Thanksgiving to Remember in Nicholls, Georgia

We had a really nice, happy, all consuming Thanksgiving in Nicholls, Georgia with family that we had not met in a long while. We met cousins and their cute, wonderful and growing offspring, and my uncle (mota-kaka) and aunt (budiee-mum).

Travelled down on Wednesday, a loooong (13.5 hr) drive down from NJ to first Brunswick, Georgia. This was my first trip down the east-coast since 1996, when we drove down to watch the Olympics in Atlanta. I was okay up until we got to Virginia; then once we got to North Carolina, I forgot that I was in the wonderful United States, the road system had not changed since my last trip in '96 ... still the two lanes in each direction, seemed somewhat out of step with the the powerhouse of the economic might of the United States ... fine I grant that that was before the dog-day-afternoon of the current economic and financial disaster that we are in; 

this was a major artery connecting the North to the South down the East Coast, and yet the road system conjured up an image of the 60's and likely 70's, and how progress had not quite made it to here. And much to my surprise, I see these billboards, for miles on end, about "south of the border". Hmmm, which border are they alluding to? For even though it depicted a Mexican looking hombre on the billboards, I thought I knew my geography  in that there was no Mexico anywhere near the Carolinas or Florida ... Ahhh perhaps the current economic recession may have caused a seismic reaction and shifted the tectonic plates under our feet whereby bringing the state of Mexico next to Georgia or Florida  ... one never knows!!!

 

We finally, torturedly (if there can be such a word; getting people to move from the outside lane to the inside lane, especially when they just sit there hogging the lane doing 50mph with the speed limit being 70mph and have no desire to shift) got to Brunswick, Georgia at around 10:30pm. 

Met up with my cousin who had recently moved down here; it was really nice to see them and their little ones; had a nice cup of chai (Indian style tea) and some nasto (Indian snacks); before it had time to settle in my stomach we exchanged our brief pleasantries, hellos, and moved onto our goodbyes, and left for another reunion ... 

Left for the uncharted waters of a state park in Nicholls ... my navigation indicated that we were entering uncharted waters and could not provide turn-by-turn directions.  

We got to Nicholls, around 1:00am in the morning ... and low and behold the family was up waiting and excitedly and warmly embraced us ... it felt really good after a loooong trip to be in such company ...

The next two days were fun-filled, hearty eating (and yes little merriment sipping of alocoholic beverages, yes sipping rather than gulping), oodles of laughs, bonding of different generations between the youngsters and the adults, sitting by a bonfire drinking apple cider, watching the flames slice up the air and generate warmth, and watching the twinkling stars brightening up the sky ... it warmed the cockles of our hearts. It was a beautiful feeling.

I look forward to another year, and another gathering over Thanksgiving. 

Thoughts on the economy, rising dollar, and lower price of the barrel of oil ...

As a result of the financial crisis of the past year and the recent collapse and specifically the loss of trust and confidence in the banking sector (though not just limited to them), and the spiraling and worsening economic woes here in the US  and abroad ... brings both good and bad in its wake. 

The good … we will now get back to some level of reasonableness or perhaps over-reasonableness of regulating the financial services sector, more stricter regulation would not necessarily be a bad thing.  Also in the aftermath of this economic crisis, precipitated by the financial services collapse, and with the winds of “change” swirling and ready to blow across the Potomac we will  have major investments in infrastructure and like which portends well for job opportunities and for volunteerism to help the country back to good health. 

The bad … Against most, if not all, foreign currencies, the USD has strengthened, it is everyone's favorite currency and only by default for it is the only one that offers a safety net, and only because of the size and might of the US economy and the stability and confidence in its democratic principles, and at one time I would have added confidence in its capitalist ways … though one can forget that last piece. This does not bode well for the following reasons …

• It spells doom for exporters … especially the tech companies like IBM, ORACLE, HP, CISCO, etc;
• It increases our trade deficit … increases our dependence on the likes of China and others;

However it does offer good news for importers … makes imports cheaper (Wal-Mart must be feeling just a little giddy, more so than anyone else). 

