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Agriculture, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Sustainable Agriculture

Social Media @ IFAD’s 2012 GC Meeting

Photo Credit: IFAD

The 35th Session of International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD’s) Governing Council (GC) is currently underway with innovative use of social media for more inclusive, interactive and impact-oriented forum.

The 2-day event with the theme “Sustainable smallholder agriculture: feeding the world, protecting the planet” takes off officially on Wednesday at IFAD’s headquarters in Rome with side events such as Fourth global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum and Haiti post-earthquake support program for food security and employment generation in affectted areas taking place on Tuesday.

The meeting is expected to provide a platform for Member States, partners and the public to discuss and debate what needs to be done to enable smallholder farmers to contribute to raising food availability by 7% by 2050 that is required to feed a growing, more urbanized population.

To stimulate the conversation, IFAD’s strong team of social media reporters are on the ground to get you informed and get you involved. The social reporters will keep the outside world informed through blogs, tweets, posting interviews and pictures on the following IFAD social media channels.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ ifadnews
Blog: http://ifad-un.blogspot.com/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IFADTV
BlipTV: http://ifad.blip.tv
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IFAD
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/ifad

Live tweets will be displayed on the twitter wall in the Plenary Hall, in the meeting rooms and in the atrium. Delegates are encouraged to share their ideas, views and insights via social media channels using #ifadgc hashtag.

The virtual audience can follow the proceedings and interact with the prominent guests and panelists on the above social media channels. Plenary sessions, high-level panels, center stage events and regional and other events taking place in the Plenary Hall and Oval Room will also be webcast respectively at the following urls:

To get more information on IFAD’s Governing Council, visit here.

February 21, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

M-PESA responds: Benefits and Challenges of using mobile money to reduce poverty for women in Kenya

This is a guest post by Dr Ndunge Kiiti of Houghton College, New York and the GSMA mWomen programme.

M-PESA Responds

The M-PESA staff members were grateful for the feedback provided by the women’s groups. First, the workshop provided them with a broader context in which to understand how these groups were using their services in the rural areas. Second, they were able to spend quality time explaining how the women might confront and address some of the challenges they have faced as a result of the services. The challenges and M-PESA’s suggested responses are listed below.

Fraud

Several of the women had lost money to fraud. The M-PESA staff acknowledged the women’s concerns and highlighted that reported cases were always investigated. They emphasized several tips to prevent M-PESA fraud including:

Calling M-PESA to confirm the request prior to responding to a text message regarding their account (the phone number, which would require a small fee, was provided)
Checking to see if the text message is actually from M-PESA – if it was it would have the M-PESA logo and/or name)
Being aware of their account balance
Ensuring their pin number is always kept safe

It was also brought to the groups’ attention that M-PESA has introduced a new Safaricom SIM card which allows individuals to save the phone numbers used for M-PESA transactions. This enables the individual to just scroll and pick the accurate number instead of having to retype the number every time it is used. This reduces the problem of sending money to the wrong number. The M-PESA staff provided the SIM card service at the workshop and many of the women paid for the service and got their old SIM cards replaced. The women expressed gratitude for the service.

Network/Connectivity Problems

Why some areas face network problems was explained by the M-PESA staff. The company recognizes that network coverage is a problem in some rural areas. A key challenge for M-PESA is the platform or technology has faced limitations in keeping up with the demand, as the users of the service continue to increase across the country. The women were encouraged to report coverage issues to an M-PESA outlet, if there is one in their area, rather than an agent. They were also given a number to call or text, when they have access to service, to report these complaints to give the service provider the opportunity to rectify the problems. Again, this would require a small fee.

Cost

The challenge of cost for service was discussed; even though the service was deemed very useful by users, sometimes the costs involved proved challenging for them. The M-PESA staff explained their service costs, what they entail and how they have worked to keep them affordable for Kenyans. There was mutual agreement that M-PESA has tried to be fair in terms of pricing. In fact, it came out in the conversation that one of the reasons it was being used by all 21 women’s groups was because it was the most competitive in the mobile money market.

Services for Special Populations

In relation to services for special populations, such as the elderly, illiterate or visually impaired, there were no easy answers. M-PESA staff suggested that they would look into the possibilities of programs that might assist special populations to have positive experiences with their service.

