You Can Hear Me Now

Bangladeshi villagers sharing cell phones helped build what is now a thriving company with more than $200 million in annual profits. But what is the lesson for the rest of the world? This is a question author Nicholas P. Sullivan addresses in his tale of a new kind of entrepreneur, Iqbal Quadir, the visionary and catalyst behind the creation of GrameenPhone in Bangladesh.

GrameenPhone--a partnership between Norway's Telenor and Grameen Bank, co-winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize--defines a new approach to building business opportunities in the developing world. "You Can Hear Me Now" offers a compelling account of what Sullivan calls the "external combustion engine"--a combination of forces that is sparking economic growth and lifting people out of poverty in countries long dominated by aid-dependent governments. The "engine" comprises three forces: "information technology," imported by "native entrepreneurs" trained in the West, backed by "foreign investors."