Now add into this concoction, the reduction in the price of barrel of oil … which really is a mixed blessing.  This is about the only good news for the US consumer, having to pay less at the gas-pump, however this also has the likely affect of slowing down the clamor for finding alternative sources of energy. The auto industry who for years paid lip service to innovation and squat about improving fuel efficiency, has now all of a sudden got the speed bug to race to Washington with a begging bowl in hand, having seen greenbacks being doled out to one and all who could spell “finance” …  want some for themselves. 

My emotional recommendation to the auto industry … let capitalism run its course and let the fittest survive; do not give them a single penny; they have thwarted innovation at every turn, and the only time they have embraced any innovation is when they have been under duress from Congress.  Speaking with a small dose of hallucinating drug, I realize that we must help them, however I would want conditions as specified by the Detroit Editor of the WSJ, to first demand the complete ouster of all management and the full Board.

How CIO’s can help the enterprise during these trying economic times?

CIO’s can help streamline processes, improve responsiveness and help to reduce costs during these trying economic times?

 

If your IT organization is distributed and not centralized, then revisit your strategy. If you do not offer a common set of shareable services then revisit your strategy.  If you are global and fully centralized then you also need to revisit your strategy. In short if you still have a monolithic IT organization built around a mainframe and/or a set of giant UNIX boxes serving the entire organization spread nationally or globally then you also need to revisit your strategy.

 

Centralization is back in vogue as it was in the immediate aftermath of the skyrocketing gas prices of the 1970s. The 80s and the beginning of the 90s gave rise to the distributed computing  environments. And as Erik Berkman wrote here in CIO in 2001, that during the 80s and the 90s,  “IT departments also became distributed, with IT employees organized to support specific business units at different geographic locations”.

 

Yes, centralization may still connote and conjure up batch processing of the mainframe world, but fortunately for you and me times have evolved whereby we have the Web, SOA, ASP, on-demand services, etc … in essence the times have changed in the way we conduct business and process transactions but the way we organize our selves and our teams have to be kept fluid, flexible and dynamic.

 

To-date our IT teams may be organized in such a way whereby they support a specific business function, a business process (encompassing multiple functions), a specific project or even the entire enterprise.

 

Again I bring up Erik Berkman’s excellent article …

 

Companies are centralizing now because it is more cost-effective than having a distributed environment; it allows them to create consistent technology standards across the enterprise; and it cuts down on "reinventions of the wheel" that occur when separate business units devise identical solutions to the same problems.

 

But doing it and doing it right are two different things. Centralization can be a disaster if CIOs don’t address cultural issues and if they don’t have processes in place to determine funding and staffing priorities across business units.

 

In order to reduce costs and not just for cost reduction but also for increasing efficiencies, the CIO’s of small to medium sized organizations and especially the non-profit organizations must organize their staff by business process, potentially spanning multiple business functions or lines, or by region if globally dispersed, and also in specific instances spanning the entire enterprise.  

 

Granted some specific IT functions must remain distributed and closer to the business line, for example the break-fix work of PC’s, printers, etc  and local LAN Admin type of work.

 

Such reorganization can offer positive advantages beyond just cost reductions, it improves team morale, staff retention, improves project performance and responsiveness, and also offers closer alignment and greater flexibility to understanding local business needs.  

 

In essence one needs to have a not a rigid centralized model, but a flexible “centralized” model whereby some functions can be centralized to either a greater or lesser degree based on one’s span of presence geographically.

 

For example, we are geographically spread globally, but not within the US. In order to better serve our business users we have created regional IT teams, with centralized focus on standard and practices and IT Governance.

 

Such reorganizations are fraught with challenges both political and cultural, and are not easy to implement. The saving grace in the CIO’s favour is the external economic environment. I would strongly recommend that you leverage this to work in close alignment with the CFO, to nurture and generate an awareness of how such an reorganization can help the organization to streamline processes, improve responsiveness, and with cost reductions.

 

Pls note that there is no one answer, but that this is an answer. However inaction is not a response that will endear you to the CFO, so do not wait, jump to help bring about effective change to your organization.

 

Life is full of challenges, it is how one handles and confronts these challenges that either makes us or breaks us.  

 

Presidential Elections and Technology

The day of reckoning is almost upon us ... election day that is. 

