A look at the Mobile Phone Usefulness in Ghana

A look at the mobile phone’s usefulness in Ghana

By Charles Amega-Selorm

 

Mobile phones have indeed changed the world like no technology has ever done before in history. It revolutionalised voice telephony in a very interesting way. In the early 2000’s, the number of mobile phone subscribers surpassed the number of landline subscribers. Back then, it was more about hardware and less about software but now, it has become the de-facto way of communicating in every aspect combining voice and data with some interesting and useful features for home and business users. This could only have been achieved by designing software that makes these handsets smarter and smarter.

The introduction of the “smart” phones provided additional impetus for the industry to grow further. Smart phones are those that allow you to surf the internet, download music and use other data services, as well as make calls and send text messages. According to Informa, a research firm, the market for smart mobile phones is expected to grow from $39 billion in 2007 to $95 billion in 2013, by which time they will make up nearly half of the handset market by value. Manufacturers like Nokia have stepped up their game to remain market leaders. Apple and Research in Motion (RIM) are the other competitors with i-Phone and blackberry phones respectively.

Because of the mobile phone’s usefulness, individuals, businesses and especially NGOs are using it roll-out products they have designed in various ways. It is a very useful way to disseminate information to a network of individuals and groups. Around the world, it is used to raise funds, monitor elections, send SMS alerts and for reporting news and mobile banking among others.

Ghana has not been left out in these developments. Individuals are using their mobile phones to surf the internet, store music, receive SMS alerts on international and sports news and even watch mobile TV. Ghana will be going to the polls to elect a new president and some political parties are raising funds through the use of SMS systems. Election monitoring will not be left out.

A research group, headed by the Coordinator of the Technology Assessment Project (TAP) of the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Amos Anyimadu took a study tour of some selected Districts in the Central Region of Ghana with particular focus on fishermen of Moree. It was established that the fishermen use mobile phone to communicate with their agents and customers from various parts of the country to find out where the prices of fish were more competitive. They also use the mobile device to establish the where about of their colleagues at sea. These information exchanges were largely communicated by voice. Information on weather and health are mostly provided to them mainly by local radio stations.

But one of the most significant initiatives in Ghana this article would delve into is Busylab’s TradeNet (soon to be rebranded Esoko) platform which leverages on the mobile networks and their extensive coverage. Interestingly, it uses basic mobile phone features and the web. Busylab is a private company based in Ghana and focuses on software development.

In a discussion on the e-agriculture.com forum the “Mobile Telephone in Rural Areas”, Laura Drewett, Partner Director, Busylab said that “TradeNet runs off a single database where information can be shared across different countries, markets, languages, and currencies. In Ghana, the company currently has enumerators collecting data on over 20 commodities in 30 markets throughout the country. The enumerators not only collect information on market prices, but also record offers to buy and sell and profiles of key stakeholders in those markets. This data is available for any mobile phone or Internet user anywhere in the world in real-time”. To access it, the users need to register or have someone register their mobile phones on the platform and profile what commodities and markets they would like to receive information on. “Automatic SMS alerts are sent out either as they occur (offer matches) or on specific days of the week (prices). Other markets feed capabilities like weather and transport are planned for 2009”.

She added that “any group, business or individual can automatically build a profile on the platform that markets their goods and services to a national, regional or global audience”. Enterprises and producer associations can use TradeNet’s mobile service to send out SMSs to their customers, suppliers and member at a fraction of the cost to call or visit them. Messages sent out could include information disseminated on weather, disease alerts and extension services among others. With a database full of profiles, Busylab is also marketing services to companies that can advertise to previously inaccessible groups, reaching even the most remote smallholder farmer.

Since June 2008, there have been 1,322 offers to buy and sell posted in Ghana alone and there are 800 people receiving SMS alerts on a weekly basis. These are all people who replied “yes” to a user poll asking if they wanted to continue to receive these alerts.

The success stories are many. Anyone in the world can submit an offer to buy something and it will be distributed via SMS to registered farmers and producers. According to a Balancing Act story, TradeNet has had people in Japan and the USA find traders in Abidjan. A buyer in Yemen found an organic fertilizer seller in Lagos and onion producers in Burkina Faso found buyers in Accra. This opens the Ghanaian market to other external markets. The TradeNet service is now available across Africa.

In an impact survey in Uganda conducted by partner organization, Foodnet, it was found that 68% of farmers regularly access market information based on the Tradenet Market information platform.  Up to 91% of farmers indicated that receiving information from the platform had a positive to very positive impact on their business.  Farmers regularly using marketing were found to make gains of 12-20% on prevailing market prices, whereas, farmers using market information in groups made gains of 20-34% on prevailing prices.

There is more to come. M-Pesa – a money transfer service through mobile phones – is likely to be introduced in 2009. Vodafone has bought majority stake in Ghana Telecom and would seek to introduce this service which has been an instant success story in Kenya. There are initiatives yet to be developed and deployed. There is one to use mobile phones to give micro-credits to rural folks. The idea is to transfer money coupons to the mobile phones of these folks to be retrieved at rural banks and pay back when it is due.

With these developments, there is the need to train mobile platform developers. Already, Nokia has introduced a new mobile internet course to a number of African universities, including Ashesi University College in Ghana. The Mobile Internet Programme (MIP), is an initiative borne out of partnership between Nokia and EPROM (Entrepreneurial Programming and Research on Mobiles) by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which aims to encourage university students to develop mobile phone applications for use in emerging markets such as Africa. Because of the open source nature of most of mobile software, students do not have to re-invent the wheel. Prospects can build business cases around existing software, for example Apple provides powerful tools to develop software around i-Phone’s software.

The mobile phones are here to stay and we can only tap into the opportunities they present to aid in all aspects of our lives.




A prelude to the Mobile Phone Fair 2012.