Mobile Phones and

International Development

Paul Goodman, ICT Analyst, DAI

November 5, 2009

Overview

• Global Trends

• Delivering Mobile Solutions

• Use Cases

Worldwide Proliferation

Global Trends

Global Mobile Phone Subscriptions

Worldwide Proliferation

Global Trends

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

20002003

2006

ITU data on percentage of Ugandan population covered by mobile phone networks 2000-2006.

Worldwide Proliferation

Global Trends

Worldwide Proliferation

Global Trends

Technological Convergence

Broad range of functionality available in one device: voice and data transmission,

calculator, flashlight, camera, bank, videocamera, multimedia player, notepad, map, etc.

Global Trends

Application Explosion

Mobile phone as profitable application platform and tool for citizen participation.

Global TrendsCommercial applicationsNew monetization/payment options

Applications that promote

citizen participation

Media

Global Trends

The Economist’s September 2009 Special Report on mobile phones included coverage of telecommunications providers, mobile money, the global proliferation of mobiles, and more.

In April 2008 the New York Times asked, “Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?” and covered the work of Jan Chipchase, Ken Banks, and several others.

In February 2007 the BBC proclaimed the mobile phone a “lifeline for world’s poor”.

The New York Times’ Freakonomicsblogs notes irony in the conditions surrounding the WFP’s latest effort.

USG, Donors Call for Mobile Tech

Global Trends

Delivering Mobile Solutions

•Benefits:

–Broad reach

–Simplicity and low cost of SMS

–Voice offers options for illiterate audiences

–Existence of turn-key solutions and

experienced partners across the public and

private sectors

Mobile Solutions

Delivering Mobile Solutions

•Tools:

–SMS/MMS

–Voice

–Data/Mobile Web

–Multimedia Capabilities

Mobile Solutions

Delivering Mobile Solutions

•Considerations:

–Airtime and messaging costs

–Many open source tools are free to try but

require considerable customization and

maintenance

–Host organization must demonstrate

institutional buy-in and capacity

–Local telecommunications infrastructure

Mobile Solutions

Use Cases

•Governance and Civic Engagement

•Health Care Monitoring and Delivery

•Mobile Money

•Agriculture and Market Information

Use Cases

Approaches and Technologies:

•One-way SMS communications (push)

•Two-way SMS communications (push/pull)

•IVR and other voice services

•Data services (mobile web)

The list above and the examples that follow are for illustrative purposes

only – there are too many applications and tools to discuss today.

Governance and Civic Engagement

•Government-Citizen Link

–Communications Channel

–Transparency Tool

–Service Delivery Mechanism

•Citizen Journalism

Use Cases

Use Cases

Citizen journalism via Ushahidi’s platform includes SMS, the web, and Android/WinOS applications

City of Boston’s iPhone citizen participation application

Government transparency delivered via the Sunlight Foundation’s

Recovery.gov augmented reality application

Administration of basic municipal services, information updates to citizens, political action, most often through SMS

Governance and Civic Engagement

SoukTel offers a variety of citizen

engagement services through SMS

FreedomFone delivers IVR-based information

distribution to NGOs in Zimbabwe

Health Care

•Health Care Monitoring

•Health Care Service Delivery

•Patient Records

Use Cases

Use Cases

UNICEF Innovation’s open source RapidSMS platform powers a Nutritional Surveillance System

FrontlineSMS:Medic began in Malawi and has now deployed SMS services at multiple sites

DataDyne’s EpiSurveyor tool is free and benefits from extensive documentation

Health Care

AED’s GATHERdata is the latest solution in this field

ClickDiagnostics offers data collections services in addition to its intended use: field diagnosis

Voxiva offers HealthConnect: SMS, data, IVR data collection, analysis, response, etc. via SAAS

Mobile Money

•Financial Services and Information Access

Use Cases

Mobile Money

Use Cases

SafariCom & Vodafone’s M-Pesa, originally funded by DfID, now has one million subscribers in Kenya

Roshan’s M-Paisa in Afghanistan, with $55 million in support from the ADB

MTN and Standard Bank offer mobile money services in Uganda

Offerings from US-based financial institutions lag far behind the international community

Agriculture

From Kerala to Kabul to Kampala : informal market information systems, donor-funded systems, and private sector services.

Use Cases

Robert Jensen is the author of “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector,” Quarterly Journal of Economics (2007).