By Masimba Mukichi
The times of the town criers, the times of communicating by starting a fire, the times of communicating by beating the drum – and the times of arranging stones in a certain way to convey a message are now dead and buried. The advent of technology has improved the lives of the rural poor in Africa – the internet and the mobile phones are now talked of by the rural poor. Arguably every household in the village has a mobile phone.
In Zimbabwe Econet unraveled a system known as Eco cash. This is an innovative mobile phone payment solution that enables customers in both rural and urban areas to complete financial transactions such as sending money to loved ones, buying prepaid air time, for themselves or other Econet subscribers and for paying for goods and services. Good job Econet for this innovative service – you deserve a high-five.
In rural Kenya the mobile phone is the main viable means of accessing the internet. The Kenyan smallholder farmers use their mobile phones to market their crops and to compare prices on offer for their produces. They also use mobile phones for money transfers.
In Namibia, the Himba people who are mainly cattle herders have fallen in love with the mobile phones. They use them for communication and to share information about the whereabouts of their animals which are allowed to roam the veld in search of grazing pastures. The mobile phones help them to keep track of their animals. According to Aljazeera English’s documentary entitled, once a Nomad, an app is being developed to help them keep track of their animal- this technology will eventually enable the Himba children go to school, at the moment most of them don’t go to school – they herd cattle. Hats off to this innovative app which intends to make the lives of the illiterate Himba people better.
At the moment the gossip in town is that Amazon is intending to develop and launch a drone which can deliver goods to our doorsteps within 30 minutes of placing an order. It is hoped that it will be fully operational in five years in developed world. This is welcome news to all shopping lovers – this will add quality and efficiency to their shopping. As the technology gets better and better and better – I would want to live to see the drones delivering seeds and fertilisers, drugs and medicines to the remotest parts of Africa. I would also want to live to see the day when rugby can be played on the moon. I would also want to live to witness the first wedding on Mars. Our world is getting better and better – Africa is getting wiser and wiser, it is receptive to new technology and it is full of fresh talent raring to invent new technologies and conquer the planets. The sky is the limit – go Africa go!
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