Title: The Power of Mobile: Saving Uganda's Banana Crop
Author: Lyudmila Bujoreanu
Source: Information and Communications for Development - The World Bank blog
Date (published): 15/04/2013
Date (accessed): 16/04/2013
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Case study about the mobile-helped fight against Banana Bacterial Wilt (BBW) infection.

Title: The "SMOOC" and the digital drum: radical innovations in learning
Author: Lex Paulson
Source: UNICEF Stories
Date (published): 07/03/2013
Date (accessed): 11/03/2013
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: On the average school day, nearly one-half of Uganda’s kids won’t benefit from any teacher at all, and many of the remaining half will receive poor-quality instruction. But what if, for all these underserved Ugandan kids, a lesson from one of their country’s top teachers was only a few clicks away? In partnership with Kampala’s NTV Uganda and a cadre of hand-picked star teachers, this is precisely what UNICEF-Uganda is aiming to do. In the last eight months, in their festively painted studio at the Innovation Lab in Mbuya, over 600 24-minute lessons have been recorded — high-quality, comprehensive instruction in English, math, social studies, and science.

Title: Africa's Voices Project
Author: Aventh
Source: Democracy and Governance - Africa, IDS Knowledge Services
Date (published): 04/02/2013
Date (accessed): 25/02/2013
Type of information: online article
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Africa's Voices is a twelve-month pilot project developed to harness the reach of radio and the spread of mobile phone use to gather citizens’ opinions on governance and development issues. Every month, partnering radio stations across Africa ask their listeners a question about local issues, to be answered through SMS. The information is collected and sent through to the project initiators, the Centre of Governance and Human Rights at the University of Cambridge, for analysis. The information is then shared with the radio stations for future programming from a continental perspective.

Title: "My Students Now have Great Jobs in Uganda thanks to Computer Education"
Source: IICD
Date (published): 04/12/2012
Date (accessed): 07/12/2012
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Secondary School Teacher Kereson Katongore started as a history teacher, but is now a driving force for integrating computer education in the schools were he works.

Title: Initial findings from GSMA mWomen Research
Author: Ranjula Senaratna Perera
Source: LIRNEasia
Date (published): 08/02/2012
Date (accessed): 15/02/2012
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"The topline findings from the initial stage of the GSMA mWomen Research in India, Egypt, Papua New Guinea and Uganda were presented recently. It explored the Wants and Needs of BOP Women through a qualitative study.

Some of the insights of ‘mobile as a tool’ are below.

Mobile use by BOP women seem to be driven by practical, utility-oriented needs such as family coordination and emergencies rather than the desire to socialize and ‘chat’.
…
Radio proved to be important as a kill-time feature of the mobile handset, an indication that greater emphasis should be placed on entertainment and infotainment services for women in addition to important life-enhancing services such as mHealth, mAgri, mobile money, etc.
…
BOP women had limited knowledge of VAS, including limited use of SMS…"
(Mobile value-added services (VAS) are those services that offer differentiation and the ability for mobile operators to charge a premium price.)

Title: African farmers tap in to smartphones
Author: Killian Fox
Source: The Irish Times
Date (published): 10/02/2012
Date (accessed): 14/02/2012
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"In the tiny village of Lagude on the wide open plains of northern Uganda, farmers live in constant fear of crop failure. It’s a very real fear: since last summer, the food crisis in east Africa, caused by the worst drought in 60 years, has left 50,000-100,000 people dead, according to recent estimates, and has affected up to 10 million people.

Farming in this part of Africa is a fragile endeavour, but in Uganda a promising new initiative is helping farmers in remote areas such as Lagude safeguard their livelihoods against crop disease and drought.

The microfinance organisation Grameen Foundation has been leasing smartphones to so-called “community knowledge workers” (CKWs) in 10 districts around Uganda so that they can receive vital information – weather reports, disease diagnostics, market prices – from a central database in Kampala and pass it on to their neighbours.

They also gather information that Grameen then relays to major agricultural organisations and food programmes.
… in a country in which a third of the adult population cannot read or write, a digital divide persists. The CKW scheme is addressing this problem by training operatives such as Mr Obwoya to use phones for entrepreneurial as well as social purposes..."

Title: Report of the Uganda Internet Governance Forum 2011 : Harnessing Internet Development in Uganda
Pages: 6 pp.
Publisher: Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Date (published): 27/09/2011
Date (accessed): 14/12/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (doc)
Abstract:
"This report presents the proceedings and key issues that emerged from the Uganda Internet Governance Forum (UIGF) held on August 10, 2011 at Hive Colab Nakawa, Kampala. The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), in conjunction with Hive Colab and the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), organised the Forum under the theme “Harnessing Internet Development.”
…
Issues Arising From the Online Discussions
* Following on from last year, there was a renewed call for investment in local content development and creating awareness of local content development.
* Broadband internet access in Uganda remains broadly undefined. It is unclear whether the nation reached the 256 Kbit/s mark. According to the Uganda Broadband Infrastructure Strategy 2009, National position paper, broadband in Uganda was estimated to be doubling from 256 Kbps in 2009, 512 kbps in 2010 and 1,024 kbps in 2011.
* Call for multi-stakeholder partnerships in the implementation of the recently effected cyber laws. There is a need for all parties to work with authorities to have these laws fully operational. Indeed, there are insufficient human, financial and technological resources to enforce these laws. The enforcement authorities should invest in a digital forensics lab and actively engage academia in cyber security research. Furthermore, the citizenry should be sensitized about the existence of these laws and their implications.
* Mobile phone security remained paramount in the discussions. Whereas some telecommunications providers have embarked on registering mobile phone subscribers with little clarity on the process, it was raised that Sim card registration should be integrated with a functional national ID system. Uganda does not have national IDs.
* There is lack of synergy in databases amongst different government ministries as it is not clear how the different personal data collected by different ministries is used.

