Exploring mobile technologies for development

According to Donner (2008:3) various approaches to application of mobile technologies in developing countries are being explored and depicted by academia as well as private sector researchers. Donner argues that in most of the cases two dominant dimensions of technologies are mostly explored: adoption and use of mobile technologies. This post will only focus on the latter.

Since aprox. 2005 most of African countries have been considered the fastest growing market for mobile technologies. Only four years after in 2008 let alone the mobile service providers at home as well as in developing countries would celebrate a significant breakthrough in adopting modern technologies, when global userbasis of mobile internet users took over the total number of fixed line internet users.(ITU report on telecom industry growth, 2009 available online)

Therefore in developing countries the expansion of mobile internet is more likely to be the second wave of techno-development, as it's offers cheaper and more adoptable access to internet than the cable telephony.

Even tough the evolution of mobile technologies as such may be considered as a factor of "developmental success" in the sunny continent, I would only consider specific mobile technology projects aimed directly  to solving reoccurring problems be of any value to local users. Key milestones of development are these three areas:

1. Agriculture;
2. Healthcare;
3. Education;
4. Finances;

Exploring mobile technologies adopted in area of agriculture, one great example should be a inter-institutional initiative started in Kenya in late 2009, where local governmental bodies as well as private sector work together to develop services for existing userbase related to successful farming, market prices, where to get help, how to farm better etc. (see report of Mobile Technologies Summit 2010, online).The project was launched in Kenya in 2009. It's initial phase has been very successful, as there are 30 000 subscribers to date. Therefore, it could proof being added value and investment safe convergence of public and private sector.


In this post however I will only cover mobile technologies for agriculture. Please consider coming back to our blog, as we constantly ad more post and provide more insight on our chosen topics.