...is what I've been up to in my spare time.It's been a process that's evolved over the past couple of months. Why do it? I could use the extra income, I want to work on a project in which I have a large say in how it takes shape, I want experience setting up a business with social goals as well as economic ones (aka social entrepreneurship).
The Internet café, dubbed "Casa Internet," will be located in Cumbres, a resource-limited colonia of Tijuana. The idea is to give access to the latest technology and information to people who normally have to struggle to gain this type of access. Using the "waste" of San Diego high-tech businesses and our own ingenuity and creativity, my partner and I are setting up shop for under $5,000 USD. We plan to offer digital camera rentals, inexpensive digital photo processing, copying, faxing, Internet access, gaming, and free computing classes, among other services.
Beyond that, I hope to organize programs that improve access to valuable information. Where instead of making a costly trip to the bank to make phone payments, people can pay their bills online. Instead of making long-distance calls for $0.30/min, they can be made at a fraction of that cost. Basically, I hope to distribute access to information technology infrastructures that are normally concentrated in areas with physical infrastructure.
Updates forthcoming...
