Despite teething problems, mobile Web is taking Africa by storm and is certainly the next stage of mobile technology evolution. Zachary Ochieng and Alex Owiti report.

The advent of mobile Web--the web browser-based access to the World Wide Web using a mobile device connected to a wireless network—has completely changed the way people do business. Notably, advertisers are increasingly using the mobile Web as platform to reach consumers. As at 2007, the total value of advertising on mobile was $2.2 billion. A recent study by the Online Publishers Association reports that about one in ten mobile Web users said they have made a purchase based on a mobile Web ad. While 23 percent said they have visited a Web site, 13 percent said they have requested more information about a product or service and 11 percent said they have gone to a store to check out a product.

Giving mobile advertising its edge

According to Mbugua Njihia, CEO, Symbiotic Media Consortium, the addictiveness, pervasiveness and sheer dominance of the mobile device is what gives mobile advertising its edge.

A very big opportunity also exists for the Government to streamline its operations and improve service delivery to its citizens using mobile applications and mobile Web as a tool. The cost savings that can be realised here run into millions of dollars. What the Government needs to do though, is to start with its most basic services and make them mobile so that the citizens can get a better perspective of the services and buy into the vision that m-government holds.

“Sometimes policy and legislation act as stumbling blocks to simple proofs of concept. The beauty about mobile is that scalability is not something to cause sleepless nights”, Njihia says.

In view of the uniqueness of mobile technology, service providers can latch onto it by embracing developers and providing them with tools that allow them to build services that interact seamlessly with the networks infrastructure. The mobile operators cannot match a developer community in terms of ideas, implementation and rollout. Njihia argues that a network operator may only be able to focus on, say, five value added services, while the developer community will have up to twenty different services addressing different niches. If provided with the tools, access and reasonable revenue agreements, it becomes a win-win situation for everyone.

Africa’s creative capital

The biggest challenge, however, is for the region to develop a new generation of mobile entrepreneurs.

“Ideas on mobile are Africa’s creative capital; this is how we will leapfrog into the future. These ideas however must get off the ground and this is where the first bottleneck is encountered. Having been part of two startups in the mobile vertical, I have experienced firsthand the hardships of raising venture capital…let’s not even touch on bank loans. We don’t have a particularly vibrant venture capital pool in East Africa that look at virgin ideas, embrace the potential and grow the ideas to the multimillion businesses that they should be”, Njihia offers.

However, things are changing, with “old money” starting to look at new ideas mostly in the mobile and mobile Web space as the next big growth areas. This presents a unique opportunity for the new generation of mobile entrepreneurs. A lot of education is needed especially on the business planning process, and this is where many young entrepreneurs seeking to enter this lucrative industry fail.

With the mobile revolution sweeping across Africa, Moses Kemibaro, Business Development Director, Dotsavvy Limited, says marketers have no choice but to adopt the new medium to market their products and services besides other media like print, Tv, Radio, in/outdoor and direct mail.

Marketing that is proactive and personalised

“But there is one marketing channel that is really taking off--mobile marketing- that is proactive and personalised, versatile, interactive, fast, efficient, affordable, ubiquitous, traceable and measurable,” Kemibaro observes.

In his definition, mobile marketing refers to “using mobile and mobile-based technologies to market products and services”. It also involves one-to-one communication; streamlined fulfillment; testing and re-optimising, as well as measuring the results. To effectively use mobile marketing, he advises the industry to hinge on the drivers of mobile technology which are to ensure that every mobile device is SMS and MMS-enabled, handset prices are falling and features are increasing, broadband and 2.5G proliferation, improved infrastructure, exponential subscriber growth and mobile money for transactions.

“The growth of mobile in Africa is remarkable. It has grown by 550 percent over the last 5 years. Currently, there are 350 million mobile users and 3 in 10 Africans now have a mobile phone. The mobile has therefore become the number one communications device in Africa. But one thing the industry should not take for granted is that the mobile is so much more than a phone…it’s.... SMS/texting, e-mail, the web, the bank, entertainment, a camera, socializing and mobile lifestyle”.

