A few days ago Iqbal Quadir, visionary and catalyst behind GrameenPhone in Bangladesh, and I were on Jean Feraca’s “Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders,” a show on international affairs produced by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR). In a few days I’ll post the MP3 file to the site, but for now you can listen to it at http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_070219k.cfm.

Yesterday, Quadir and I spoke at an Aspen Institute “Sounding Board” luncheon roundtable in Washington, D.C., and that was filmed by C-Span for its Book TV series. No air date yet, but hopefully within the next weekend or two.

Many thanks to Jean Feraca at WPR and Charlie Firestone at the Aspen Institute for hosting these wonderful media events.

GrameenPhone was presented with the GSM Association’s Global Mobile Award for “Best use of mobile for social and economic development” for its HealthLine telemedicine service. The award was presented to CEO Erik Aas during the GSM Association’s Annual Leadership Summit in Barcelona.

In acccepting the award, Erik Aas said:

GrameenPhone and the mobile industry represent a major part of the development of Bangladesh, and this initiative shows our commitment to the development of the country, the people and their well-being.”

The HealthLine service is an interactive teleconference between a GP caller and a licensed physician who will dispense information on lab tests and lab reports, drugs, and medical facilities.

Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, is almost certain to enter politics within the month and step down from Grameen Bank, according the Dhaka’s Daily Star. He is expecting to run as an independent in Bangladesh’s upcoming elections. An editorial in the Daily Star, “We need local leaders not national personalities,” written by an ex-pat Bengali, takes a dim view of this prospect. Ironically, others within Bangladesh feel that Yunus more appeal more to Westerners and ex-pats than those living in the country. But, no one knows, least of all Yunus himself.

Asked what he would be like in a partisan role, he replied, “I do not know.”

Separately, Yunus this week announced he wants GrameenPhone to list on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and offer one share to each of Grameen Bank’s 6.9 million borrowers.

There is a growing sense in the development community that cell phones may be the entree to commercial financial services for the poor in many developing countries around the world.

This sense was innervated today with the announcement that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is donating $24 million to CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a group that has done some amazing work studying the impact of mobile commerce in the Philippines, among other countries (which I discuss in the book). Most of the funding will support pilot projects that expand access to financial services with new technology approaches. In a nutshell, that’s cell phones.

“Through wireless and other technologies, we can connect poor people to the financial systems of their countries, allowing these countries to leapfrog many stages of financial sector development,” said CGAP Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Littlefield. “Imagine a villager in a remote rural area, days away from the nearest bank branch, having access to the same financial services you and I take for granted. That’s the vision we share with Bill and Melinda Gates, and we are very grateful for their support.”

The press release notes:

The business case for serving poor people has long been apparent to many in the telecommunications industry, which has seen the number of mobile phone subscribers double — to two billion — in just over two years. Some 80 percent of that growth has been in developing countries, according to the London-based GSM Association, a CGAP partner and a global trade association representing nearly 700 mobile phone operators.

Grameenphone Ltd. of Bangladesh has been nominated for the GSMA Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development award 2007 for its HealthLine Service initiative. The HealthLine Service, implemented in cooperation with the Telemedicine Reference Center Limited, is a 24-hour Medical Call Center manned by licensed physicians and can be reached by dialing 789 from any GP number.

Doctors are on hand 24 x 7 to answer questions on medical emergencies, faciliites, drugs, and lab tests. Registered users can speak directly with a doctor about their specific condition. In a country where hospitals are few and far between, and travel is often difficult and time-consuming, this is a huge social benefit.

Registration costs Tk300 per year (about $5), and calls cost Tk15 for 3 minutes, Tk5 for every minute thereafter. (Tk60=$1.)

I discussed a fledgling telemedicine program with GrameenPhone chairman Khalid Shams while researching the book, but didn’t mention it because the program was not taking hold. It just shows you how quickly things are changing — six months later, the nascent program is well-enough developed to catch the eyes of the global GSM Association.

In 2000, GrameenPhone won the GSM in the Community award for its village-phone service, which extends telecommunications into remote rural areas. Village-phone ladies borrown money from Grameen Bank to buy phones, then lease time to villagers to pay back the loans.

The award winner will be announced at the GSMA conference in Barcelona in mid February.