Mobile technology is shaping the future of Africa wonderfully well. The continent is a fast moving one and currently holds count of 11 out of the 20 most rapidly developing countries in the world, a feat that the efficient and effective use of mobile technology contributes greatly to.
Almost 50% of the population in Africa owns a mobile phone, according to the mobile economy West Africa report in 2017.
In this article, we will look at some of the ways in which mobile technology is helping to shape the future of Africa positively. Let’s get started.
Mobile phones are used as financial tools.
A company of notable repute that has helped Africans go from lack of traditional banking infrastructures and bank accounts to having mobile money service is Safaricom, a Kenyan telecom company that launched M-Pesa in 2007. Safaricom created a solution to help solve the lack of traditional banking infrastructures by launching a product called M-Pesa, which allowed its users to hold money in any of its agent stands, and then exchange it with SMS-technology.
M-Pesa made it possible to turn the most basic cellphones into a money transfer device and they currently have over 18 million active users in Kenya. It is widely used and covers a wide range of users from those at the bottom of the pyramid to the pinnacle of society. And the positive impact of M-Pesa was manifest in the works of an MIT researcher, Tavneet Suri which showed that M-Pesa was instrumental in helping 2% of Kenyan households leave extreme poverty since 2008.
Additionally, in other parts of Africa people with smart phones use their phones daily to do mobile bank transfers via their bank apps, long gone are those days when one had to be present in the bank before they could send money to loved ones or pay employees. By increasing transaction speed, mobile technology is enhancing money velocity hence the growth of wealth.
Also, Africa now has Fintech companies like Pay stack and Flutter wave that makes it easy for African merchants to get international payments for the services they render in the international markets.
Mobile phones as a means of education
Another major way that mobile technology is shaping the future of Africa is in the educational sector; there have already been digitization of educative contents. For example, Qelasy, an Ivorian company, has created educative tablet for students, that allows them access their course materials and daily exercises. This is already in use in more than 200 schools in various African countries. Another noteworthy educational app is the chalkboard education, which allows students to learn on-the-go and communicate with their teachers without internet connection.
Additionally, many Africans who are committed to self-development are using their phones in the comfort of their homes to get access to world class education from Harvard, Oxford, MIT and other top world schools. How you may ask? They used the power of the internet through their mobiles to get access to information and qualify for scholarships or financial assistance from these institutions so they can learn and grow.
There are so many other ways that mobile technology is helping to shape the future of Africa, for example in the health sector, there are many credible health applications that provide free essential daily healthcare advice and allow you to talk to doctors on demand. This is an aspect of health called tele-medicine.
What other ways do you believe that mobile technology is helping to shape the future of Africa? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
