Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Catalysts for Awakening “Dead Capital”
A Land Grant Approach To Spark Community Action
Presentation by Mark FrazierOpenworld, Inc.
www.openworld.com
I. Aim
• Review challenges facing current initiatives
• Identify a “grassroots up” opportunity for transparent land registries
• Explore strategies for catalyzing widely replicable, self-funding initiatives
II. Background
• A huge untapped pool of “dead capital” exists in developing countries because of flaws in land titling/registry systems
• Hernando de Soto estimates >US$9 trillion in property values cannot be accessed as collateral because of unclear ownership
II. Background
• Problems of past top-down approaches:– Costs are high when building automated
systems– Vested interests fight change (e.g. corrupt
administrators and courts)– Many poor communities distrust government
initiatives– Overlapping and conflicting claims exist in
many neighborhoods
III. Opportunity
The alternative –
Reward grassroots action to awaken dead capital…
…and create “open world zones” to showcase transparent land markets and
fund further rewards)
III. Opportunity
Cornerstones of the approach:
1. Offer “microvoucher” rewards for immediate learning and job benefits as reasons for neighborhoods to act
2. Link the rewards to each neighborhood’s success in recording lot boundaries (with affordable digital cameras) and in adopting “good neighbor” agreements
3. Fund completion of official surveys and registry systems with revenues from “land grant” areas benefiting from special incentives to awaken dead capital
III. Opportunity
1. How will the grassroots land registry initiative work?
Offer “microvoucher” rewards for immediate learning and job benefits as reasons for neighborhoods to act
The Microvoucher opportunity:
• Microvouchers build upon the success of microlending and microinvestment, which are now helping tens of millions of entrepreneurs launch or grow businesses
• Microvouchers (or microscholarships) will enable individuals in large numbers to access valued online learning and certification resources (typical microvouchers range from US$20 – 100)
III. Opportunity
The Horizon Lanka precedent:• A private microscholarship fund was
established in 2004 to help a “bootstrap” rural school in a rural Sri Lankan farming village
• Microscholarships are enabling poor students to learn ICT and language skills
• Recipients of microscholarships have received US$30 on average to create “eLessons” and prepare work-study research projects
• Students have launched microenterprises producing graphic designs and web sites for the world market
• Success has won world recognition including offers by Intel Chairman Craig Bennett to fund university education of the first wave of Horizon Lanka graduates
III. Opportunity
What kind of online learning and certification resources are immediately available?
• Brainbench: web-based tests and certifications in 1000+ vendor neutral ICT and business skills
• National Technological University: 40 U.S. universities are offering short courses via Distance Learning
• MIT’s OpenCourseware Initiative has 1200 courses for free (except for Internet access costs)
• CNet Online Courses
• …And thousands of others
III. Opportunity
III. Opportunity
Microvouchers can help prepare recipients for a new “grassroots” global sourcing era that especially favors small and new ICT firms in the region…
III. Opportunity
Examples of eBay-style markets for sourcing of “remote services”…
III. Opportunity
The next wave of ICT opportunity: online markets open to freelancers and other small/new entrepreneurs
– Software development, testing and maintenance services– Secretarial services– Graphic art and design services– Web-based research services– Tutoring and mentoring services– Transcription and editing services– Web page design and development– Help desks, technical support, and customer support
centers– Electronic publishing – E-learning course development– Software translation and localization– Computer-aided design and geographic information
systems– Indexing and abstracting services– Translation services– Multimedia editing and animation services– Image processing and claims processing– Remote security systems
III. Opportunity
2. How will the grassroots land registry initiative work?
Link the skill and job-creating rewards to each neighborhood’s success in recording lot boundaries (with affordable digital cameras) and adopting “good neighbor” agreements
III. Opportunity
• Recording lot boundaries and “good neighbor” agreements can be done by increasingly affordable digital cameras, and uploaded to GIS databases
III. Opportunity
Key factors influencing levels of Microvouchers include:
– The number (or percentage) of households in the neigborhood taking digital images of their lot boundaries
– The number recording video clips affirming “no contest” boundary claims with their neighbors
– The number accepting “good neighbor” agreements to mediate or arbitrate, rather than litigate, current and future disputes
– The number agreeing to contractual homeowner association convenants, enabling the neighborhood to self-provide needed services
III. Opportunity
3. How will the grassroots land registry initiative work?
Fund completion of official surveys and registry systems with revenues from development of“land grant” areas benefiting from special free zone incentives to awaken dead capital
The formula for sparking rapid value gains in pilot land grant areas:
Affordable internetValued skills Welcoming business climate
+ Attractive land grant sites ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
= Rapid investment inflows= Rapid investment inflows
III. Opportunity
III. Opportunity
What are investors looking for?• Favorable business climates whose benefits are easily accessible to
small and large firms alike
• Outstanding value, reliability, and capacity in key utilities (especially telecommunications and power)
• Comprehensive business support services, especially for companies that seek to expand in regional and global markets; and
• Access to valued technical and business skills needed to compete in the global market.
