Subject: [gaia] Microsoft's Affordable Access Initiative, Round two

From: Jim Forster <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2017 11:45:11 -0800

Hi folks,

Some may know this, but in case not:   

Microsoft launched the Affordable Access Grant Fund II last month. The deadline for completed applications in Jan 31.  I’ve had the pleasure to meet with several of last year’s awardees and look forward to meeting this year’s group.

From their web site:

The Microsoft Affordable Access Initiative Grant <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/affordable-access-initiative/home> Fund seeks to support, grow and scale innovative businesses that are developing technologies and business models that have the potential to help billions more people affordably get online. Areas of interest include last mile access technologies, off-grid renewable energy solutions, and alternative payment mechanisms, as well as verticals such as healthcare, education, and agriculture. We will consider eligible applicants covering these areas and more. 
…

Solution should:
	•	Leverage low-cost forms of last-mile internet connectivity, off-grid energy solutions, and/or alternative payment mechanisms
	•	Demonstrate innovative approaches to utilizing and/or selling cloud services

Applicants must:
	•	Be a commercial organization with two or more full-time employees (we will not accept applications from non-profits, government agencies, or academic institutions)
	•	Have a working solution and paying customers
	•	Demonstrate potential to scale to new markets
	•	Be free of any legal or regulatory encumbrances

AAI Web site https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/affordable-access-initiative/home <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/affordable-access-initiative/home>  Twitter: @AAIgrantfund  

It seems to me that much of the focus of participants in this GAIA list and related work are focussed on community networks, or research, and may wonder or feel left out by the requirement that applicants be commercial organizations and not NGO’s, etc.  My thought is that research is great, and community networks are great, but let’s also be open to small scale commercial operations.  Many times such commercial organizations would build on the work of researchers and community networks.  The founders of such small scale commercial operations that I know are not wealthy and greedy rent-seeking capitalists :-), they’re eager and hardworking members of the community, who have invested their own money and time; many times are barely able to pay themselves below market rates, but they do have a vision of building a bigger network and think a commercial structure might be helpful toward that end.

  — Jim