When I landed this past week in the O-R-Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, I had been flying a cumulative 20 hours since leaving Seattle. After clearing customs into South Africa, I made a beeline to the restroom to freshen up. On the wall of the spotless restroom was the sign photographed to the right.
I haven’t yet seen a sign like that in SeaTac Airport, but in South Africa it’s not surprising given how ubiquitous cell phones and text messaging have become.
The breathless adoption of mobile telephony on the African continent–with South Africa leading the charge — means that I learn as much about the power of mobile adoption and use when I travel there as I do when I am walking around the hyper-connected city of Seattle.
The African continent has impressed me again and again the last seven years with their creative utilization of mobile–which in large part inspired the first course I taught for the MCDM, Emerging Markets in Digital Media. Today, the African market is growing to include producers as well as consumers. According to Erik Hersman, co-founder of Ushahidi and the voice behind the blog White African, the African continent is in a great position to produce relevant technology moving forward.
Why?
Because African manufacturers understand the market here is for the masses who will purchase products if they are durable, affordable, meet their needs, and highly functional.
A current US Bank television commercial in the United States crows about a mobile phone application that allows you to check your account balance via your cell phone—while in Kenya they aren’t just checking their balance, they are transferring the equivalent of $650 Million each month mobile to mobile, with an average transfer of $33. The United States is positively old school by comparison. Sure, many smart phones in the USA may have more sophisticated features than the phones in Kenya that transfer such a staggering amount of money, but our systems and habits are so entrenched that it hampers our creativity in using mobile phones for certain tasks.
It’s no longer the story of “What the West can Provide the Rest,” when it comes to technology but rather, “What the Rest can Teach the West.” And perhaps one day I will be able to rate the bathrooms at SeaTac just as I can in Johannesburg.
It’s true that the mobile phone is “King” in Africa especially since desktop (and to a lesser extent laptop) computers were never adopted at any significant scale. Therefore it seems as if all efforts at reaching “the masses”- both commercial and development-oriented- have been targeted at the mobile phone.
So if I want to send 50 cents to my wife because she doesn’t have bus fare? Mobile money transfer.
If I want to check the prices of wholesale produce at the market? Text message service.
And if I want to win a million Kenyan shillings in the local lottery? Just send a text to 6969.
And now that smart phones are gaining ground in the Kenyan market, more sophisticated apps are sure to be developed for this environment.
Of course it’s hard to beat the simplicity of these sms-based apps.
Thanks for this comment, Donald. There is no question that the phone is a more accessible point of entry to connectivity on much of the African continent than a desktop or laptop.
I agree with you that as the smart phone market continue to grow–I was struck by how many more smart phones I saw in Namibia this past trip compared to a year ago–the apps will become more abundant and more sophisticated. That said, I think Hersman’s belief that design will still focus on the middle and lower class–no matter the device–is apt.
Cheers,
Anita