The View from Africa: How mobile technology changes lives

My name is Phillip Jeffrey.  I am one of a number of writers based in MAGIC that will be sharing with you something about our research or research-related interests. I am a Masters student in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia. My interests include pervasive games, location-based technologies, ethnography, and culture. 

Today while I was sitting in front of our residence fireplace while snow fell outside, I tried without success to use my mobile phone.  At the time the network was working intermittently perhaps due to the power outage.  It was also by chance I came across an article from the Chicago Tribute about how Africans are being empowered through mobile phones.  I realised how little I hear about Africa and mobile technology and I thought it would be useful to bring to light how their society is being affected by mobile phones today. 

 

Cell phones are changing lives across Africa. On a continent where mail service is spotty, roads are bad and fixed-line phones have never really taken hold, mobile phones are enabling people for the first time to keep in touch with faraway relatives, check market prices, cut better business deals and plan their days more efficiently.

In South Africa, 85 percent of small black-run businesses rely solely on cell phones for communication, according to a study by the Center for Economic Policy Research in London. In Swaziland, HIV-positive patients rely on text messages to tell them when to take their medication.

In a growing number of African countries, the phones are replacing banks as a primary means to transfer money and pay bills.

I remember my 1st year Sociology course during the section on Development and Underdevelopment as we discussed whether developing countries can achieve developed status.  I still don't know the answer however I am interested in learning further about social and cultural influences of mobile technology within these developing countries.  How does mobile technology empower ordinary Africans in the world's fastest growing mobile phone market?

After spending 12 hours without electricity today, I am painfully aware of its importance to power the different mobile gadgets I have (camera battery, mobile phone, laptop).  One solution for powering mobile phones in the Congo is the use of diesel powered generators with plugs where people are charged 30 cents for a  couple of hours as discussed in this Washington Post article.

In Kinshasa's noisy street markets, thousands of people sit at little wooden benches with signs that say appel , French for "call." They keep one or two -- sometimes four -- cellphones in their laps. They buy airtime in bulk from phone companies, then charge customers a small premium to make calls.

Amid the exhaust-choked chaos, airtime dealers sit patiently under colorful umbrellas or in wobbly plastic chairs offering exactly the same service as perhaps 30 or 40 other dealers working the same corner. They're all busy all the time.

At his little stand, which was the first one in his neighborhood, Iyombe said, he sells hundreds of calls a week and makes a profit of about $20 -- a fantastic weekly wage in a country where most people live on $1 a day. Iyombe supports his wife and pays rent for an aunt and school fees for two nephews. "I love my work," he said, wearing the bright red T-shirt of Celtel.

A large part of Iyombe's business is transferring airtime for his customers. They give him cash, and he transfers the minutes from his phone to wherever the customer wants them sent -- a friend, a relative or a business partner, often in some distant corner of this country the size of Western Europe.

The transfer takes only a few seconds: Iyombe needs only to enter the amount of airtime and the phone number of the person receiving it. Cellphone companies have added that function to phones in the past year.

What I find most interesting are the novel uses of mobile phones and how mobile phone companies are working to assist Africans in their desire to earn a decent wage and help their fellow citizens.