Group Communication and Dynamics

On one hand, mobile money allows for money to be sent to facilitate planning at meetings, even if a member needs to be absent. However, some groups argued this can perpetuate the lack of meeting attendance, thus limiting the social aspects of the group meeting and affecting the socio-psychological support that comes from face-to-face group interactions. Since this issue relates more to the training and capacity building carried out by those running women’s groups, it was not addressed by the M-PESA in detail. However, representatives of the organization running the women’s groups encouraged members not to allow the use of technology to erode or limit their face-to-face communication by not attending meetings. The groups were encouraged to continue reminding members that a key part of their mission is being a support system for one another which require face to face communication.

Summary

Overall, despite the numerous challenges mentioned, the groups made it clear that the benefits of using mobile money services outweighed the disadvantages. In addition, bringing together M-PESA staff and their end users was mutually beneficial. The women’s groups were able to gain information, knowledge and services that will continue to help them with their poverty reduction activities. The M-PESA staff were able to garner insights and understanding that may contribute to framing policies and practice for mobile money services.

February 21, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Connectivity, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Africa’s 8 largest mobile networks

While MTN is Africa’s largest mobile phone network provider, how does it stack up to the competition? While MTN is a native to Africa, most of the continent’s big players are rooted around the globe with parent companies in different countries.

Although Vodafone is one of the biggest mobile phone networks in the UK, it also has operations in Ghana, South Africa and Egypt (image: London Evening Standard)

1. Vodafone

A star in the UK, Vodafone also has operations in Ghana, South Africa and Egypt. With 439.6-million subscribers, it is the second largest network in the world, after China’s China Mobile. The Chinese company has 649.5-million subscribers of which almost three quarters is owned by the Chinese government.

2. Telefónica

Spanish mobile network Telefónica, which includes Movistar, O2 and Vivo, is currently ranked as the fourth largest network, with just over 231.8-million subscribers. Operations span from Latin America to Western Europe, running networks in Sudan (as Sudan Unicom), and Morocco.

3. Airtel

Airtel, one of Africa’s most popular networks, has a subscriber base of just over 227-million users. The Indian company operates in Burkina Faso, Chad (Airtel Chad), Republic of the Congo (Airtel Congo Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Airtel DRC), Ghana (Airtel Ghana), Kenya (Airtel Kenya), Nigeria (Airtel Nigeria), Uganda (Airtel Uganda) and others.

4. Orange

Orange, owned by France Télécom, is popular in several nations. With over 217-million users, the French network has set up shop in Botswana (Orange Botswana), Cameroon (Orange Cameroon), Egypt (Mobinil), Equatorial Guinea (Orange Equatorial Guinea), Ivory Coast, Kenya (Orange Kenya), Madagascar (Orange Madagascar), Mali (Orange Mali), Niger (Orange Niger), Senegal (Orange Senegal), Uganda (Orange Uganda) and Togo.

5. Beeline

Beeline might not seem familiar, but the Russian network has 199-million subscribers across the world, and is owned by VimpelCom. Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris owns a large stake in the company operating in Egypt (Mobinil), Algeria (Djezzy), Burundi (Telecel), Central African Republic (Telecel), Namibia (Telecel) and Zimbabwe (Telecel).

6. MTN Group

MTN is the largest mobile network in Africa, in terms of indigenous network — where the top five are owned and operated by non-African companies. With a subscriber base of 152.3 million, the company employs 17 509 workers, operating in 21 African countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Sudan and Congo.

7. Etisalat

Ranked the 15th largest mobile network in the world (approximately 135-million subscribers), UAE’s Etisalat operates in several Gulf nations, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Egypt and Gabon, as well as Ivory Coast, Niger and Nigeria.

8. Qatar Telecom

Qtel is one of the largest public companies in Qatar with about 2 000 employees, and operates in Qatar, Algeria and Tunisia. In 2009, the company had just over 82-million subscribers. In 2011, Qtel became the first company in Qatar to reach internet trial speeds of 100 megabits per second.

Charlie Fripp – Online editor

February 17, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Nigerian ICT looks to mobile money

Nigeria’s $25 billion mobile money market is set to top the agenda at the 66^thTelecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) meeting on Friday. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and telecom operators hope the conference will address challenges facing the industry.

Eugene Juwah is gearing up for Friday's event. (image: file)

The monthly event, held in Lagos, brings together government and operators to discuss issues in Nigerian telecoms industry.

Eugene Juwah, the NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, said the topic of the next event will be “Mobile Payment: The Consumer Perspective”.

