Invited talk at FerMUN

1. The African Mobile
Revolution
How mobile technologies enable African solutions to
African problems
Dr. Joël Vogt
joel.vogt@datenundgesundheit.ch

2. Agenda
• About me
• Objectives
• The mobile revolution in Africa
• Mobile Services
• What I learned about Healthcare in Africa
• Discussion
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3. About me
• PhD in 2013 from the University of
Fribourg and Hasselt University
• Recent activities:
• CERN personal health data locker,
user-driven gamma-ray measuring
• Association Data and Health with
focus on low- and medium income
countries
• Visiting Myanmar got me interested
in m-health et al.
• Picture: Buddhist kids in rural Myanmar
using my iPad. Their first computer is a
mobile device, not a desktop
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4. Objectives
• Find out what is the mobile revolution in Africa?
• Who were the main stakeholders/actors and
what role did they play in the mobile revolution?
• What are the lessons learned from successful
mobile services?
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5. The mobile revolution in
Africa
• Mobile operators generate 3.1%
of GDP
• 7% growth of the mobile
ecosystem in 2012
• One in three jobs related to
mobile technologies is in Africa
• Tech companies (Google et al.)
invest in Africa
• Africa-driven content and apps
• Tech startups and innovators
http://www.economist.com/node/21572379/print
o
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6. Mobile Services
• Mobile Banking:
• Money transfer
• Savings and loans
• Information services
• Weather, sports, …
• Supply chain
• Health
http://www.economist.com/node/21554744
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7. What I learned about
Healthcare in Africa
• Decentralized, patient-centric
health care
• Design for diversity
• m-health success story has
yet to be told
• Fragmented health system
landscape
• Privatization and affordable
healthcare
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8. Discussion
• How can the U.N. et al. help?
• Encourage African solutions
to African problems
• Shift in attitude: My
impression was that too often
poverty is a business model
• Coordinate long or short term
efforts and cooperations
• Provide concrete goals and
indicators (e.g. MDGs)
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9. Sources and
Acknowledgments
• The Economist (2013) Special report: Africa
rising: A hopeful continent
• ATKearney (2013) The Mobile Economy 2013
• The Economist (2012) Mobile payments: A
wealth of wallets
• GALLUP (2014) Africa Continues Going Mobile
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