2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge:
An Open Call for Innovative Mobile Technology Applications for Developing Countries

Enter USAID’s first open source challenge! Our best ideas for mobile applications could benefit millions in developing countries.

Winners of the USAID Development 2.0 Challenge will receive a grant of up to $10,000 and the chance to present their ideas before potential investors and senior officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US government agency through which the American people provide economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide.

Everyone who enters the Development 2.0 Challenge gains visibility for their idea and will receive feedback from online community advisers.

The mobile phone is the key to connecting and exchanging information with people in developing countries. With four billion subscribers, more than one in two people in the world have a mobile phone, compared to just one in 10 who have a personal computer.

The 2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge invites you to explore the potential of mobile applications to improve development impact and connect people in developing countries to key resources in health, banking, education, agricultural trade, or other pressing development issues.

How to Participate in our Open Source Challenge Beginning October 13, you can submit your idea at www.netsquared.org/usaid, where you will find all guidelines, rules and restrictions. Or join as an online community adviser to review candidate ideas, offer feedback and vote for the best project. You can revise your project based on the feedback that you get. For more information, email usaidchallenge@techsoup.org.

The 2008 USAID Development 2.0 Challenge is powered by NetSquared, an initiative of GKP Member TechSoup.