Coventry — Ken Banks might, in some respects, be described as a reluctant innovator. In 2005, he created FrontlineSMS, a simple piece of software that enables a cheap laptop to use a mobile phone to send, receive and collate group text messages, effectively creating a communication network. It's an idea that has helped many NGOs connect with isolated populations.
But what is a reluctant innovator? It's a term Banks has popularised - he has edited a book on the subject. He describes such people as individuals who encounter a problem in the developing world and become so frustrated and angered by it that they have almost no choice but to embark on a quest to solve it, often at great personal cost.
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