 Key considerations to the success of mobile marketing are therefore based on the mobile uptake which is exponential worldwide but more so in Africa. Global statistics show that mobisites are becoming more dorminant, having grown by 129 percent in 2009 since mobile Web-enabled phones have exceeded computers in numbers.

“For many in Africa, their first and possibly only Internet experience will be via the mobile web. Dotsavvy's proposition is therefore to extend leadership from Internet marketing to mobile marketing in 2010, establishment of DotsavvyMobile and strategic partnerships with leading mobile VAS providers for various mobile marketing services. Currently, we are offering mobisites, mobile web ads, SMS and MMS marketing services,” Kemibaro says.

World leader in mobile advertising

Brett Stclaires, Country Manager, South Africa, Admob, reveals that the country has emerged as the world leader in mobile advertising due to the remarkable growth in Internet penetration that recently surpassed the 5million mark and with a strong operator billing infrastructure.

Stclaires believes that Africa will be the next mobile marketing region after the developed continents such as Europe due to its high international advertising spend.

“In Africa, there is 99 percent international advertising spend, cheapest inventory globally at $0.01 across Africa and $0.03 in country. For local content providers to benefit, they must understand the African consumers’ requirements while the existing operator billing is fundamental to mobile marketing taking off with the support of 3G network coverage, cheap data pricing and GPRS enabled handset penetration.”

Referring to Admob case studies, Stclaires advises local mobile app developers to create an engaging campaign and reach mobile Web sites promoting their car models.

“The Land Rover campaign on Admob drove 73 percent of traffic to Land Rover’s mobile site with 40 percent of the mobile advertising budget total-45000 video views, 7400 custom wallpaper downloads, 128000 gallery views,5000 dealer lookups,800 brochure requests and 1100 click-to-calls.”

 No doubt, the efficiency and effectiveness of mobile marketing is transforming marketing as we know it. It is mobile marketing that will drive innovative marketing strategies and tactics in the years to come.

Training farming communities

According to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html#What2 the Web will be the abstract place where the knowledge-based economy happens.

“The Web will open up new forms of business altogether, and make us rethink the way we run existing businesses.  It can turn bureaucracy over to machines, and let people get on with the creativity. It will help us see where we each fit, with our own experience, talents and passions, among the millions of other people and theirs. It can help us work together more effectively, remove misunderstanding, and bring about peace and harmony on a global scale.  But it can only do these things if we learn to use it wisely, and we think very carefully about both the technology and the laws we make or change around it”, Sir Tim says.

 For farmers, the advent of Web technology is certainly godsend. In the African Sahel, mainly Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali for instance, the Web-alliance for Regreening in Africa (W4RA) is using the Web to accelerate the ability to communicate local agricultural innovations, provide training to large number of farming communities, and enable better communication within the agricultural ecosystem. W4RA is an organisation created by the Vrije Universiteit (VU) in Amsterdam and Web Foundation, whose founder is Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The project will exploit the current infrastructure consisting of Internet cafes in larger towns, mobile phones available to most families or communities, and radios that are an important way of providing information to people. 

The projects objective is to train and coordinate local developers to create and maintain Web-based platforms to help local farmers and others in the agricultural ecosystem in the African Sahel to share local innovations for growing vegetation in very harsh environments.

“We envision a Web that empowers all people, including billions excluded today, by providing new opportunities for creativity, collaboration, teaching, learning, enterprise and a better life. To reach this goal, the Web Foundation will put the power of the Web into the hands of people around the world through effective, high-impact programmes”, says Steve Bratt, CEO, Web Foundation.

The next stage of mobile technology evolution

Indeed, the upsurge in the use of mobile Internet applications makes Africa the next stage of mobile technology evolution, buoyed by the impact of SMS, Voice and mobile money. A recent research by International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that Kenya’s IT sector will generate more than 4,000 new jobs by 2011 and account for the creation of more than 100 new IT companies. The study shows that over the next four years, Kenya’s IT industry will contribute new revenues of $360 million to GDP.

