TL;DR: It&#x27;s less about &quot;apps&quot; and more about people supported by technology. But I do believe startups can increase prosperity as long as growth (without profits) is the goal.<p>From someone that spent 5+ years at the intersection of technology-based international development, there&#x27;s a lot to learn about what works and what doesn&#x27;t. Kentaro Toyama headed up Microsoft Research India&#x27;s &quot;Technology for Emerging Markets&quot; research team and oversaw 50+ research projects spanning health, education, governance, and more. He then spent 5 years at UC Berkeley writing a book about what he learnt (&quot;Geek Heresy&quot;, <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;geekheresy.org" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;geekheresy.org</a>).<p>I did a PhD in this general area (voice interfaces for non-literate users), and Kentaro&#x27;s main thesis (technology only amplifies human capacity and intent) resonates deeply with my experience. It&#x27;s all about the people, and technology is mainly an amplifier &#x2F; supporter of human institutions. An &quot;app for K-12 education&quot; doesn&#x27;t work in the traditional sense, but an app that connects awesome teachers with students, with an ecosystem that takes care of management, training, incentives, and encourages true mentorship, has a much higher chance of success.