Apathy is not the cure for our political, economic or for that matter any of our ills ... but exercising one's right to vote also may not cure any or our ills but it affords us the right to vent our frustrations and allows us to feel good for doing so and in voicing our support or lack thereof on a particular issue or a candidate ... in short it makes a statement whether symbolic, rhetoric, or otherwise that one wants their voice heard ... Ahhh, to take a firm and bold step to make the political process work for us, the common person - Ugghh, talk about "naivete" but what a virtuous notion. 

Now regardless of your preference for either the donkey or the elephant ... note that each has its virtues and vices. 

 

Casting aside one's biases for either the donkey or the elephant, what are the key characteristics of each? 

 

Donkeys …

• Are social creatures, don't like being kept on their own although a single donkey will live quite happily with goats,
  
• Are very intelligent – despite what the perception maybe,
  
• Are not easily startled (unlike horses) and have a keen sense of curiosity, 
  
• Have a reputation for stubbornness but this is due to their highly developed sense of self preservation, 
  
• Are more independent in their thinking than horses and will reason, then make decisions based on their safety, 
  
• Are stronger than a horse of the same size, 
  
• Have an incredible memory, 
  
• Do not like the rain and being out in it for long periods can damage their health as their fur is not waterproof.
  

 

Elephants …

• Are social creatures, who exhibit complex social behavior,
  
• Are very strong and intelligent,
  
• Are not easily startled and have a keen sense of curiosity, 
  
• Have a reputation for being a gentle giant, 
  
• Are more independent in their thinking than horses and will reason, then make decisions based on their safety, 
  
• Have an incredible memory.
  

Here is what can one infer from the above …

• Donkeys are stubborn ... so Dems are stubborn and jackasses to boot.
  
• Elephants never forget and don't care what they trample over ... so Repubs never forget and don't care about smashing the little guy.
  

And I presumed that I was going to write about the presidential candidates and technology ... 

• One seems savvy enough about it whilst the other has an aversion to it, 
  
• One wants to leverage and promote its use whilst the other wants to promote the pony express,
  
• One knows how to text, whilst the other knows the abacus.
  

It will have to wait for another day and time when the political winds have calmed somewhat with the advent of hurricane O storming through our shores tomorrow, Nov 4th. 

Exercise your right tomorrow, make history either way, and 

May Gob Bless us all.

    

      

Crisscrossing the Globe ...

Over the past few weeks I have been crisscrossing the globe to manage two projects, between Mexico and India, and throw in a stop-over in Uganda and Morocco to get an update on other projects.

Was in Mexico beginning of October, to a beautiful place called Cuernavaca, to get an update on the completion of the Gap analysis phase of the project, for the implementation of a banking software. Our Mexico operations are very well run, and the project team of both IT and Operations folks has done a very good job to-date.

When you visit such places, there is no time to go sightseeing. The only sightseeing one gets is in the morning, at the small beautiful family run hotel, Hotel Vista Hermosa in Cuernavaca, the taxi ride in the morning - watching kids ambling, gravitating, laughing and making their way towards school grudgingly, reluctantly, and whilst the adults with not a smile to show scurry towards their work place; maybe a walk outside at lunch time affords one the time to take in the aromas and flavours of the lunchtime fares, and in the evening to see silhouettes and shadows as the taxi whizzes across town ... back to the hotel, with little enthusiasm for dinner but just wanting to hit the sack.

Headed back home from Mexico on a Friday, and then off to India on a Sunday evening. It is wonderful to be back home albeit for a day and a half, to see the Missus, the kids (they are no longer kids but wonderful adults - they and the missus really keep me honest and anchored, and to whom I owe a humongous (a huge, huge, huge) amt of gratitude for their patience and perseverance for putting up with my absences; and  with barely enough time to get clothes washed and ironed, and having to pack before it's too late ... to get back on the road. 

Mumbai the city is both beautiful and vexing for one sees the progress and the problems, the prosperity and the poverty, the potential and the pitfalls, and above all the people are wonderful and full of humanity. It is not news to see humanity from those who have it all, but it really is awe inspiring to see that from those who do not have much. It is a real lesson for me and one I make sure to keep front and center in my mind.