Separately, research by Norwegian based software developer Opera, shows a massive 177 percent growth in mobile Web usage in the last year; BBC also reported that 45-50 percent of traffic to its mobile sport and news sites comes from African countries. East African mobile operators, particularly those with 3G services are especially feeling the benefits of this colossal data explosion.

Nothing illustrates this fact better than the recently concluded Mobile Web conference hosted in Nairobi by the Kenya ICT Board, in conjunction with All Amber, a UK-based conference company. According to deliberations at the conference, there is a great amount to learn and discuss to allow East Africa to fully utilise the opportunity that already exists.

As the previous Mobile Web Africa conference which was held in South Africa in late 2009 illustrated, there is so much scope for the mobile Web to have a positive effect on all facets of society.  That spells not only an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs but also in the not-for-profit and public sectors as well.  The mobile Web offers the opportunity for any user to find information, share knowledge and interact, but the services need to be available for that to become a reality.

According to Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board, Google, Facebook, Twitter, the BBC and Wikipedia are all amongst the leading sites that are viewed highlighting that the transition into an information society is taking real shape. Whilst for many consumers their first taste of the mobile Web may well be them updating their status on Facebook, there are real opportunities here in terms of economic and societal development.

East Africa’s Silicon Valley

Kukubo says Nairobi has been East Africa’s Silicon Valley, evidenced by the number of innovative start-ups and upstarts that are blazing the trail in service provision and information access on the mobile phone. Started by young techpreneurs, companies such as Symbiotic Media, Shimba Mobile and African Pixel are defining the local applications of mobile Web and mobile technologies, showcasing how information for local markets can be packaged and disseminated, and profitably at that.

 “Symbiotic Media Consortium, for instance has taken advantage of this potential, successfully delivering a range of services and products to the benefit of the mobile consumer on both the mobile Web and mobile applications through their Zunguka platform which can be adapted for virtually any industry vertically empowering brands, governments and organisations with customised channels through which they can engage their target markets”, Kukubo notes.

He says in Africa, where the mobile phone is the number one technology of choice, the sheer range of cultures, languages and communities means that the provision of focused services and content is vital.

“There is a similarity here with the increase in channels and programmes soon to become available with the switch to digital broadcasting, but the danger is that the vast majority of content will be non-specific and imported.  Imagine the young student, farmer, and mother all having the ultimate information resource available to them through their mobile phone?”

Challenges still abound

But challenges still abound. Though Internet access "on the go" provides advantages to many, such as the ability to communicate by email with others and obtain information anywhere, the Web, accessed from mobile devices, has a large number of limitations, which may vary, depending on the device. Among the challenges are small screen size, which makes it difficult or impossible to see text and graphics dependent on the standard size of a desktop computer screen. Unlike a desktop computer where the ability to open more than one window at a time allows for multi-tasking and for easy revert to a previous page, on mobile Web, only one page can be displayed at a time, and pages can only be viewed in the sequence they were originally accessed.

There is also lack of Javascript and cookies as most devices (save for smartphones) do not support client-side scripting and storage of cookies, which are now widely used in most Web sites for enhancing user experience, facilitating the validation of data entered by the page visitor, etc. This also results in Web analytics tools not being suitable for uniquely identifying visitors using mobile devices. But the good news is that newer smartphones such as the iPhone and Android operating system devices overcome some of these restrictions.

Telkom Kenya CEO Mickael Ghossein says real mobile Web access today still suffers from interoperability and usability problems. Interoperability issues stem from the platform fragmentation of mobile devices, mobile operating systems and browsers.

“At Telkom Kenya, we are addressing this issue through the recent integration of a most advanced intelligent network (IN) platform,” Ghossein says.
On the other hand, usability problems are centred on the small physical size of the mobile phone factor (limited resolution screens and user input/operating limitations). This means that developers now have to develop applications directly focusing on mobile rather than converting personal computer based applications. Ghossein says that with the advent of the Internet, social networks and data interchange, Telkom Kenya has managed to roll out high-speed broadband fibre networks across its CDMA and GSM platforms. This involves the deployment of technologies offering capacities superior to existing networks and the creation of new links, including via the undersea cable network.

