Idea 446 of 500. Cluster 23: The women who are not working
Phones and laptops refurbished in Sri Lanka, graded, warrantied and sold on to the markets of South Asia and Africa
The mechanism, from the book
The single largest unused asset in the country is sitting at home. Much of what keeps it there (childcare, safe transport, working hours) can be sold as a service, and the industries that would employ it can be built.
Every idea in cluster 23 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Buy ten used phones from a reliable source, test each one, replace the battery or screen where needed, and grade them by condition. Offer each with a written warranty for a fixed period. Sell the first batch locally to learn the prices, then ask traders who ship to South Asia and Africa which grades they buy and at what price. The proof is a trader's repeat order.
- Who pays first
- A trader who buys used phones by the box for markets abroad and pays more for tested, graded stock with a warranty.
- What leaves today
- Old devices sit in drawers or leave as scrap; skilled repair adds the value here and sells them on at a higher price.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. OneThe Letter That Says Yes and Means No
32% of adult women in work, against 70% of men
More from cluster 23
- 436Childcare co-operatives run by mothers for mothers, licensed and inspected, in every town
- 437After-school clubs at the schools, paid by the parents, run by teachers who want the income
- 438Women-only transport services for the night shifts and the early trains
- 439Home-based work platforms that pay properly: sewing, bookkeeping, transcription, design
- 440Shared workspaces for women with childcare attached, in Colombo and the district towns
- 441Women's craft co-operatives with a single brand and a single buyer abroad
Idea 446 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.