In August 2002, Nigerians celebrated the launch of Mobile telephony under the policy directions of the NCC. Since then we have witnessed significant uptake of services with more than 70 million subscriptions across all regions of the country.
The availability of the mobile phone opened new vista of opportunities for the smart entrepreneurs in Nigeria like Femi Adeagbo of SaveMyContacts, Chike Nwobi, formerly of MTECH which is now a publicly quoted firm operating in a number of African countries. A host of many other mobiprenuers took advantage of the opportunities.
Nigerian mobiprenuers are getting it right when it comes to entertainment and informational based value added services. Most media outlets are always promoting one form of text to win event or promotions.
While all the above may sound exciting, in other climes in Africa, mobile telephony technologies are actively used to commerce as the case in Kenya where MPESA is changing how millions access formal financial services.
In some parts of East Africa, mobile SMS are extensively used to monitor patients on Tuberculosis treatment and even pregnancy management for rural women folk with good results in areas with limited access to Health services.
In many areas of our daily lives as a Nation, we have areas of strong compelling need where simple SMS can make a significant difference. From election monitoring, governance, Health and Banking, simple SMS based application can make a positive difference, empowering millions with mobile phones.
While it could be interesting to download the Shakira clip of the world Cup theme song on the mobile but our needs as a Nation is more compelling than just ring tones and freebies. The same entrepreneurial spirits of the Chika Nwobi’s, Femi Adeagbo, Tosin Onanuga, Yomi Adegboye and other pioneers in the mobile value added ecosystem are needed more than ever before if we must experience the mobile value added in our own ‘Language’ and address our needs.
Join us on Tuesday on August 17th at Nigeria’s first mobile app, content and device conference, holding at the university of Lagos, Akoka.
Mobifest – Reaching the mobile Generation.
This post was written by
Emmanuel Okoegwale – who has written 1 posts on Mobility blog.
Emmanuel Okoegwale is a mobile VAS specialist with specialization in mobile financial services. He is a Director at the African center for mobile financial inclusion, Acmfi in UK and serves on the board of the world first open source mobile micro finance platform in the US, FrontlineSMS Credit. He is the founder of Africa’s leading resource for mobile financial inclusion, mobileMoneyAfrica and very active in the shaping regulations in the mobile financial landscape in Africa.He is a well known circuit speaker and workshop facilitator in Africa and UAE. He will be speaking at comworld series in Nigeria, Sept 2010.
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