Private developers are building free zones and business parks around the world in response…
San Isidro Free Zone Brno Science Park Sofia Business Park (Dom. Republic) (Czech Rep.) (Bulgaria)
III. Opportunity
Example: Sofia Business Park – market value of private park now reported at US$150 million
Example: Cefin Logistics Park – Austrian developer paid US$90 million for rights to develop land grant site
Example: ZonAmerica – land values jumped 20x following designation as a free economic zone
Even a 5-10 percent share of the land grant value rise can provide an enormous budget for key stakeholders – including microvoucher funds for cooperating neighborhoods and public sector Land Titling/Registry initiatives
What kind of asset gains can be realized through inflows of private investment when the competitiveness elements come together?
IV. Strategy for Success
Key strategic question --
• How can Microvouchers stimulate maximum response to awaken dormant land values?
The Kyrgyzstan precedent:– USAID engaged Openworld and the Academy for
Educational Development to offer $100,000 in microvouchers to communities seeking to spread language, business, and ICT skills through eLearning
– Competition announced in July, 2005 (50 communities responded)
– Awards were given in September, 2005 to four Cybercafes and NGO telecenter operators to ensure “quickstart” launch
– All of the chosen applicants committed “Land grant” areas for future private sector led Business Park, eTourism, and eAgriculture development
– Success has prompted USAID decisions to double the number of Microvoucher recipient communities, and ITU decision to fund 16 more eCenter projects
IV. Strategy for Success
IV. Strategy for Success
1. Prepare a standing offer of microvouchers for communities interested in grassroots land registry
2. Provide orientation briefings and provide toolkits to communities interested in promoting Public-Private Partnerships to implement the project
3. Hold competition to select exemplary communities based on their willingness to:
– Offer “quickstart” facilities (e.g. cybercafes) as Internet access sites for microvouchers
– Convey “land grants” for subsequent development by the private sector of business parks or other ICT-enabled projects
– Adopt eGovernment titling/registry reforms that improve the value of these land grant areas
4. Help the chosen localities find global private partners to assist in quickstart and expansion area development (with a portion of the development revenues to sustain the ongoing Microvoucher fund and titling/registry initiatives)
Key elements for fast-track Microvoucher Award strategy can include:
IV. Strategy for SuccessLeveraged Land Development Partnerships
Full Development Area
(Phase III Greenfield Concession)Development funded By National or GlobalInvestment Partners
Expansion Area(Phase II Greenfield
Concession)Development funded By National or Global
InvestmentPartners
Quickstart Site
(Phase I) Local Investor
Private Risk-TakingCapital
Private Risk-TakingCapital
Local GovernmentInputs
(transparency-enhancingTitling/registry solutions plus land grants for development)
Local GovernmentInputs
(transparency-enhancingTitling/registry solutions plus land grants for development)
Asset Gains AreShared for Sustainability
CatalystsCatalysts
•Microvouchers
IV. Strategy for Success Towards A Self-Funding Cycle
To win these benefits, communities commit
prime land grant sites for Land titling/registry innovations
Private sector develops Agro,
Tourism, or BusinessPark projects on the local sites, with
a setaside share to assure sustainableMicrovoucher funding and further Land Titling/Registry development
Donors offer Microvoucher funds*
as a way to spread valued skills and market opportunities in
chosen localities
IV. Strategy for Success
• introduces market-sensitive systems to spread skills
• mobilizes new private sector investment
• stimulates new jobs and exports
• puts idle lands to productive use
• Helps fund eGovernment solutions in land titling/registry and adoption of other market-friendly reforms
Anticipated benefits of grassroots land
registry strategy --
Further Information
We look forward to exploring how best to make results happen!
Openworld, Inc.
1717 K Street N.W. Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
www.openworld.com
