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Rural Merchants Go Mobile
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There's has been and will continue to be lots of talk and concern over the current poor economic environment or situation. Many of us living in more advanced economies are feeling the pinch have put off large purchases such as replacing our cars, refrigerators and perhaps doing without another pair of brand name jeans. What about in developing economies-especially rural locations? These are places where a car, refrigerator or even a pair of jeans remain a distant possibility regardless if the current economic environment is bullish or bearish? Places that are often so depressed that it doesn't' ever matter how the global economy is doing because they so far down the economic ladder to begin with? Despite the poverty, one item of modernity that even rural people in developing nations can't seem go without is the ubiquitous mobile phone (or "cell phone." as my Canadian compatriots call them). Even the head monk, or master, at a mountain monastery outside of Dali, Yunnan, China would send a disciple down every week into town to charge his mobile phone. So, what's the connection? Thanks to an exciting project, these humble little devices are being used to empower people with eCommerce: with a few simple tools and applications, even places as remote as rural villages in Africa can now take part in the information economy.
In this SAP TV report, see how SAP Research and C@R (Collaboration at Rural) are automating the supplying basic goods to rural stores (or Spaza Shops) via mobile phones in rural South Africa. The poignant element of this project is that the technology and new job roles within this redesigned transaction model is paid for by the efficiencies gained.
- Shopkeepers no longer have to make the costly journey to stock up: a major sacrifice considering the ever rising cost of transport and the loss of a day's worth of sales. They also provide better service for their customer base by reducing the chances if a stockouts.
- A generation of technologically savvy "infopreneurs" create a market niche for themselves by obtaining better prices for combines Spaza shop orders.
This technology can really make a difference to rural communities not only in Africa but throughout Latin America and Asia.
Jason Lax
is a Content Strategist and SEO Specialist for SAP Community Network.
What do you think of this initiative? What other similar projects have you seen in practice around the world?
Comment on this weblog
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- Mobile phone charging can itself be a source of income
2009-06-15 10:39:49 Mark Yolton
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[Reply]
Hi Jason:
My wife and I have connections to Maasai people and villages in Kenya and Tanzania thru an organization called Asante Africa (http://asanteafrica.org). Some of the women in some of these villages use mobile phone charging (primarily for tourists on safari or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro) as a source of income. The women only need a small investment in order to start these businesses, often using a simple stationary bicycle connected to a battery as a source of energy input, and they sell re-charging as a service from huts or small shops along the travel routes, but far away from cities or towns, to tourists who may not have remembered to pack the proper re-charging equipment for their phones.
One other interesting fact: many of the Maasai, even though they are very traditional in their work (herding goats and cows) and attire and ways of life, carry mobile phones themselves in order to maintain contact with each other over the vast African expanse as they are nomadic people who often wander with herds away from villages. Mobile phones become a new tool for them that they have embraced for their usefulness.
Regards,
Mark Yolton- Mobile phone charging can itself be a source of income
2009-06-21 22:23:01 Jason Lax Business Card [Reply]
This is really interesting. Mobile devices have already changed the world and we haven't seen the end of innovation with them.
While SMS is successfully being used to remind patients to take their TB medication, a project out of MIT called XoutTB goes one step further: participants text-message a code to prove they took their medication in exchange for free air time and more. Here's the full Economist article about this: http://tinyurl.com/mgjknm
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