Paul D Goodman ICT Analyst, DAI

1. Mobile Phones and
International Development
Paul Goodman, ICT Analyst, DAI
November 5, 2009

2. Overview
• Global Trends
• Delivering Mobile Solutions
• Use Cases

3. Worldwide Proliferation
Global Mobile Phone Subscriptions
Global Trends

4. Worldwide Proliferation
ITU data on percentage of Ugandan population covered by mobile
phone networks 2000-2006.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000
2003
2006 Global Trends

5. Worldwide Proliferation
Global Trends

6. Worldwide Proliferation
Global Trends

7. 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

8. Application Explosion
Mobile phone as profitable application platform
and tool for citizen participation.
New monetization/payment options
Commercial applications Applications that promote Global Trends
citizen participation

9. Media
The New York Times’ Freakonomics The Economist’s September 2009
blogs notes irony in the conditions Special Report on mobile phones
surrounding the WFP’s latest effort. 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”.
Global Trends

10. USG, Donors Call for Mobile Tech
Global Trends

11. 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

12. Delivering Mobile Solutions
•Tools:
–SMS/MMS
–Voice
–Data/Mobile Web
–Multimedia Capabilities
Mobile Solutions

13. 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

14. Use Cases
•Governance and Civic Engagement
•Health Care Monitoring and Delivery
•Mobile Money
•Agriculture and Market Information
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.
Use Cases

15. Governance and Civic Engagement
•Government-Citizen Link
–Communications Channel
–Transparency Tool
–Service Delivery Mechanism
•Citizen Journalism
Use Cases

16. Governance and Civic Engagement
Administration of basic municipal services, information updates to citizens, political action, most often through SMS
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
SoukTel offers a variety of citizen
engagement services through SMS
FreedomFone delivers IVR-based information
distribution to NGOs in Zimbabwe
Use Cases

17. Health Care
•Health Care Monitoring
•Health Care Service Delivery
•Patient Records
Use Cases

18. Health Care
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
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
Use Cases

19. Mobile Money
•Financial Services and Information Access
Use Cases

20. Mobile Money
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
Use Cases

21. Agriculture
From Kerala to Kabul to Kampala : Robert Jensen is the author of “The
Digital Provide: Information
informal market information systems, (Technology), Market Performance
donor-funded systems, and private sector and Welfare in the South Indian
services. Fisheries Sector,” Quarterly Journal
of Economics (2007).
Use Cases