Way forward
* The profile of the national IGF needs to be raised beyond just enthusiasts. It was suggested that a Uganda IGF website, newsletter and an IGF handbook detailing key issues and progress, should be developed. Given that IG issues are at the heart of NITA-U and MoICT, these institutions should contribute to the funding pool for national support IGF processes.
* All national Internet Governance recommendations should be implemented at the regional level.
* Remote participation in national, regional and the global IGF forums should be enabled. People who are unable to attend would benefit greatly from facilities such as live streaming and java chat windows."

Title: Mobiles for Quality Improvement Pilot in Uganda
Authors: Pamela Riley and James BonTempo
Pages: 65 pp.
Source: Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector Project
Publisher: Abt Associates Inc.
Date (published): 01/12/2011
Date (accessed): 03/12/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"This report reviews the Mobiles for Quality Improvement (m4QI) project that SHOPS piloted in Uganda. In an effort to address performance gaps in adherence to clinical protocols, SHOPS worked with a local software company to develop a software platform for sending health care providers text messages to either test their knowledge or remind them of particular protocols. The report finds that text messages provide a novel and cost-efficient way to raise awareness, promote behavior change, address common myths, identify performance gaps, incentivize new practices, refresh skills, and increase cohesion among peers. Report includes explanation of pilot design and evaluation of results."

Title: Pedagogical Integration of ICT: Successes and Challenges from 100+ African Schools - 3rd edition
Authors: Thierry Karsenti, Simon Collin and Toby Harper-Merrett
Pages: 349 pp.
ISBN: 978-2-923808-16-1
Publisher: IDRC
Date (published): 18/11/2011
Date (accessed): 19/11/2011
Type of information: research book
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"The PanAfrican Research Agenda aimed to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICT can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa.
In the first project phase, national research teams gathered data on the educational use of ICT in 13 countries: Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Central African Republic, Uganda, Mozambique, Mali, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameroon, and South Africa, and Zambia. Data were collected according to a mixed-method approach, using quantitative data (e.g., questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., interviews, observations) on how ICT were integrated into education. In all, 120 schools, 800 school administrators, 8 940 teachers, and 242 873 students participated in the project.

Phase 1 of the PanAf project primarily involved collecting 20,000 pieces of data following a rigorous indicator procedure that was determined based on the literature as well several meetings between the researchers from the participating countries. All the gathered data are available on the Observatory for the pedagogical integration of ICT at www.observatoiretic.org (briefly presented in section VI).

Analyses of the raw data are also provided at the Observatory, and are available not only to PanAf researchers, but to all researchers in Africa and around the world. The clear advantage of these data, beyond being freely accessible at all times, is that they allow a deeper understanding of Africa's ICT policies and a greater awareness of the impacts of ICT on learners and educators. Note that these data frequently highlight gender issues and uncover inequalities throughout education systems. Last but not least, phase 1 of the PanAf project has fostered the development of research skills in the project teams."

Title: Saving On The Mobile: Developing Innovative Financial Services to Suit Poor Users
Source: AppLab blog (Grameen Foundation)
Date (published): 11/08/2011
Date (accessed): 12/08/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Grameen Foundation’s Sean Krepp and Dr. Olga Morawczynski recently published this paper on Saving on the Mobile in the World Economic Forum’s Mobile Financial Services Development Report 2011.

Savings on mobile money
A recent survey of over 2,000 Kenyan households found that 89% of respondents used M-PESA, a Kenyan mobile money (MM) application, “to save” (Suri and Jack, 2010). Dr. Morawczynski confirmed this finding after spending over 18 months studying the financial habits of resource poor M-PESA users in two locations: an urban slum called Kibera and village in Western Kenya called Bukura (Morawczynski, 2010). The study found that M-PESA was integrated into the financial portfolios and acted as a complement, rather than a substitute, to other mechanisms. This paper expands on these findings by disaggregating the term “savings” and focusing on behavior.

Four scenarios have been developed to explain how and why resource poor individuals use MM as a savings mechanism. These scenarios describe the frequency of transactions and the costs associated with each form of savings. A case study accompanies each scenario to explain the circumstances leading to the savings behavior.

Two MM applications are central to this analysis— M-PESA in Kenya and MobileMoney in Uganda. Product ideas are derived from analysis of practices. To “go beyond payments” and be relevant to poor users, mobile applications must be designed to fit into existing practices rather than trying to change or displace them."