Ahh, yes the project ... have a team of approx 14 from Azerbaijan temporarily located in Mumbai for a period of two months. We are working with IFlex, an ORACLE company, with whom we have contracted to use their very good banking software. For most of the team the trip to Mumbai is a rare journey to a far distant land, but one they have handled very well despite the challenges ... it speaks volumes about their commitment to the project.

After a week in Mumbai, I am back home on Saturday afternoon, scampering to get my laundry completed before I catch my flight to Mexico on Monday evening, and onto Cuernavaca by bus on early Tuesday morning. Have to be there to meet with the team to review the Gaps, to discuss and prioritize them, and to discuss other aspects of the project.         

After a week in Mexico, I am back home on Friday evening. On Saturday evening I catch my BA flight to Uganda, via London, arriving in Entebbe, Uganda at approx 8:00am Monday morning local time (7 hrs ahead of EDT).  The service offered by BA is usually very good, and this was no exception. However from London to Uganda, the service provided by the cabin crew led by the cabin crew director, Donna Jackson, was not just excellent but offered with warmth and caring one does not normally find.    

I was in Kampala, the capital of Uganda to meet with the Africa team, specifically for the Board meeting of our Africa IT Services entity. We have created an IT entity to service all of our affiliates (operations) across five countries in the region. This centralized approach, creating an IT Center of Excellence in the region, enables us to provide excellent, timely service at a fraction of a cost to all of the operations, and where they focus on the business with not having to worry about the IT side of the house. I was in Kampala for two days, before scheduled to head bvack on Wednesday morning.

Kampala has seen a whole bunch of new hotels come into being over the course of the past 15 months, largely due to the Commonwealth meeting of the Heads of State last Nov (2007), with the Queen of England in attendance. The hotel I was staying at the Golf Course hotel in Kampala the rooms were nicely decorated and with lots of room; although they could have done a much better job of planning for how and where they would serve breakfast each morning.

On Wed morning I was headed back to London, and fortunately for me seeing the same BA crew on-board they were generous and kind enough to bump me forward, from the cattle class to the sumptuous Club World ... savoured every minute of it.

From London the same evening (on Wed) was on my way to Fez, Morocco (via Casablanca) ... arriving in Fez at midnight. Fez is a beautiful city, a cultural center in Morocco.  I stayed at the Grand Mirage, which was okay. Met with a software customer on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday evening I ventured out to the souks (the local market ... of narrow alleyways with small stalls and shops on both sides, with meandering alleys and side streets) which was bustling with people despite the light drizzle.

I departed from Fez very early on Saturday morning, arriving back home at approx 2:00am on a Sunday morning, and happy and ecstatic to be back home.

Trying Economic times ... Look for some positives

From a personal perspective this so-called bailout has the alarm bells ringing in my brain that I will have to continue to work till I am antique, decrepit and have pall-bearers carry me away from working. My hallucinations of retirement have been swept away with the  fast, ferocious speed of the financial "rapids" moving downstream ... i am gasping for air, and gulping water with every effort. Ahhh, it is being in a state of paralysis where one watches but unable to do anything.  

From a professional perspective ... the near term bleeds doom, however from the medium to long term, I am sanguine about what this turmoil may offer.

Selfishly, in the medium to long term, despite having fewer and fewer banks and/or financial services companies to be seen on and off financial streets around the world, there will be more work for IT.

Demands for greater transparency means more regulation and controls ... which means greater demand for IT ... at least for those still employed.  And for those unfortunate enough to be kept on the sidelines, there is still hope ... with the likes of us in the non-profit world. We will welcome you with open arms and offer plenty of interesting challenges. To help offset the financial losses, we can offer you something much more valuable, work that is personally rewarding, worthwhile, and satisfying ... with you offering a lending hand (lending does not have to have a bad connotation) to the poor to stand on their own two feet. 

In the meantime though keep your head high, breath-in and out ever so slowly, make belt-tightening moves, keep beavering away at work, and in case you do not have work then keep your self positively and constructively occupied ... volunteer at your child's school, start coaching your child's sports team, write a blog, and last but not least, contact me here to see if we can hook you up with us or someone else.

