The New York Times reports on a new service from Reuters called Market Light, which provides pricing information for rural farmers in India via cell phone text messages. From the article:
"Reuters has dispatched about 60 market reporters to the region to report on the going price for, say, oranges or onions, and to package the data into a text message that is sent to subscribers."
The service is for profit and Reuters is treating it like any other new business. Key quote from the article:
"The brass at Reuters has approved money to operate Market Light for three years. After three years, “it will be either a very healthy business, or it won’t exist,” said Amanda West, head of Reuters Innovation."
Better access to price and market data can greatly improve the efficiency of small businesses and small farmers in developing countries. The article discusses one study on this topic and more information can be found at our post The Economist and NY Times on Mobility.
Disclosure: We've done work for Reuters in the last year.
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