I would like to share this article from the Microfinance Women of Albay, Philippines

 To address the problem  of inadequate income common to many households in Albay, Social Action Center Legazpi started its Socio-economic Development Program (SEDP) more than a decade ago by granting  loans for income generating projects. With women as its main beneficiaries, SEDP adopted a lending scheme similar to the Grameen Banking System of Bangladesh.

The savings and loans projects of the Business Improvement in Bugtong Association BIBA in Bugtong, Legazpi City caters to women from the low-income gropu. The women are engaged in small businesses like vending cooked food,selling balut( duck's egg) and peanuts, tending sari-sari stores, making tombstones and hollow blocks ,raising pigs and rattan- basket weaving . BIBA is composed of 42 members, aged 18-60 years old. Groups with five members each are allowed to take out a maximum loan of Php 25,000 at two percent interest monthly, a big difference from the bank's rate of five percent. Their criteria; members should have the capacity to pay; their spouses have regular jobs; they should be ingenous; and they have to be permanent residents of the place, so they would not leave if they are not able to pay their loans.

The women  come from households with school children, said the project  eases  their lives a bit because it gives them capital to set up small businesses. Fellow group members are usually  forced to pay for the amortization of one member who is unable to pay , or else the whole group could not get another loan. The rest of the members suffer if one member is not able to pay. Maritess Granadino,41, usually comes to the aid of ailing members. Her husband works with Land Transportation Offfice ( LTO). She augments her income  by engaging in all sorts of businesses like selling plastic jackets for LTO licenses and beauty products. her income  goes mainly to the children's basic needs. She said  they live simply  and  do not indulge  in luxuries  in order to  avoid defaulting on her loan.

 The members of the organization were also taught the basic  fiscal management, leadership training, socio-economic profiling ,enterprise development and promote transparency 

 The article above  would tell us the plight of women in helping their families  improve their social conditions.  I believe the trainings given to these women,empowered them to become socially active , participative in capability building  and poverty reduction.

 What I can suggest in this question is that:

1. Increase in social and institutional capacities

   improvement of people's participation in  capacity building. mobilizing their own resources  that can provide viable and sustainable e services to the producer organizations.provide access to income generating projects 

2. Educate producer organizations  byproviding trainings and seminars, provide  access to computer technology for free in community  ecenter.

As Faye {2000} has pointed out, ICTs are offering even less developed countries a window of opportunities to leapfrog the industrialization stage and transform their economics in to high value-added information economies that can compete with the advanced economics on the global market. Technological innovation has contributed to globalization by supplying infrastructure for trans-world connections. According to Ajayi {2000}, the revolution taking place in information and communication technologies have been the central and driving force for the globalization process. Both developed and less-developed countries cannot afford to miss out on the opportunities these technologies are creating.

With these, I believe it is important to invest on ICT roadmap like  Community e Center to  partner with private, civil and local government units and provision of bandwith connectivity and of  course sustainability of the project through  trainings and seminars.