Title: Poor People Using Mobile Financial Services: Observations on Customer Usage and Impact from M-PESA
Authors: Olga Morawczynski and Mark Pickens
Pages: 4 pp.
Source: CGAP Brief
Publisher: CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
Date (published): August 2009
Date (accessed): 06/09/2009
Type of information: research brief
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML, pdf)
Abstract:
Despite growing agreement on the potential of technology to expand access to finance, or branchless banking, there is surprisingly little data publicly available about low-income users. This Brief draws on some of the first ethnographic research on M-PESA, one of the earliest success stories in mobile phone-based delivery of financial services. The research offers insights into how poor people use M-PESA, its impact on their lives, and some unexpected consequences.

M-PESA is a mobile phone-based service for sending and storing money offered by Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile service provider. Safaricom customers can register for M-PESA by visiting one of more than 10,000 merchants who act as “agents” for account opening, handling of deposits and withdrawals into the customer’s virtual “wallet,” and customer support. Customers can then use an application on their mobile phone to check their balance, send money to other people, pay bills, and purchase mobile phone airtime. Customer funds are held in a special trust account at the Commercial Bank of Africa.

Since its commercial launch in March 2007, M-PESA has achieved substantial scale along several key metrics. Nearly 7 million customers have registered with the service. An average of 150 million Ksh (US$1.96 million) is transferred through M-PESA per day, mostly in small amounts averaging just over 1,500 Ksh (US$20) per transaction. So far, the system has handled over 130 billion Ksh (US$1.7 billion).

This Brief presents 10 observations on how poor people use M-PESA and how it has impacted their lives.

Title: New cables to kick-start Africa's new broadband era, report
ISBN: 1503-6103
Source: www.afrol.com
Publisher: afrol News
Date (published): 04/069/2009
Date (accessed): 06/09/2009
Type of information: news article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Total broadband adoption in Africa will increase at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 28 percent through 2013 as new undersea cables boost Africa's international bandwidth, a new report from Pyramid Research has stated.

The report further said the undersea infrastructure will further reduce the number of coastal countries without any cable access from 19 to one.

The report, Africa Connect: Undersea Cables to Drive an African Broadband Boom, describes in detail the upcoming evolution of Africa's international bandwidth market, as five major new cables and a host of smaller ones deployed and to be launched over the next three years.

See also:
Africa & Middle East Telecom Insider / Vol. 1, No 6, August Edition: Africa Connect: Undersea Cables to Drive an African Broadband Boom
Only a brief excerpt available for free (requires registration)

Title: The ICT4D 2.0 Manifesto: Where Next for ICTs and International Development?
Author: Richard Heeks
Pages: 35 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-905469-11-6
Source: Development Informatics Working Paper Series, Paper No. 42
Publisher: Development Informatics Group, Development Informatics Group, University of Manchester
Date (published): August 2009
Date (accessed): 06/09/2009
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
ICT4D – the application of information and communication technologies for international development – is moving to a new phase. This will require new technologies, new approaches to innovation and implementation, new intellectual perspectives and, above all, a new view of the world's poor. All these must be understood if we are to harness digital technologies in the service of some of our world's most pressing problems.

This paper explains the phase change – from "ICT4D 1.0" to "ICT4D 2.0" – and its implications. The background to these phases is reviewed, charting the logic and chronology of applying ICTs in developing countries. The implications of the phase change are then analysed. First, in terms of new technology and application priorities. Then, in relation to new models of innovation we may need to embrace: from laboratory to collaborative to grassroots innovation. Next, in relation to new implementation models for funding, managing, and applying digital technology. Finally, the paper looks at necessary new worldviews to guide our thinking and our policies in this field; integrating perspectives from computer science, information systems and development studies. Additional commentaries and models provide a further set of rich insights into the future of ICT4D.

See also:
Educator's guide to student questions for this paper.
ICT4D 2.0: Where Next for ICTs and Development?