Of the 350 current centers, 40 are now entirely self-sustaining and operate without Nokia’s support.
These results show that the faster digitalization is rolled out, the more people will benefit – including in the most remote of communities.
Contributed by:
Mr. Pekka Lundmark
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nokia
The ideas and opinions expressed in this insight are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect those of ITU and UNESCO or the Broadband Commission. The mention of specific companies, products or services does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ITU or UNESCO or Broadband Commission in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.
