Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Cell Phones Spur Growth Surge in Africa

Phones kickstart development, improve standard of living, in remote areas

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 15, 2007 7:30 AM CDT

(Newser) – Mobile phones are revolutionizing the economic life of many of the world's poorest countries, igniting an unprecedented growth surge across Africa. In remote villages in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, people who until recently lived without any modern infrastructure now use cell phones to sell crops, summon doctors, transmit vital information, and transfer money, Business Week reports.

Cell phone towers dot the landscape in places where an entire village shared a single landline only a few years ago, with two-thirds of the world's population projected to have mobile phones by 2015. Improvements in living standards are already tangible. "The cell phone is the single most transformative technology for development," says economist Jeffery Sachs.

A wooden kiosk is seen on a street in Nairobi, Monday, May 28, 2007. On thousands of street corners across Africa, tiny wooden kiosks peddle everything from mobile phone cards to glass bottles of Coca-Cola. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
A wooden kiosk is seen on a street in Nairobi, Monday, May 28, 2007. On thousands of street corners across Africa, tiny wooden kiosks peddle everything from mobile phone cards to glass bottles of Coca-Cola....   (Associated Press)
A kiosk is seen on  a street corner in Nairobi, Monday, May 28, 2007. On thousands of street corners across Africa, tiny wooden kiosks peddle everything from mobile phone cards to glass bottles of Coca-Cola. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
A kiosk is seen on a street corner in Nairobi, Monday, May 28, 2007. On thousands of street corners across Africa, tiny wooden kiosks peddle everything from mobile phone cards to glass bottles of Coca-Cola....   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

'Granny' Obama Survives Car Crash

How Siri Could Hurt Everyone's Cell Service

Ben Affleck Lends Star Power on African Atrocities

Kenyan Leaders Ordered to Hague

Bungee Cord Breaks Over Croc-Infested River


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne