Nokia is engaging governments across Africa with a view to deepening access to mobile phone services through development of relevant content and applications to solve day-to-day challenges.
The Finnish phone maker has signed a multi-million dollar partnership with the Kenya government to grow the IT sector through development of mobile solutions that address socio-economic challenges.Nokia announced the deal on the sidelines of the inaugural Demo Africa, a pan-African mobile apps pitching conference that was held in Nairobi last week.
The telecom giant has begun piloting a mobile-based education application in 10 Kenyan schools to aid in the teaching of sciences, especially mathematics at a time more institutions are seeking to enter the sector either by providing e-content or the gadgets that can be used in education.
What is the future of mobile phone services in Africa and what are the opportunities and challenges ahead?
How does Nokia see Africa as a mobile telecoms market?
This, for us, is a growth continent; a place to invest in the brand, business, people and to collaborate with governments. Africa’s GDP is expected to grow at five per cent over the next decade. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa. So, Africa has immense potential and significant challenge.
Africa has a huge potential for growth in mobile telephony. The physical infrastructure could be a challenge but the digital infrastructure could well overcome these challenges.
Africa is at a unique point where the benefits of mobility, the power of the Internet and the dynamics of social networking are all happening in one decade — this decade.
Moreover, FDI in Africa is giving better returns compared to other continents at this point in time.
What could be the impact of mobile phone solutions Africa?
Mobility has had the biggest and most profound impact in the world in terms of technology in the past 100 years or more. It took the railway, the telephone and the aircraft many decades to get to 80 per cent of the world. It took mobility under two decades to get there.
Today, the world has a little over six billion subscriptions, five billion unique users of mobility.
Mobility has made information access much easier, thus putting more power in the hands of citizens or buyers or negotiators. Owning a mobile phone is a passport to taking part in the formal economy. Without this, economic activity would be stifled.
Source :businessdailyafrica.com
