By Alan Boswell
Kenyan telecommunications company Safaricom has launched Africa’s first fully solar-powered phone. The mobile phone’s timely release comes as Kenya is suffering from a major power shortfall.
The new solar-powered mobile phone went on sale this past week. Kenyans can buy the phone for a little under $40.
Jacque Sherry, a 28-year old accountant in Nairobi, [...]

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By Ochieng Ogodo*
A pilot project that uses mobile phones to alert farmers in remote regions to where they can buy drought-tolerant beans has been launched in Kenya.
This is just one of a set of pilot projects using mobile and geospatial technologies to improve communication of important information to farmers across Africa.
In the first step [...]

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Where the banks cannot reach, the ingenuity of the mobile phone is proving too essential in reaching across poor populations around the developing world to providing micro financial services that may help push unbanked millions out of poverty.
Now policymakers around the world are seriously considering turning the simple mobile phone into micro banks that would [...]

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Vodacom, South Africa’s largest cellphone operator by subscribers, has announced plans to list at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on May 5.
This is part of a deal that will give United Kingdom’s Vodafone Group, PLC majority control and pave the way for faster expansion into Africa.
Vodafone will raise its stake in Vodacom to 65% [...]

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The reality of cell phone based carbon micro-credit is dawning.
Soon, ordinary planet denizens in developing nations with low carbon footprint will be enfranchised to “sell” carbon offsets while at the same time adopting more earth-friendly cooking methods that conserve forests in a novel carbon micro-credit monetization plan.
The cell phone-based carbon micro-credit system will employ SMS [...]

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