Fortunately, Hockenstein and friends did not encounter any local bureaucratic roadblocks in Cambodia. The government paid little attention to them, Hockenstein says, since it's corrupt, and the concept of the company was alien to it. The biggest challenge was adjusting to the slower pace and inefficient systems in Cambodia. A trip to the post office can take hours, for example. "If you get one thing done in the morning, and one thing in the afternoon, you're having a good day," he chuckles.

By that measure, the friends accomplished a lot in a short time. They rented office space, purchased computers, hired staff, and opened for business in July 2001. Ironically, their company, which evokes a promising future, is located just a few blocks from Tuol Sleng prison, a notorious Khmer Rouge torture chamber where nearly 14,000 Cambodian men and women died.

Digital Divide Data now has 90 young Cambodian staff and managers. About half are poor, orphaned, or disabled from polio, "moto" (motorcycle) accidents, or land mine explosions. They earn about $100 a month, a handsome sum in a country where the average annual income is $290. Since they work six-hour shifts (half of what Cambodians in garment manufacturing and other industries clock), employees can use the extra time to continue their education. The company provides health care, English instruction, and educational scholarships, funded by U.S. donors.

"We've always seen this as a means to better futures for people," says Hockenstein. "Compared to the alternatives, it's clean, it's healthy, it's not back-breaking. But still, we measure ourselves on people going on to other jobs." Of the 105 employees hired since the company's inception, 15 have moved on to jobs in teaching, translation services, or business.

Michael Chertok, former managing director of and now an advisor to the Global Catalyst Foundation, which grants $1 million to 20 to 25 projects annually, admires Hockenstein's vision, drive, and "infectious enthusiasm." Digital Divide Data uses basic technology to meet a compelling social need, Chertok notes. It's also remarkable, he says, because the company became self-supporting-the ultimate ambition of all economic-development ventures-in less than a year. "In all the grant making we've done, this project has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations."

Hockenstein spends about half of his time generating business and working on plans to open new offices in rural Cambodia and Vien Tiane, Laos, later this year. Based in Cambridge, MA, he supports himself by consulting, mostly for nonprofits and foundations. He also collaborates with Richard Locke, PhD '89, Sloan professor of entrepreneurship and political science. Sloan students have gone to Cambodia for several weeks at a time to analyze the data entry company's business operations, and next year Hockenstein will help teach social entrepreneurship in Locke's class.

Since most Sloan grads pursue jobs in investment banking and management consulting, Hockenstein is a valuable role model, says Locke. "I am increasingly seeing among my students a number who are interested in doing entrepreneurial work that also has some sort of social relevance.[Jeremy's] one of the pioneers of showing that it can be done," he says.

In August, Hockenstein will return to the Angkor temples, this time with Digital Divide Data's entire staff and 20 Westerners, to mark the company's second anniversary. "It will be very satisfying to go back there with a diverse international groupknowing that within the context of a country with a rich history, we are working to help the next generation build better futures for themselves," he says. "And for over half of the group, it will be the first time they have ever traveled to a wonder of the world right in their own country, since it is too expensive."