Mobile business models in African rural communities

[摘要] Mobile telephone subscription in developing countries has increased by more than 500percent since 2005, with Africa experiencing the highest growth rate globally. AmongstAfrica's 306.5 million subscribers, recorded in 2008, an unexpectedly high adoption rate ofthe technology by poor, often illiterate rural communities is observed. Mobile telephonygenerally provides African rural users access to electronic communication for the first time.Providing access to communication, information and knowledge, mobile phones present aplatform for economic and social interaction in rural Africa. The extent of the resultingpositive socio-economic impact on the developing world has lead to mobile telephonyincreasingly being viewed as a potential development tool for the socio-economic upliftmentof the rural poor.This thesis is inspired by the potential for value creation to end users of mobile telephony,leading to the proposition that the rapid expansion of mobile telephony in rural Africa cancontribute significantly to the sustainability of these communities' rural livelihoods. For thisproposition to be valid, mobile telephony has to provide value beyond being communicationtool. It has to provide value in income generating activities by increasing opportunities foraccess to financial and social capital with mobile business models appropriate to the ruralAfrican context.To assess the appropriateness of mobile value offerings, the rural African context wasanalyzed using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Through multi-level analysis, thechallenges and issues that influence the lives of the rural poor were explored and thedominant livelihood strategies in terms of income generating activities were identified. Apartfrom agricultural income streams, waged labor, migration and micro-entrepreneurialactivities provide non-agricultural income streams.Creating an appropriate mobile business ecosystem for rural Africa requires the collaborationof a complex network of actors within a value constellation to co-produce value for the endusers. Three conditional factors were identified for mobile telephony and emerging mobilebusiness models to contribute successfully to sustainable livelihoods: adaptation of thetechnology by providers, user appropriation to make the technology their own and theassimilation of it into their livelihood strategies. These factors were researched for validation through the study of existing literature and reported case studies. It was found that these threeconditional factors were unequivocally met.Firstly, the mobile telecommunication industry active in Africa is seen to successfully adaptand innovate solutions that are relevant to African rural communities' vulnerabilities andlivelihood strategies. Secondly, African mobile phone users have successfully adopted andappropriated mobile telephony to create value for themselves in their livelihood strategies,often independent of external interventions. They are claiming ownership of the technologyand not merely using it as a communication tool. Thirdly, by assimilating mobile telephonyinto their livelihood strategies, value-creation within their income generating activities havebeen made possible. This value creation is impacting users' social and financial capitalpositively.This thesis concludes that mobile telephony and emerging mobile business models arecontributing to increasing African rural dwellers' income generating potential, reducing theirvulnerability to shocks, and providing them with a voice; thereby contributing to sustainablerural livelihoods.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University