In resource-constrained environments, the adoption of digital services faces formidable barriers. To address these challenges, we introduce BlendNet, an innovative platform designed to foster intermediated adoption of digital services in remote and rural areas. BlendNet harnesses satellite and intelligent edge technologies and creates a reliable and cost-effective channel for intermediaries to distribute digital content and services in remote areas. The key technology component of the system is the ‘Blendnet Hub’, a small satellite connected hardware device placed in the local kirana stores, facilitating seamless access to users without incurring data expenses, thereby addressing access, awareness, and affordability issues. We conducted a pilot study in Bihar, signing up 258 retailers who reached over 68,000 users in three months, demonstrating the crucial role of intermediaries in digital service adoption. This paper offers detailed insights into BlendNet’s design and the pilot study’s outcomes, emphasizing user and retailer engagement and adoption of services. It explores the platform’s potential as a scalable and financially viable solution.

In this paper, we investigate the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) to improve English speaking skills. This is particularly relevant in countries like India, where English is crucial for academic, professional, and personal communication but remains a non-native language for many. Traditional methods for enhancing speaking skills often rely on human experts, which can be limited in terms of scalability, accessibility, and affordability. Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer promising solutions to overcome these limitations.

The use of blockchain in regulatory ecosystems is a promising approach to address challenges of compliance among mutually untrusted entities. In this work, we consider applications of blockchain technologies in telecom regulations. In particular, we address growing concerns around Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC aka. spam) sent through text messages (SMS) and phone calls in India. Despite several regulatory measures taken to curb the menace of spam it continues to be a nuisance to subscribers while posing challenges to telecom operators and regulators alike.

India is experiencing a radical technology transformation as smartphone ownership and data usage has skyrocketed, with penetration even into low-income areas in urban India. This provides an opportunity to design more inclusive services on the smartphone. This paper describes the design of SalaPrayana, a financial management application for end-users with a range of literacies. Designing apps for a target audience with a range of literacies introduces tensions between visual interface design and the complexity of information conveyed. We present our designs and discuss some of these challenges. We found we could communicate familiar information, such as payment history, easily to all users, but other more complex information such as 'Loan Status' remained challenging.

We describe the design of a novel mobile phone-based application for loan management in a resource-constrained setting. In this setting, a social enterprise manages auto-rickshaw loans for drivers, taking charge of collections. The design was informed by an ethnographic study which revealed how loan management for this financially vulnerable population is a daily struggle, and loan payment is a collaborative achievement between collectors and drivers. However, drivers and collectors have limited resources to-hand for loan management. To address this, we designed Prayana, an intermediated financial management app. Prayana shares the principles of many persuasive technologies, such as education, motivation, and nudges, but is designed for users with a range of print, technical, and financial literacies and embodies the core design sensibility of enhancing users' agency. Furthermore, it does not put the onus solely on drivers to better manage their money, instead it aims to enhance the collaborative work of loan management, supporting both the drivers and collectors.

This paper reports on the changes in the monetary ecology around loan payments by auto rickshaw drivers shortly after the introduction of a mobile app in Karnataka, India. A for-profit, social enterprise facilitates loans for purchasing auto rickshaws. The mobile app was designed and implemented to provide accurate, timely loan information for drivers, to support the collaborative work of loan collection payment, and streamline the workflows of the organization. In this paper, we report on the initial experiences with the app, and argue that its introduction led to a tighter coupling of the actors involved and moved control to the back office, which especially impacted the pre- and at-transaction interactions of the monetary ecology. The paper reflects on how these changes impact adoption and use of the app and suggests a number of changes to the design which might address the observed problematics.

In this paper we present a solution built to improve loan management for auto-rickshaw drivers in Bangalore. As part of a bid to increase financial inclusion, a social enterprise (TWU) supports drivers in taking loans from mainstream banks to purchase their auto-rickshaws. Findings from an ethnographic study show that whilst providing a vital service, TWU managed its processes through an ad hoc mixture of paper and technology. Their processes enable the flexibility crucial for supporting a financially-vulnerable community, but unfortunately important information was often not to-hand, leading to sub-optimal decisions being made about loan allocation. We developed and deployed an integrated technical solution to support TWU's work. In this paper, we describe the back-office solution and how it has assisted the organization in streamlining its operations, supporting more informed decision making and providing the opportunity to scale-up their operations.