MOBILE PHONES AND THE WELL-BEING OF BLIND MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS IN INDONESIA

The wide-scale economic benefits of mobile (cell) phones for developing regions of the world have been well researched over an extended period. But the potential value of mobiles for the well-being of specific poor groups has been overlooked. This paper reports on a project which focused on the welfare of blind masseurs in Indonesia, as representatives of three million blind people in that country. Links between the advantages of Information and Communications Technologies and human development have been presented before in papers in general terms, but very limited research has attempted to make the further link to disability and micro-entrepreneurs, making use of the Capability Approach (CA). This paper illustrates how mobile phones impact on the well-being of blind masseurs. Grounded theory methods are employed for the analysis of 10 interviews with blind masseurs in Makassar and Bandung, Indonesia. The discussion shows that mobile phones play significant roles in micro-entrepreneurs' perceived well-being. Application of the CA shows that mobile phones facilitate beneficial 'functionings' that are deemed very valuable by participants.