For the past several years there has been a virtual explosion of mobile networks across both developed and developing countries.  According to a recent ITU Report, Measuring the Information Society – 2010, at the end of 2009, globally 67 out of every 100 people were mobile subscribers.  For developing countries the numbers are 57 out of every 100—and growing.  The following graphic extracted from this ITU report shows the growth since 1998.

Within these numbers lies another somewhat hidden dynamic;

1. Worldwide there are already more mobile Internet subscribers than fixed Internet subscribers, and
2. This is supported by the market moving towards “smart phones.”  For developed countries the computer has been the dominant Internet access device.  For developing economies it is rapidly becoming the smart phone.

And with these dynamics come a number of rich opportunities for USAID as well as the larger international development community—opportunities for the most part that are just now starting to be explored.  These include:

Micro-Small Business Entrepreneurship—this mobile-smart phone-Internet ecosystem provides a rich opportunity for USAID to support the launch or strengthening of a local mobile application development industry.  This is replicable across countries, has low entry costs for entrepreneurs, is quick to market, and has near-instant countrywide market scale.  By its nature, it favors local development and content, with strong employment opportunity for youth.

Local Content Development—typically mobile applications are not only localized with regards to native languages, but also local with regards to content.  This creates an even a broader opportunity for local entrepreneurs and job creation—for both applications and content.

Public-Private Partnerships—the rich mobile-smart phone-Internet ecosystem is made up of handset manufacturers, mobile carriers, development toolset companies, hosting firms, etc.—all with local and international engagements.  Adding USAID and local government participation simply expands this ecosystem faster, further, and places a targeted focus socioeconomic development.

Sector-Specific Applications—for USAID’s various sectors, be it health, education, government, agriculture, etc., this ecosystem provides a rich low-cost platform for developing highly targeted solutions with rapid nationwide scale and with this, expanding USAID’s impact.

These, along with other dynamics reflect an expanding opportunity currently being explored by USAID where the Agency can provide a critical catalytic role to accelerate adoption.  A growing number of related blogs and documents posted on the GBI Portal provide additional information and examples of this exciting dynamic and its potential within the Agency’s development portfolio.