Mobilising In a surprisingly effective and sustainable humanitarian revolution, wireless phone technology is transforming our continent. By Hloniphizwe Coleman
In the western world, when people speak of mobile phones, it is common for them to refer to the social revolution, a change in the way that people share and communicate. In Africa, however, it is more accurate to think in terms of a truly radical mobile revolution. Nowhere else on earth are these unique technological innovations impacting more vigorously on quality of life and practicality. Mobile phone services, unlike basic sanitation or electrification infrastructure, do not require political or governmental drive for implementation. Telecom entrepreneurs and communities alike across Africa have been able to establish and then extensively utilise mobile phone technologies in a rapidly expanding symbiosis. This has created a technology and information rich ecosystem that is cheap, self-reliant and efficient. Most importantly, the mobile phone in Africa has become a platform for innovation
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in a plethora of sectors, including health and civic management, trade and empowerment initiatives. Telecommunications and more specifically mobile phones have changed how we as a race do business, communicate, express ourselves and prioritise our lives. They have helped us become more efficient and enabled us to communicate on a global scale. Nowhere are these benefits more noticeable than in Africa. Historically, African countries have always been on the back foot in three fields: basic infrastructure, entertainment industries and applications of current technologies. With the advent of mobile phones, African citizens have not only been able to remain globally competitive, but can even begin to take the lead in revolutionary technology developments.
Internet writer Robin Browne notes: “Places like Africa might jump right over the industrial age and go directly from agricultural to information economies.” Developing countries now represent the majority of mobile phone users: 2.4 billion out of five billion users worldwide. In February 2009, Africa surpassed the number of mobile phone users in the US and Canada combined, having 340 million users with a growth rate of 70 million per year. The billionth Nokia handset to be sold was a Nokia 1110 purchased in Nigeria; and this specific phone was designed to be dustproof for use in developing countries. Africa additionally has the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world: Kenya. While only 20% of the country has electricity, mobile phone saturation is at 50% and growing. Part of the reason for this is the lack of broadband infrastructure, and so mobile phones have become the primary tool through which many people in Africa access the internet. This type of innovation is most evident in Kenya where local entrepreneurs have found hundreds of practical uses for mobile phones. These men and women exploit every feature of today’s technology rich mobile devices; this is in
great contrast to western users where mobile phone banking – among other mobile phone orientated services – is either limited or non-existent. For example, many African fishermen and women use their phones to access real time market information to determine where to sell their catch. Mobile phones have also lessened the stress of job-hunting, with labourers leaving their telephone numbers with prospective employers. Previously, workers lost many days’ worth of wages physically waiting at a single company, often only to be turned down. With many Africans now doing their banking, shopping, and business on their phones, mobile phones are widely utilised. Thousands of three to four minute mobile videos are consumed daily, with mobile phones becoming the primary platform for both news and entertainment. This has led to the creation of mobile video networks such as Vodacom-owned Zoopy, a South African competitor in a booming industry that would not exist without mobile phones. Graduates are now able to check their marks using a mobile phone and their ID number. When a person applies for an ID or passport, they receive updates as to the progress of their
Hloniphizwe Coleman is a 17-year-old Constantia Waldorf student in Cape Town, interested in politics, technology, social networking and aviation. Having cut his writing teeth on game reviews, he follows technology developments with avid interest. Hloni is a member of the Cape Gliding Club and aspires to compete in the national championships.
application and a prompt when the document is ready for collection. The mobile phone has become a platform on which African men and women can find or create simple solutions to their personal day-to-day problems. Mobile phones have also enabled governments to both collect data and roll out services to their populations. This is mostly seen in the health sector, with initiatives ranging from HIV/Aids awareness to remote diagnosis utilising mobile phones’ ability to send information in real time. Africa holds 24% of the world’s ill and diseased people and yet it is home to less that 2% of the world’s health practitioners. While initially used for health awareness programmes, mobile phone technology has also improved efficiencies in healthcare. Mobile phone use has already proven itself by improving decision making by health professionals and patients: facilitating the diagnosis and tracking of disease; providing timelier, more actionable public health information; and crucially, offering expanded access to ongoing medical education and training for health workers. More initiatives are exploring the use of mobile phone
technologies to reduce health disparities, promote access and cost-saving, and provide overall support to existing workflows in the health sector, and between doctor and patient. Another very popular mobile orientated initiative in areas lacking electricity is the mobile payphone. These payphones are owned by community members who buy airtime from various national networks and then charge customers for calls. In 2009 it was reported that 97% of Tanzanians had access to this type of community payphone, despite the lack of electricity in much of the country. As these phones use wireless connections – which means that they are far easier to set up compared with their fixed line counterparts – they also do not require fixed electrical lines. These innovations and utilisations have shown the importance of efficient and inexpensive infrastructure models. They have set new precedents and changed mindsets when it comes to establishing infrastructure and services in today’s developing countries. The mobile phone has become a self-implanted and selfmanaged tool that is playing an indispensable role in Africa’s poverty alleviation. AT
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