“Without these cables, displaying web pages hosted say in the United States and downloading photo, audio and video files would have been out of the question.”
 Besides cable rollout, Telkom Kenya pioneered the introduction of cheaper Internet connection modems. This was a strategic effort to lower the earlier entry barriers with packages affordably retailing at about $27.

Developing applications remains a costly affair

Even so, challenges still persist. The first challenge, according to Ghossein, is the attendant cost. Developing applications remains a very costly affair. The second challenge is borne out of the applications creators’ modesty and decency to create applications that will ultimately meet the subscriber’s needs. Many a times, developers rush to develop applications which are not in tune with the customers expectations.

Insufficient local content

Bitange Ndemo, Kenya’s Information and Communications Permanent Secretary says Internet usage in the country is still low due to insufficient local content.

“It is illogical to have so many unemployed Kenyans when the Internet is yearning for local content. We should be seeing a lot more content from the Government this year. This will significantly improve the number of Internet users,” Ndemo says. A champion of the development of local content, Ndemo says the country could do better.

Digital Village Programme delayed

“Sometimes there are setbacks and frustrations when there are delays.  For example, the Digital Village programme has delayed beyond the acceptable period.  It has forced us to rethink and improvise its implementation since we cannot force our partner to act quickly.” In Ndemo’s view, mobile Web has had much less impact than one would have expected.

“The impact would be more significant when we get into e -transactions that were delayed by the legal framework. The number of e-payment launches is rising.  In the past month, I have attended three launches.  By next year you will be seeing the full scale of mobile Web,” Ndemo asserts, adding: “We have not seen the full potential of IT in this country. This year we may see a great deal of it if we are able do implementation at the same time trying to sensitise the public on IT applications.”

Also slowing down the uptake of ICTs is the high cost of broadband. Credit, however, goes to Kenya Data Networks (KDN) which is now offering broadband at $50 per MB. An upbeat Ndemo says that in the next six months, Kenyans could be getting unlimited broadband for only $20.

Still, the cost of mobile devices remains way beyond the reach of most ordinary Kenyans. Though the Government has waived taxes on handsets, vendors have not been honest enough to pass on the benefit to consumers. According to Ndemo, operators also need to bundle their services in such a way that the handset is not an issue.

“Voice pricing should move towards a more predictable figure where we have a fixed pricing for one month.  By now, operators should be knowing the call pattern of Kenyans to make meaningful offers,” Ndemo argues.

However, all is not lost. The Kenyan Government has made notable strides in laying the foundation of the ICT infrastructure-both the submarine and the terrestrial fibre network, and more than enough bandwidth is expected to stream into the region at an affordable cost. The surplus bandwidth is expected to drive and improve service delivery between Government to citizens as well as businesses to citizens, and citizens to citizens. As the epitome and altitude in technology adoption, mobile Web technology has shown its capability as the next business mobility platform that is currently taking over the usual static PC business.

Devices exorbitantly charged

Still, there are a number of issues to contend with. Peter Arina, Chief Commercial Officer, Safaricom, indicates that with a total of 19 million mobile subscribers, 70 percent of mobile data users spend less than $0.20 per month and only 1 percent of mobile data users spend more than $13 per month. Citing the entry barriers in the growth and development of mobile technology, Arina says devices like handsets, laptops and broadband modems are still exorbitantly charged by service providers and vendors, hindering access to the Internet.

And according to the Economic Survey 2008, 49.9 percent of Kenyan population lives below poverty line, making it difficult for the people to access the gadgets as well as the Internet. At the Safaricom, Orange and Zain retail shops, the costs of the devices varies as follows: modems goes for at least $27, laptops-$400 and PCs-$200. The cheapest data-enabled handsets go for at least $27.