And do not give-up ... Best wishes and prayers to all of us in need for something.

Happy Diwali & Best Wishes for the New Year (yes, New Year comes early for those of us of Indian descent).

jiten

Trip to Azerbaijan

Lately I cannot seem to sleep on the plane. Not sure, why? Aaahhh ... must be something to do with my young age.
Had to find a hotel in London to get a good long nap. Flight to Baku was uneventful, the plane was not full, approx 70 passengers - probably more than 80% being oil workers / engineers.

Landed in Baku at midnight. Having previously got my visas for a year, it was a breeze going thru, and especially with just a carry-on.

Mr Aziz, the driver was patiently waiting. He was happy to see me, if for no other reason than at least now he could be home that much sooner instead of having to wait for the likes of me at the airport at midnight. He is a retired Russian army soldier, with an engaging smile, a warm friendly human being, and with all the patience in the world ... and I mean all the patience in the world. He drives at 25mph with or without traffic ... at midnight with not a soul in sight, there we were driving, well, ambling along at 25mph. Mr Aziz loves his music, his interests in music vary widely ... from Russian pop, to 70's / 80's rock, to hiphop, yes hiphop. He is my kinda of guy.

We eventually get to the hotel - seemed more like a large house than a hotel / inn. Walk up to the 1st floor, and with little fuss am given the keys to my room ... 3 steps away from the front-desk. A large spartan room, with high ceilings, a full-size bed, and a desk. Near to where the bed is located, there is an opening on the left, a little galley-like opening. At first I thought that it was just extra space that was leftover, that the architect did not know what to do with ... I was wrong, it led to the bathroom.

I quickly brushed my teeth, set the alarm for 7:00am, and hit the sack.

Next morning, got up, brushed, shaved, and about to take a shower. Hmmm ...where is the shampoo? No shampoo, which is not a huge problem for the likes of me ... but there is also no soap. Well, I improvised ... there was little liquid soap for hand-washing, which would have to do for my shower.

I get a call at 8:00am that breakfast is ready. Walking out of the room, into the lobby, there is no-one there. A few feet past the front-desk, to the left is a large opening, to the right is a corridor and a staircase. Walking up to the opening on the left I see a the dinning room, three tables, but only one with linen on the table, and with one place setting.

A middle-aged lady welcomes me and asks what I will have for breakfast ... cereal, do not have any; yogurt, do not have any; hmmm ... will have to make do with tea and toast, and yes, eggs.
Apparently I was the only resident in this inn.

At 8:45am Mr Aziz shows up to take me to the office, which is about 15 to 20 mins away. Baku has narrow side streets (with cars parked on the pavement on both sides, and only then can cars go thru - there is no such thing as "no parking"), and very limited major arteries connecting North to the South, and East to the West ... it is a town planner's worst nightmare.

The place is bustling with bars, Scottish and Irish bars, serving everything from vindaloo curry to Guinness on tap to real ale on tap. BP and other oil companies have huge number of people working offshore on the oil platforms, and these folks need a place to chill ... and the local economy, at least in Baku is booming.

For us poor folks from the US, the effect of the lower dollar can be felt with some pain.

Better and Faster response times ... improve connectivity using WAN Optimization

For those of us seeking more reliable Internet access in the developing countries or operating in remote parts of the world ... have now at least one option.

Note that the first step is ... one has to have Internet access. Even though this access may not be as reliable as one would want, nor responsive enough, but we have some level of Internet access.

Second step ... if in need of improved response times, and ensuring that reliable connectivity ... i.e. if you need to improve application performance provided your issue is not server hardware but high packet drops and high latency then read on ...

One potential solution is ... WAN Optimization.

Product from the likes of Riverbed, Juniper, Blue Coat Systems, Expand Networks, CISCO, Packeteer ... to name a few offer a solution to this problem.

Let us call it an "appliance". This would be needed on both ends of the pipe. It does "network black magic" and ensure greater reliability, performance of data packets arriving from point A to point B.

How? ... Do not ask me but go and google "WAN optimization".

Trust me that this works.

