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Good practice Imported

Nenasala Telecentre Network

Sri Lanka · Colombo · See the Sri Lanka profile · See the Colombo profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 55% 72/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Sri Lanka's Nenasala telecentre network grew to nearly 1,000 rural ICT centres by 2014, winning a $1 million Gates Foundation award, but had shrunk to just 46 centres surveyed by its new operator in 2024, illustrating the sustainability challenge of telecentre models.

<10% to ~40%
National computer-literacy rate (2004-2014)
~1,000
Centres at peak (2014)
46
Centres surveyed by new operator (2024)
$213M to $720M+
IT-related exports (2005-2014)
Nenasala Telecentre Network

Details

Promoter
Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) / LK Domain Registry
Period
2004–2016 (ICTA-run); 2023–present (LK Domain Registry)
Keywords
telecentres, rural ICT access, digital literacy, community learning

Context

Nenasala ('Knowledge Centre'), launched 2004-2005 by Sri Lanka's ICT Agency as part of e-Sri Lanka, provided rural communities with computer/internet access and digital-literacy training, reaching 1,000 centres by 2014 and winning the $1 million Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award.

Results

National computer-literacy/usage rates rose from below 10% (2004) to almost 40% (2014), a gain the Gates Foundation partly attributed to the network; IT-related exports rose from $213 million (2005) to over $720 million per a World Bank completion review.

Conclusions

Management transferred to the LK Domain Registry in 2023; a 2024 baseline survey covered just 46 centres, a small fraction of the roughly 1,000-centre peak. An academic field study in Rathnapura District found financial, social and political sustainability, low usage and weak community awareness were the biggest ongoing challenges despite positive ICT-literacy gains.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes Philanthropic / foundation funding

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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