Comments on: Mobile finance – indigenous, ingenious, or both? http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2008/11/mobile-finance-indigenous-ingenious-or-both/ Where technology meets anthropology, conservation and development Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:31:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: kiwanja http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2008/11/mobile-finance-indigenous-ingenious-or-both/comment-page-1/#comment-89 kiwanja Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:25:00 +0000 http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/?p=202#comment-89 Hi Darrell<br/><br/>Picture messaging isn't huge right now, due to a combination of irregular GPRS access and the lack of MMS-enabled handsets. Obviously people aren't going to send MMS if they don't know if the other person is able to pick them up or not. (MMS ends up as an email if not, with the intended recipient receiving an SMS telling them to go online and click a link - not ideal if web access is also an issue). It will no doubt pick up in the mainstream at some stage, although I have no actual numbers.<br/><br/>As for the research you mention, I'm sure some has been done, but I'm not aware of any, unfortunately. It would certainly be interesting...<br/><br/>Ken Hi Darrell

Picture messaging isn’t huge right now, due to a combination of irregular GPRS access and the lack of MMS-enabled handsets. Obviously people aren’t going to send MMS if they don’t know if the other person is able to pick them up or not. (MMS ends up as an email if not, with the intended recipient receiving an SMS telling them to go online and click a link – not ideal if web access is also an issue). It will no doubt pick up in the mainstream at some stage, although I have no actual numbers.

As for the research you mention, I’m sure some has been done, but I’m not aware of any, unfortunately. It would certainly be interesting…

Ken

]]> By: Darrell http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2008/11/mobile-finance-indigenous-ingenious-or-both/comment-page-1/#comment-88 Darrell Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:25:00 +0000 http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/?p=202#comment-88 I wonder how picture messaging is used (if at all) in Africa. What about age / generational use of mobile telephony? I wonder how picture messaging is used (if at all) in Africa. What about age / generational use of mobile telephony?

]]> By: Lisa Deeley Smith http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2008/11/mobile-finance-indigenous-ingenious-or-both/comment-page-1/#comment-85 Lisa Deeley Smith Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000 http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/?p=202#comment-85 Someone is making a lot of money on mobile payments! It cost us $100 for our field manager in South Sudan to get $1,000.<br/><br/>In Kampala I had a friend who never bought airtime for his cell phone. He flashed everybody. (With MTN cell-phone service, incoming calls are free, but you have to buy airtime to make outgoing calls. If your phone is powered, you can make a call without airtime, and your number will show on the other's caller ID, but there won't be a connection.) Then he would get annoyed when no one would call him back! Someone is making a lot of money on mobile payments! It cost us $100 for our field manager in South Sudan to get $1,000.

In Kampala I had a friend who never bought airtime for his cell phone. He flashed everybody. (With MTN cell-phone service, incoming calls are free, but you have to buy airtime to make outgoing calls. If your phone is powered, you can make a call without airtime, and your number will show on the other’s caller ID, but there won’t be a connection.) Then he would get annoyed when no one would call him back!

]]>