I owe big thanks and gratitude to IBM staff for directing me towards this technology, specifically Keith Angell, Tung Ouyang, and Nathan DeWitt.

Technology + Microfinance + 3rd World = Empowering those in Need: People I work with ...

Technology + Microfinance + 3rd World = Empowering those in Need: People I work with ...

People I work with ...

Well, what can I say? In many ways we are no different than in most for-profit organizations anywhere in the world.
However in one telling aspect the people I work with are different ... in wanting to help make a difference in places where we ordinary morsels would not want to go ... they are passionate, committed, communal, and caring.
Ohh, and I almost forgot - shame on me, and very talented linguistically and musically.
They come in all shapes, sizes, physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, in almost every "...ally" way.
...suffice to say, agreat bunch of people.

Now the IT folks, well, they are an inspired, ecletic bunch; fortunately for me they also happen to be talented, experienced, humourous, and a real joy to work with.

How many are we talking about here??? ... 3 in Washington, 3 in Africa, 3 (and soon to be 4) in Eurasia, and right now 1 in Latin America.

It can be amazing as well as very rewarding to see what one can do with very limited, miniscule resources.

Tech basics ...

Technology in use in the countries where we operate ...

• Yes, we do operate with PC's, printers, etc
• Yes, we do have a LAN (local area network) in the HQ office in each country;
• Yes, we do have branches in each of the countries; and they in turn will have a PC or two and either a dial-up / DSL/ VPN type Internet connection
• Yes, we also have what we call "satellite" branches or "point-of-sale" branches which are branches with no Internet connection, just a small place or stall in a market or something akin to that ... allowing us to meet our prospective and/or existing customers;
• Yes, we do have e-mail and Internet when the Internet connectivity is up and running;

All of the above are up and running when we have "street" power running; in most places power goes up and down multiple times during the course of the day;

• And yes, we do have a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) just for the servers in HQ office.
• Yes, we do have a knowledgeable IT person at each HQ office in each country.
• Yes, IT resources are very limited
• Yes, IT vendors in most of these places are also few and far between, and so getting good support is an issue.
• Yes, we for the most part use "homegrown" lending software, and for lending it works okay; however beyond lending, i.e. broader banking capabilities, it does not offer much; and as our business demands change and evolve we are beginning to migrate towards this off-the-shelf community banking software from 3rd parties.

Trip to Tbilisi

The week of March 3rd was going to visit the team in Baku where we are implementing a community banking software from IFlex. After speaking with the team there, it made more sense to visit them later in the month, and so changed plans to attend the Eurasia Regional meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia that same week.

Had to scurry around to make flight changes so that I could be in Tbilisi before Tuesday, March 4th. Had limited flight options, I either fly to London and take BMI to Tbilisi but this would require flying out on Saturday, March 1st (yikes!!!), or I fly out on Monday March 3rd to either London or Amsterdam and then make further pit stops using other airlines, some of whom are only airlines in name, before descending on Tbilisi. Yes, you guessed it ... I flew out on Saturday, at least knowing that I will get there.

We hold these quarterly get togethers in each region, with each country rotating as the host each quarter, with Country Directors (in our parlance, otherwise more commonly referred to as CEO's), CFO's and COO's from each of our affiliates (country operations) in the region, along with some folks from Washington. The purpose of these get togethers is to strengthen collaboration, communication, conduct formal Board sessions, to offer workshops on critical topics, and to make branch visits (to view the operations and to meet customers).

We have talked about the using video conferencing as an alternative for some folks to not have to travel. Need to continue to work on this to convince people on its material benefit. However having said this, in some countries getting Internet to work in a hotel is work in itself. So for now I will leave the subject of video conferencing alone ... will focus on more important matters.

Flew out on late, late BA flight on Saturday night ... it pains me to fly out on the weekend especially on a Saturday nite. The flight was uneventful, which was just fine. Could not sleep this time for some reason, so walked a lot and watched a movie, though cannot fathom what I watched - must have been real good.

To beat jet lag ... eat before you board the flight, drink gallons of water, sparkling if you can, and do not eat on the plane ... telling you it works for me. Though you do need an aisle seat to make the regular walk to the bathroom.

