The Mobile Revolution in Africa
"The cell phone is the single most transformative technology for development."~Jeffrey Sachs
Is the internet useful in developing countries? It has the potential. Farmers COULD learn new techniques to conserve land and water or to plant drought resistant crops. Doctors COULD discover new methods to save the lives of their patients. Yet, with high illiteracy rates, is the internet a practical solution to communication issues in the Sahel?
At the same time, mobile phones have penetrated into the most remote villages here in Burkina and the same is true across Africa. The UN's International Telecommunication Union approximates that 90% of the world's population now have access to a mobile network. The technology, with recent lowered telecommunication fees, is revolutionizing how people share information and news. Can call services be used to connect farmers directly to their markets? Can doctors use cellphones, not laptops, to access vital, life saving information?
CEO of the World Wide Web Foundation, Steve Bratt, believes that their latest voice browser project will help make the connection to illiterate farmers and village doctors. The service would use new technology to verbally answer inquiries by villagers, allowing the villagers to gain access to information that would otherwise need to be read and researched.
The World Wide Web Foundation is also setting up projects to help fund local Mobile Entrepeneurs (with help from Vodaphone) who are using mobile technology to help develop their communities in Africa. For more on World Wide Web Foundation projects, see here.
Further, banking in Kenya is getting a mobile face-lift called M-PESA. Using SMS service (much like Sap Sap here in Burkina), people can wire prepaid credit to others via their cellphone and SIM card. The credit can then be turned directly into cash via a local stores that are authorized distirbuters (or cash back into credit). The service is thought to have connect to 40% of adults in Kenya. M-PESA was even featured in the Freakonimcs blog.
In Bangladesh, the BBC is partnering with local mobile providers to launch a learn-to-speak-English language service. Mobile users will receive lessons via text and be able to call and practice English through the service for the cost of a cup of tea.
South Africa is also getting into the beat with their projects to provide video on mobile phones to aid in monitoring malnutrition and health.
Mobile phones are a revolution in Africa, literally. Twitter and Facebook (via mobile updates) have helped fuel a movement that is bringing down autocratic governments via massive protests in Tunisia and Egypt.
Check back with the IT Committee to see what new and exciting projects are happening here in Burkina and around the continent.
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Comments
4 comments postedI can totally see people paying with sap sap, it would eliminate the need and the problem of change which is the issue everywhere.
I hope something like that gets implemented here.
Increasing technology (phone) literacy, cell phone coverage, AND the local languages issue (for vocal web browsing). Paying with sap sap could work, but trust between peoples (and also the ability to read numbers and understand their equivalent in local language) would have to be improved as well.
Despite being an adament local language fanatic the truth is that the internet and paying with phones can penetrate without browsers or voice support in local language. Just think of the number of illiterate people that use Chinese phones to call, listen to music and watch videos already. If you are illiterate obviously you aren't going to be reading news articles etc just like you aren't going to read books but you will undoubtedly learn how to send and receive money just as unité is used now.
Kenya is already a success story in how mobile banking can work. I mean, we aren't talking about it working in Europe and hoping it works in Africa. This is working in locations with high illiteracy and little infrastructure. It really is only a smalll step from Sap Sap.
For example, I had to pay for a visa one time and was short by about 500 cfa. Ended up, a guy let me have 500 cfa and I later Sap Sap'ed him back.
We aren't talking about Wallstreet styled shares trading, just money flow. Besides, you wouldn't have to worry about ripping a 5 mille note and accidently losing the other half. Btw, anyone seen half a 5 mille note I lost?