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More on mobile 2.0 for the BOP

Posted on August 16, 2007  /  2 Comments

Smartphones are the PCs of the developing world – tech – 01 August 2007 – New Scientist Tech

Being able to communicate in real time via speech and text using basic cellphones has already proved invaluable for communities that were never connected by landlines. Ajedi-ka, an organisation that works to promote human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, distributes phones to local teachers, elders and business leaders so that they can report incidents of children being drafted as soldiers. The phones make reporting faster and easier. Meanwhile, health workers across the developing world have started using cellphones to monitor disease outbreaks in real time. In Kenya phones are being turned into mini-ATM machines via Vodafone’s M-PESA program, which allows users to load money onto their phones in shops and then send it via a text message to someone else, in their village say. They can also withdraw the money at another location using a password, which in Kenya can be much safer than carrying cash.

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2 Comments

  1. chanuka

    The issue is not whether or not mobile communication is undergoing a paradigm shift. We all know that happening and hopefully no disagreements over that.

    The issue is rather *how* exactly this paradigm shift happens. In which way we transform the tool and the mode? Say in another 10 years what we will be having in our pockets? A phone camera PC PDA ebook epurse radio TV navigator…..? What exactly the change it might bring in the social context, especially in the developing countries?

    We predict some developments, of course, but I am certain when happens it will take us all off guard.

  2. zzainudeen

    GSMA-IFC-infoDev report: Bridging the Digital Divide – Micropayments
    (from http://www.gsmworld.com/digitaldivide/micropayments.shtml)

    The GSMA’s work in the area of micro-payments shows how such systems add significant value to the operators in terms of higher ARPU and lower churn, and to mobile users in terms of low transaction fees, micro pre pay top ups and greater access to financial services. The first stage in the work of the GSMA in the area of micropayments was a joint report from infoDev, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The paper investigates the application of mobile-enabled commerce (m-commerce) in developing markets. It aimed to identify the opportunities provided to mobile networks in offering an m-Commerce service, as well as establishing the drivers for successful implementation.

    Full report can be downloaded at: http://www.gsmworld.com/digitaldivide/micropayments.shtml

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