Landed in London, and I was in bad shape. Needed a place to keel over as my connecting flight was not till 9:00 at nite. As good as BA is they can be a pain sometimes ... landed in London had to change terminals and even though I paid for the connecting flight thru BA, it was code share with BMI, but they would not let me use their lounge because I do not have a Gold frequent flyer card of theirs. I found the cheapest hotel I could find in close proximity to the airport and was lost for a while lost in my dreams.

Flight to Tbilisi took off on time. Three of us from FINCA were on the flight, including my fearless leader. Landed after 5 hours, early in the morning at 6:00am local time. My first visit to Georgia. I was blown away by the brand spanking new airport terminal. Puts our JFK airport in NYC to shame. My bag came in no time. The driver was waiting for us. It was in the 40F nice and cool, pleasant.

The hotel was located approx 45 mins outside of Tbilisi. The roads were paved, no pot-holes, streets with lights, and yes traffic lights, and clean streets, and one can see the Babushkas (older ladies) street sweeping with what looked like a home-made sweepers made of branches and twigs tied together. The city is split by a river running thru the middle. Infrastructure is well maintained, most probably with foreign aid. On the outskirts the buildings are older, dilapidated, and as one gets closer to the city center the scenary changes to where it almost looks likes Amsterdam or some other European city ... beautiful buildings, russian style architecture, mixed in with modern. As one gets to the outskirts on the other side, now one sees the vestiges of older style homes, rustic in nature, and as one gets further out it becomes more desolate, homes in poor shape.

After approx 45 mins to an hour of driving, after making a turn off the road ... Wowww!!! an oasis ... our hotel nicely nestled next to a lake (frozen at this time). And the temperature chillier than in the city, and raining.

The place looked like a huge big resort, but with no one in site at around 7:00am in the morning. Had to wake up the guard / sentry to open the gate to allow the car into the resort. not a soul in sight, other than a few dogs.

Nice rooms. Dumped my one bag and my computer bag in the room and made my way for breakfast. I was hungry, could wait to shoer and freshen up but not for breakfast.

Come on you geeks, techies, and tech companies ...

We who operate in the Third World and the Developing countries would kindly, no most kindly and deeply, appreciate your assistance in any which way you can ...

• More than cash, we need access to your products, services, your technical assistance, and to leverage your relationships with vendors in the countries where we operate.

If you can help, I will be the first to wave your flag here and with whoever I meet.

To-date my heartfelt thanks goes to IBM and Microsoft. And I am sure that they could and would help even more. So that leaves a whole lot of companies to thank.

Oracle and Qualcomm are hopefully close to offer some assistance ... keeping my fingers crossed.

So come on you geeks, techies, and senior management ... Just remember, a farmer sows many, many seeds (knowing that not all will germinate) so as to ensure that he/she can reap a bumper harvest ... Bear in mind that these countries have potentially millions and millions of customers to offer ... some of them could be your future customer.

So Help Us to Help Them so that some of them in the future can grow to Help You Achieve your financial targets.

I will gladly add your name to the list above.

Next time ... will touch on what and how we use technology.

Who is FINCA???

This is the start of my blogging endeavors ...

Our mission ... is to provide financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living.

Our vision ... is to become the leading global microfinance institution by providing financial services to more than one million clients annually, while operating with the highest commercial principles of performance, transparency and sustainability.

The sooner that we can hit that milestone the better, for then we want to reach the next million, and the next million and the next, and the next ... those in need are in dire need!!! So, soon, sooner, soonest only makes urgent sense.

We operate in the following 21 countries ...

• Africa - Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda & Zambia
• Latin America - Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico & Nicaragua
• Eurasia - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Russia & Tajikistan
• Greater Middle East - Afghanistan & Jordan

I have had the privilege of visiting 17 of these countries. They are really rich in history, full of beauty (each in its own unique way), rife with poverty, and yet the people have the humanity that is infectious, heart warming and equally embarassing. Why embarassing? It is embarassing for the likes of us from the so-called modern, progressive, capitalist world of the west for we have lost touch with that humanity that these people so lovingly exude even when they have so little; and they willingly share what little they have.