[governance] Upwardly Mobile In Africa

[David Goldstein]

Hi all,

Following on from the recent discussion on ICT in Africa, I found this article in Business Week today.

Upwardly Mobile In Africa
How basic cell phones are sparking economic hope and growth in emerging—and even non-emerging—nations ... These days, just about every tradesman, shopkeeper, and farmer in town has a phone—or at least access to one. "Customers give my number to other customers. The business has grown," says Susan Wairimu, whose tailor shop sits in the row of one-story buildings that constitute the village center. And Willson Maragua's transport business in Muruguru, which consists of him and a used pickup truck, could hardly function without mobile technology. Local farmers, members of the Kikuyu tribe prevalent in the area, summon him to haul their coffee beans to a growers' cooperative in a nearby valley. Now Maragua, an ebullient man wearing a baseball cap that says "Bachelorette Party," lives in a home with a concrete floor and a solar panel on the roof to power a radio and a lightbulb—and recharge his family's two handsets. With a mobile phone, he says over
 a lunch of corn, potatoes, and stewed goat, "You can manage your business."
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_39/b4051054.htm

I put more articles on issues such as digital divide, governance, domain names and more on my website each day at http://technewsreview.com.au/

Cheers
David

 
--------- 
David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
           COOGEE NSW 2034
           AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
 
"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery





      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage.
http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance