Cambodians share in the digital economy

The non-profit organisation Digital Divide Data (DDD) is a data entry company employing the disadvantaged and disabled. Recognising that the disabled are among the poorest and most excluded members of Cambodian society, a Canadian and an American started the company with $25,000 of their own money, a $25,000 grant, and technical advice and software donated by a firm in India. Their business mission was to cover costs with client revenue, their social mission that all employees be given education scholarships. One young disabled employee profiled in this article indicates that she was once hopeless about her future, but "Now at DDD, I think my life is very important. I can get a job and go to university and do something good".

Critics have characterised DDD as something of a sweatshop operation; even its first contract, which involved archiving past issues of the Harvard University's student paper, raised eyebrows. However, this article points out typists at DDD earn up to $65 per month plus benefits for about 80 fewer hours of work than garment factory workers spend on the job to earn for up to $45 a month. DDD co-owner added that "We're trying to show that globalisation can benefit some of the world's poorest citizens. We hope ours is a model of how you can do it responsibly, and if you do it responsibly you can actually get more work."

Click here for the full article on the BBC News site.