L. ex Africa semper aliquid novi, Pliny, the Elder was right “There is always something new from Africa.”  Mobile phones usage in Africa continue
to break new barriers. Africa was the first continet where mobile phone users outnumbered the number of fixed telephone line (landlines).

It is estimated that where only 2% of Africans were using mobile phones in 2000, 28% have cell phones today. Although a Harvard university blog shows the mobile phone penetration in Africa to be a mere 40% , it is remarkable to note that mobile/cell phone access  may exceed access to electricity in several Sub-Sarahan Africa.

Sub-Sarahan Africa has an extimated total population of 738 million people. Out of these, 547 million have no access to electricity. Therefore, less than 26 percent of the Sub-Sarahan Africans have electricity compared to the 28 percent that have access to mobile phones.  Burkina Faso and Kenya are among the African countries where there is greater access to mobile phones than electricity.

Percentage of Population with Access to Cell Towers:
Burkina Faso – 10.9%; Uganda – 13.58%; Kenya – 30.48%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 15.42%; Nigeria – 27.28; Ghana – 32.39 (source).

Percentage of Population with Access to Electricity:
Burkina Faso – 7%; Uganda – 8.9%; Kenya – 14%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 6.3%; Nigeria – 46.0 and Ghana – 49.2% (source).

A new wave is sweeping through Africa. The driving forces behind this wave is the spirit of the African youth and the Voices of Africa Media Foundation. The Voices of Africa Media Foundation is an innovative organisation that empowers young Africans with limited media experience to take advantage of new media and build careers as journalists. The foundation is registered under Dutch Law and they coordinates their activities from their office in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

Using the power of cell phones, potential reporters are trained to create objective news about their own communities. Media professionals are employed to coach trainees online. Trainees are then encouraged to create news and publish the stories on a training website. Alumni of this program create news that fall under these categories; health, society, economy, governance, environment, and youth. A selection of the best reports is published on third party publication platforms.

Although founded in 2006, the foundation has conducted training programs in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa. These feats have won them  a BoB Award (Best Videoblog 2008), Webby Award (Official Honoree News category 2008), and a World Summit Award (e-Inclusion and Participation 2009).

We’ve recently discovered some of the fantastic youth-oriented African programming provided by Plan’s Youth Media and Development Program.

Kids Waves, funded by Nokia, is one example:

Kids Waves is a regional radio project hosted by children in 10 West African countries that helps them to make their voices heard and to learn about issues relevant to them.

In the town of Kongoussi in Burkina Faso, many births are not registered, depriving children of access to the national health and education systems and, more importantly, to protection from illegal trafficking to neighboring agricultural regions. A Kids Waves broadcast inspired a youth group to canvass the town to verify that children in each family were registered and to assist parents in completing registration formalities.

The YMDP program also made progress by hosting the Media and Development Forum in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in 2008.

Finally, have a look at the intriguing “Virtual Village” website for Nyalakot Uganda.

Thanks to Gina Robbins for contributing to this post.

How do you get vital information to someone who is poor and is being oppressed in a far away country? How do you ensure that such information is not interruptions or jammed by governments?

Shortwave is your answer.  A shortwave radio can receive transmission on frequencies between 3 and 30 MHz. They offer the possibility to transmit over for long distances.

Shortwave broadcasting sites use Antenna Arrays supported by miles of wires suspended in the air or buried in the ground. These arrays are used to direct signals toward the ionosphere. Using calculations based on electronic directionalizing, power, and atmospheric conditions, these antennas project their signals so they will come down on specific target areas around the world.

A receiver can then tune in to listen to information being broadcast. A simple receiver able to receive some desirable frequencies is all that is need.

The shortwave radios are widely available. Repressive governments find it difficult to censor them.  In places where there is no electricity, hand-cranked shortwave radio can last indefinitely. Shortwave radio travels much farther than broadcast FM (88-108 MHz). Shortwave broadcasts can be easily transmitted over a distance of several thousands of kilometers, i.e. from one continent to another, especially at night.

Major broadcasting corporations such as Voice of America and BBC World services continue to use shortwave in their international broadcasting.

Appfrica International is a unique for-profit organization based in Uganda. While doing well as a software development firm producing innovative products and services, Appfrica is doing good by offering opportunities and work experience to East African software entrepreneurs and graduates.  They aim at augmenting the growing local software development market. The video below gives a 60 second overview.

With a CEO, Jon Gosier, who clearly falls under what Radio Free Africa’s Prof. Ayittey calls the cheetah generation, Appfrica is performing what they termed “alchemy” on a shoestring budget. Their success is sure proof that the African needs only to be unchained to release his or her dream.

In pursuing their mission, Appfrica runs Appfrica.net as their publishing arm disseminating news on emerging technology. They also produce Appfricast, which is available on iTunes.

Moreover,  Appfrica Labs provide a physical space with solid Internet connection, servers, software and computers to individuals to develop their ideas in a constructive environment under the mentorship professionals. The Lab recently started an International Fellowship Programme, bringing well renowned developers from around the globe to share experiences with up and coming developers in East Africa.

Appfrica gives East African graduates hand-on programming experience in various programming languages with a vision to make the sub-region an attractive place for software development.

Here’s a 60 second video overview: