What is the AppLab and what does it do?
The AppLab is an initiative of the Grameen Foundation, a non-profit that works to reduce poverty among the poor and the poorest of the poor. The AppLab leverages the existing base of Village Phone Operators (VPOs) and other types of Shared Phone Operators to bring information services to the poor via mobile devices, with a primary focus on widely accessible simple mobile phones. By building innovative applications that are tailored to the needs of the poor, the AppLab develops opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs to enhance their existing shared phoned businesses with new value added services. These micro-entrepreneurs have the opportunity to serve as information hubs for their communities. Shared phone operators are not the only people who can access the applications we develop. The AppLab develops applications and associated business models that are designed to improve the lives and livelihoods of the poor and are financially sustainable, scalable, and demonstrate potential to be re