Total mobile money transactions in emerging markets is expected to grow at an annual compound rate (CAGR) of 54%. From $25 billion in 2010, to $215 billion in 2015.

“There is also a forecast that mobile money subscribers will grow from 133 million users in 2010 at a CAGR of 40% to reach 709 million users in 2015,” his office said.

February 16, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Health, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Mobile Africa Report 2011: Regional Hubs of Excellence and Innovation

This report draws on primary research (including questionnaires sent to key mobile stakeholders in Africa) as well as secondary research (reports and articles from AfricaNext, BizCommunity, Dataxis Intelligence, International Telecommunications Union, Africa Analysis, Voice of America, TMCNet, BizCommunity, Computerworld Zambia – see full list at end of report).

In 2008, imports of data enabled phones exceeded that of non-data enabled phones in many African markets. In 2009, the undersea cables hit East and Southern Africa in a big way. In 2010, mobile operators became serious about data availability and cost packaging for everyday Africans. 2011 is expected to bring a new type of data-enabled mobile user in Africa, and brings the mobile web to center stage.

McKinsey estimates Africa’s gross domestic product at about US $2.6 trillion, with US $1.4 in consumer spending. Africa’s population growth and urbanization rates are among the highest in the world.

Yunkap Kwankam and Ntomambang Ningo, authors of the paper titled “Information Technology in Africa: A Proactive Approach,” maintain that African countries can bypass several stages in the use of ICTs.

On the technology front, Africans can accelerate development by skipping less efficient technologies and moving directly to more advanced ones. The telecommunications sector continues to attract a flurry of public and private investment.

Alex Twinomugisha in Nairobi, manager at Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative, says telecom investment in sub-Saharan Africa is coming not only from foreign sources but also local banks. But the investment should be in software and services as well, not just cabling infrastructure.

To learn more about the state of mobile in Africa, download the entire report here.

February 16, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Nigeria to join Zambia for e-voucher: who’s next?

Photo Credit: OGALA

A new plan using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate smooth delivery of inputs to farmers will soon be implemented in Nigeria.

“With this system, we can trace if somebody is supplying bad fertilizer, supplying sand instead of fertilizer; we know where it comes from as opposed to the old system,” said the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

According to the minister, farmers will from now get fertilizer and seed allocation through their mobile phones. Adesina made this known on Sunday in Abuja while fielding questions at a News Agency of Nigeria forum, where he said the strategy was couched in the new fertilizers voucher scheme. The system is designed to ensure transparency and good governance in the distribution of fertilizers and ensure that the fertilizers and seed companies functioned as business entities, not as contract from government.

The old system of fertilizer distribution in Nigeria according to the minister, whereby government bought and distributed fertilizers, was laden with corruption and inefficiency and also led to rent seeking and exploitation of farmers. It is expected that the implementation of these electronic voucher scheme using mobile phones and biometrics will ensure authenticity of the provider and the user for effective monitoring of the inputs.

This comes barely 2-weeks after my recent piece on The Myth of E-Voucher Schemes for Enhanced Fertilizer Use which lamented on the future use of ICTs within the agricultural value chain for input delivery. The post cited the Zambian experience which shows that e-voucher system empowers smallholders to obtain subsidized inputs from private firms (giving the firms, in turn, an incentive to expand and improve their business).

I look forward to seeing similar developments in other countries like Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania that are still stuck with the paper voucher to the disadvantage of the smallholder farmers.

See here for full article.

February 14, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Western Cape taxis to use smart cards

The Peninsula Taxi Association (PTA) in the Western Cape will become the first taxi organisation using electronic payments in South Africa.

The Peninsula Taxi Association (PTA) will become the first taxi organisation to use a smart cards system for payment (image: Gateway)

The end of January saw the launch of the Tap-I-Fare card payment system. Five thousand cards were distributed to passengers. These cards are compatible with the MyCiTi bus service and Johannesburg’s Reya Vaya bus service too.

With a fleet of 250 vehicles, the PTA is testing the system on a number of taxis for now. “As a pilot project at the moment, the card system was being implemented in 42 vehicles which ran the city to Victoria & Alfred Waterfront route but would be rolled out to other routes in future. The 42 vehicles had wireless hand-held devices upon which the cards were swiped,” the New Age wrote.

“As the most progressive taxi association in the country, it was always the vision of the PTA to look ahead and pre-empt the ever changing needs of the commuter. This meant that changes had to be made to keep up with the times, and this card payment system was but one option that was explored,” said Ghaalid Behardien, association spokesperson .