“Industry data -enabled handsets are estimated at 5million or 26 percent of GSM users. The cost of a 3G handset is three times higher than that of a non-data enabled one. Computer prices are way too high compared to the disposable income of majority of Kenyans,” says Arina.

High cost of broadband in the region

Operators also attribute the high cost of broadband in the region to the heavy infrastructure investment incurred. To build 1,000 3G sites for example, an operator would need more than $214million. To build 100 WiMAX BTs, an operator would need $21 million.

That notwithstanding, the debate on local content won’t just go away. Indeed, local content is the missing element to drive mobile Web technology, to spur innovation and increase employment among other issues. Arina says there is inadequate effort exhibited towards development of local content in the country and instead local traffic is streamed to the international Web sites due to their appealing innovations. Besides, the high cost of locally developed content has also barred people from developing the culture of browsing and accessing the Internet.

Due to the low and poor culture of Internet browsing driven by lack of customer awareness on benefits of the Internet, computer proficiencies are not to the sufficient levels.

“Low literacy levels in IT capabilities as well as the perception that Internet is for a certain class of the society  needs to change significantly if we want to adopt mobile Web technology as the next business and social frontier,” says Arina.

Since the mobile data users is estimated to reach 10 million in the next five years subject to availability of affordable devices and a drop in data prices, Arina says there is need for more local content that is relevant at affordable rates as well as reduction in frequency costs and creation of daily usage habits among users. The Government should also remove VAT on broadband modems to encourage people to develop the culture of using the Internet to access information.

Opportunities for mobile app developers

However, what cannot be gainsaid is the fact that the 3G services have been fundamental in creating opportunities for mobile app developers in the region.
“There are numerous opportunities in mobile Web and mobile apps for developers in this region. Of course the acceptance and continued growth of mobile penetration and extension of service delivery especially mobile Internet 3G services is contributing to this; as well as the increased capabilities of 'average' level' handsets (GPRS/EDGE/3G capability; JavaME capability etc),” says Wilfred Mworia, founder, African Pixel.

He adds that there are also many opportunities for the 'traditional' basic handset mobile services such as SMS/text-based services which are fairly common especially USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) which has not yet been fully exploited.

However, it is noteworthy that in its efforts to bring affordable ICT services to the rural poor, the Grameen Foundation through its ICT Innovation Programme has partnered with Google, QUALCOMM and MTN to begin Google SMS services in Uganda. The service which targets the various sectors of the economy is meant to assist the rural folks to access information through their mobile phones to enable them make right decisions in the areas of business.

According to Eric Cantor, Director, Applab Uganda, the Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs) Initiative helped the residents to access information on Sexual and Reproductive Health Tips and Clinic Directory, Agriculture, Weather and marketplace by just using their phones to send an SMS.

“This project is able to provide granular and actionable information to smallholder farmers and to entities working to meet their needs –improving crop yields and expanding market opportunities. And so far eight information services have been deployed and tested: range of mobile technologies assessed; 40 CKWs conducted over 6,000 surveys and delivered 8,000 pieces of information; initial partners engaged to build a self-sustaining model.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Though the cost of mobile handsets in Uganda is still high, Cantor says the  Nokia 1100 and Java 1680  which are valued at $20 and  $60 respectively have been vital in the success of the project. And since the cost of bandwidth in the region is expected to plummet in the near future, the latter should drive innovation in development of mobile apps that are relevant to the people’s needs.

PesaPal has shown prowess in mobile Web applications

In Kenya, PesaPal has shown its prowess in the mobile Web applications to allow the natives and those living in the Diaspora to buy, sell and transact via the Web site. Founded on the existing challenge that 99 percent of the people are unable to sell and buy online, PesaPal is a Web payment platform that online merchants can use to accept payments securely from over 10 million Kenyans.

According to Agosta Liko, Founder PesaPal, the new platform is a lower cost of doing business, allowing the merchants to have real time payment processing.

“It is a 24/7 /365 system, instant invoicing and receipting, notifications, reminders and experiencing safe Payments,” says Liko.