New technologies and internet connection are expanding more and more on the African continent. With a lack of infrastructure, internet coverage and banking network, where many cannot even afford to buy a computer… Has the smartphone become the ideal device to access all the advantages of the digital world?
The director of Airbnb in Africa (the internet platform where individuals rent their homes by the day), pointed out that the technological boom there opens up a potential market of 54 countries and more than a billion people.
Other businesses linked to the mobile network, such as apps for ordering transport, food or entertainment, continue to grow in Africa.
Facebook highlighted South Africa (19 million users) and Nigeria (15 million) as the countries that connect most to its social network, with 95% doing so from their smartphones (in some areas, there are more users with access to a cell phone than with access to electricity or drinking water).
The growth of smartphones connected to the network is exponential (more than 500 million by 2020). Almost half of the continent’s population will be connected via their cell phones, especially in Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Congo, which account for 50% of mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transsion, a Chinese company, accounts for 40% of smartphone sales in Africa due to the versatility of its software and its prices between $20 and $40 (no touch screens or cameras with good resolution). It also allows the purchase of a phone with up to 4 SIM cards (due to coverage problems), as well as keyboards for local languages and other more widespread languages such as Swahili.
In Tanzania, cell phones are used by the Maasai in the savannah to improve their communication about dangers and the state of the area, such as fires or the proximity of predators.
In Kenya, the M-Pesa platform makes it possible to make payments or send and receive money with the smartphone, which has changed the way of paying in this country (28 million users, more than 60% of the population). School fees, medical care or sending money to relatives can be paid, even in rural areas it is popular because there is no need to carry cash.
Nubeprint App is installed on the smartphone and is compatible with any printer that has a WiFi or network connection. It allows you to monitor any user’s printers and automate the management of both consumables and any necessary maintenance so that the printer always works and never stops printing, without the need for expensive computers where resources are more limited.
