Do They Help in Reducing Poverty? NO
Cell phone subscriptions world wide will reach five billion this year, that is almost one per person on the planet, according to a recent UN study
In Egypt, there are around 57 million devices in use says Dr. Gamal Sultan the head of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
In different parts of the world there are some serious efforts to use the mobile connectivity as a tool for empowerment, offering work to people with little education and few resources, Bangladesh and Uganda are two striking examples. Yet to claim that cell phones are helping to reduce poverty is an overstatement that does not reflect reality as much as it reflects a potential.
This is simply because up till this moment mobiles make part of a culture of consumption. Often, people buy expensive mobiles with cameras, mega memories and a pack of applications because it is prestigious not because they actually need these tools or are going to make use of them. This applies more to the poor than the rich. People with money and education has the privileged know-how that enables them to make better choices. Even when they buy a device for the sake of the show, they quickly adapt to the new technologie and make use of the different capabilities.
Potential Unfulfilled
Studies show that the marginalized communities lack the adequate skills to make use of the technologie. While skills can be taught, the major obstacle is in fact the lack of “meaningful awareness of the technology and what it can do." A number of recent studies have shown that this lack of awareness is part of a consistent pattern of mobile usage that has been traced in different parts of the world:
A 2007 study of Mobile Opportunities in Latin America for instance reveals that the poor represent a significant market for mobile operators, with higher than expected average per capita expenditure. The average monthly spending on mobile services ranged from USD 6.1 in Colombia to USD 15.7 in Mexico. In the Caribbean nations expenditure levels were considerably higher.
The study notes that “despite increased adoption, users are not taking full advantage of the services enabled by the mobile platform. Text messaging (SMS) is the only service beyond voice that is rapidly being adopted across the region.” Meanwhile in some countries such as Brazil the literacy levels have significantly deterred the adoption of this kind of service.
the results of anoher 2008 study of perceived economic benefits of telecom access for the poor in Asia ( Pakistan, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand) have shown that “Telephone ownership is perceived to provide large benefits in providing a sense of security in terms of acting in an emergency and in maintaining social relationships." Notably, in these countries, there is a potential for greater income earning capabilities using the mobile technology , especially that the necessary conditions for such in terms of access are considerably met. Yet, the financial benefit was not among the main reasons nor perceived as added value.
The study notes that “the problem seems to lie in the perceptions”. People in marginalized communities do not use phones directly for business purposes, such as purchasing supplies, etc... They usually prefer other modes for their business communication, specifically, face-to-face communication, which is ‘overwhelmingly’ the preferred mode for specific information relating to farming, business, education, and political or government matters. This finding is echoed in other studies that surveyed the mobile technology usage in Africa.
A 2005 of study of rural communities in India (Gujarat), Mozambique and Tanzania has shown that there was a consistent pattern of telephone behavior in the three countries. Mobile phones were:
considered very important for use in emergencies
extensively used to maintain social networks, especially contact within the family
Especially where financial value was concerned Mobile phones were valued more by richer and better educated people than by the poorer, less educated or more marginal members of society
Valued more for saving money than for earning money
considered unimportant for information gathering.
The Harvard Discussion
In September 2003, thirty experts from around the world gathered at Harvard University to discuss how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help reduce poverty. Some pointed out to the problem of cost, they warned that information technology can become a tool of either decreasing the inequalities that already exist in the world or increasing it.
In the words of Onno Purbo from Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia
“The barrier [is] actually not the tool. The barrier would be the education process. To educate the society to share the knowledge within the society, to encourage the society to produce their knowledge in local languages. That’s a major barrier.”
Others stressed the need to create content that serves the poor, Noeleen Heyzer from the United Nations Development Fund for Women in the United States highlighted the need to help people be more than just “ users of the technology, but also the producers of the knowledge.”