The first 1000 passengers to buy a new card will get it at 50% discount, while card holders’ fares from Cape Town central to the V&A Waterfront are reduced by 50c.

Charlie Fripp – Online editor

February 8, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Mobile Agriculture to feature at the Mobile World Congress 2012

A panel on “Mobile Agriculture: The Market Opportunity” will be one of the highlights at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2012 scheduled for Barcelona, Spain at the end of this month.

This intensive panel session will cover issues on the immediate opportunities for the mobile industry to launch commercially driven services for farmers, and the emerging best practices and insights from existing service providers on overcoming challenges and launching Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS). It will showcase the market opportunity for Agri VAS in emerging markets, and expected to be patronized by mobile network operators (MNOs), VAS providers, content providers, agricultural organizations, NGOs, development practitioners and academics interested in the opportunity to develop innovative new services.

The panel will include experts and thought leaders from the mobile agriculture industry. Below is the event information.

Event: Mobile Agriculture: The Market Opportunity

Date: Tuesday 28th February 2012

Time: 17.30- 18.30 CET

Venue: GSMA Seminar Theatre, Hall 2.1, Fira Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

Mobile technologies are enhancing access to information across the world and impacting lives in remote rural communities. There are nearly six billion mobile subscriptions in the world today. Four out of five new connections are happening in the developing world. Yet these markets suffer from numerous challenges in the agricultural sector, from low yield amongst smallholder farmers to supply chain inefficiencies.

The rural sector represents the largest customer base in emerging markets and is a significant growth area for the mobile industry. In response to this opportunity, the GSMA launched the mFarmer Initiative in 2011 to support mobile operators and agricultural organizations in launching commercially viable mobile information services for farmers. The GSMA mAgri Program identifies opportunities where mobile can have the most impact to mitigate these problems.

Mobile World Congress 2012 will celebrate the current state of mobile and offer a glimpse into where mobile has the potential to go next. For more information and to register for Mobile World Congress 2012, please click here. To reserve your place at the Mobile Agriculture panel event please contact the GSMA mAgri program at mAgri@gsm.org.

For more information on the GSMA mAgri Program, please visit: http://www.gsma.com/magri/

February 6, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Uganda’s Airtel launches mobile money

Uganda’s Airtel officially launched its mobile money scheme on Tuesday with Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi making the first transaction to a local journalist. The new platform should enable Ugandans to access their real money and convert it to e-money in order to pay bills and accounts, top up mobile credit and receive money across the country’s telecom networks.

Uganda’s Airtel officially launched its mobile money scheme on Tuesday (image: Blogspot)

Mbabazi said that telecom operators in the country are now giving users more options and adding value to their operations, which the PM said would have a “positive social impact and economic growth” for the country, singling out rural areas as having the greatest potential.

Airtel’s launch means the country now has four operators serving mobile money, after MTN, Uganda Telecom and Warid Telecom already had launched their services.

Airtel Uganda Managing Director, V.G Somasekhar told guests that the company invested sh300-million ($130 608) to upgrade its network services at 300 sites countrywide.

He said this enabled at least 1.5-million more customers to be accessed, bringing its total customer base to 4-million.

Andrew Matapare

February 2, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Kenya’s Cellulant and Barclays partner for digital services

Kenyan mobile services provider Cellulant has inked a deal with UK’s Barclays Bank in order to provide digital services across the African continent.

The two companies will partner on a new platform aimed at connecting banks (image: stock.xchng)

According to the deal, the two companies will partner on a new platform aimed at connecting banks with third-parties, including mobile network operators to boost the efficacy of mobile money services across the continent.

“Cellulant’s platform will be deployed in stages in Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Seychelles, Botswana and Kenya,” the companies said.

Cellulant’s chief business officer, Paul Ndichu, said in a press release that “we have built a mobile commerce network connected to different platforms across different value chains in Africa such as [mobile] wallets, banks, merchant bill payment gateways and content delivery channels to deliver a transformational experience on mobile.”

According to John Gachora, Barclays Africa’s corporate banking MD, the digital drive is part of Barclay’s One Africa strategy to increase channel access for both retail customers and corporate clients.

“For corporate clients, this offers an efficient and cost-effective channel to bill and receive payments from their customers,” he added.

Janan Yussif

February 2, 2012/by actualize