1. Representing the Non-formal The Business of Internet Cafés in India NIMMI RANGASWAMY Microsoft Research India

2. 8 months of study in Mumbai city/outer suburbs Open-ended interviews – 35 café owners and –18 regular users Observations in café premises

4. Urban cafes in India are of two kinds; Franchises promoted by big corporates and small businesses, mom and pop joints, that sprout all over urban areas All cafes are part of allied businesses helping to stay afloat. With PC penetration in India being 5% (around 20 million PCs but growing in urban areas) cafés become prime spaces for internet access.

7. The Grey Zone of i-café Biz Grey market for hardware/software Multiple Unaccounted businesses Unclear ownership Irregular Billing

8. The new cafes of Dharavi Popu: Around 1 Million, Density 314,887/km 4000 types of Industry 90% of Biz unregulated

9. Demand for internet has cropped up recently Most cafés are assorted communication centres Café owners supported by social networks to maintain and trouble shoot computers There is almost nil home PC penetration

10. Non-formal business practices more pronounced Deeply embedded in the larger grey economy Slippages between non-formal and Illegal Grey Internet activity

11. Gamers and Chatters..

12. Correspondence of greyness in youth behaviour and i-café business practice?

13. Non-formality as Alternate Premise The unregulated or beyond the legal Grey markets Formulate business strategy

14. Thank You! http://research.microsoft.com/india http://research.microsoft.com/india nimmir@microsoft.com