The Egypt Case
In Egypt, the question of awareness extends to the more educated communities whose interest in the technology does not go far beyond their immediate needs. Businesses promote new high-tech devices with advanced specifications to serve and facilitate the connectivity for the few. Developers invent new mobile applications, most of the time, to address the very limited needs also of the few: a mobile guide to restaurants with a comments and a star rating system, different applications to navigate through the turbulent seas of jammed traffic are some illustrations.
Undeniably, these services are much needed and useful. Yet the fact that they are designed and formatted initially to serve the elitist few is a basic flaw that taints the different business endeavors. As most of the studies mentioned above show, the challenge is not about the provision of Information Communication Technology (ICT) services and internet. It is more about educating people to use these technologies intelligently.
Applications that help people in greater Cairo to learn about accidents, street blocks, volume of traffic in different locations, for instance, would be very useful for a wider population than the Blackberry and Iphone users who are currently the primary beneficiaries.
The model of Grameen Foundation Again and Again
2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus tells the story of his initiative to start a micro- financed businesses for women in rural areas by distributing mobile phones to the women to act as call centers. This initiative provided the women with a money resource and helped the villagers get access to information and to connect.
Eventually, Yunus realized that there is an exigency for content creation with information relevant to the needs of the poor. He partnered with Google to develop An initiative named AppLab (Application Laboratory). The new service provides an innovative solution to the problem of information imbalance, which is particularly severe in rural areas all over the developing world.
Essentially, the initiative aims at developing a modified version of Google’s search engine technology through mobile phones. Although the informational needs of each community and country differ according to their social, environmental and economic climate, the following are a few examples of mobile phone services introduced in Uganda that can be replicated in other parts of the world:
Marketplace prices : If poor farmers get to know trending prices for various crops and raw materials in the nearby market, which may happen to be a good 4km or 5km away, they can easily plan their visits to avail any favorable rises and falls in prices. Moreover, they can enjoy greater margins and bargains by exchanging an intermediary (a dealer in crops) for their mobile phones
Tips on farming : Farmers can get tips on making fertilizer or pesticides from easily available items to ensure their crops are healthy
Health updates: Low-income groups patients living in far off villages can be reminded about their medicine schedules, or the appropriate medication and dosages to be taken to treat various medical conditions, and even the location of the nearest health clinic, all through their mobile phones.
Obviously the above mentioned examples have a great potential in rural Egypt. Needless to say that in contrast to Europe where one can shop online, compare prices and make an educated and well informed choice, Egyptians, let alone peasants, live in complete oblivion with very little resource of information or feed back on services,cost, quality, and durability of different products.
It goes without saying that there is a dire need in Egypt to invest in content creation for a better and healthier economy that serves better, the poor and the rich.
Yet an essential question that , from the very beginning till the end, is the main motivator and the fuel for any organization to take meaningful action is :
Where is the money?
One simple answer is to present another revolutionary example that is increasingly being adopted, studied, and applied in different parts of the world:
Mobile banking simply means the provision of banking services through mobile phones using the SMS facility or a downloadable mobile money application. This collaboration between the financial and telecom sector is seen as an ideal solution for micro-finance because “there are about 1 billion people across Asia, Africa and Latin America who do not have a bank account but do have a cell phone.”
The implications of mobile banking means, in Egypt and other parts of the world, integrating the non official marginalized workforce into the country's monitory system. People who never set a foot in any bank, will be able, and will be encouraged to have accounts, save, withdraw and send money.
This could and should lead people to learn about money, investment, saving, it would certainly raise their financial awareness and eventually limit the massive waste in money spending among the poor.
A Bloomberg report dubbed this kind of technology as Africa's silver bullet to combat poverty. Having better content, access to banking and information, and the creative usage of mobile devices, all the above and more will serve first and foremost the rich, but will definitely if well planned and managed help the poor.
Is it too much optimism on my part to say that there is no need to have poor people for the rich to be richer?
In effect, what will get money-makers make more money is if they extend a hand to the large population at the bottom of the pyramid to help them climb the steep high walls.
