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Online Trading Tool to Benefit Farmers
Jul 06, 2009 (Business Daily/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
Google has announced a new online trading tool that it hopes will broaden access to technology in East Africa for farmers and agriculturists.
The company has launched five mobile phone applications which provide real-time health and agricultural information as well as provide a virtual marketplace for buying and selling goods and services.
"These sustainable and scalable models put critical information and knowledge directly into the hands of poor people who have access to mobile devices, in an effort to further alleviate poverty.
This work is significant both for individuals and for the broader regional economy," said Joseph Mucheru, Google's lead for sub-Saharan Africa.
Google has launched the suite of five mobile services using Google SMS Search technology.
The suite include Farmer's Friend, a searchable database with both agricultural advice and targeted weather forecasts; Health Tips which provides sexual and reproductive health information, paired with Clinic Finder, which helps locate nearby health clinics and their services; and Google Trader, which matches buyers and sellers of agricultural produce and commodities as well as other products.
Using the Google Trader application, local buyers and sellers, such as small-holder farmers, are able to broaden their trading networks and reduce their transaction costs using mobile phones.
The services are SMS-based and designed to work with basic mobile phones. Although the service has been launched in Uganda, the application has significant prospects for roll-out in countries like Kenya.
The Ugandan launch makes available the first suite of applications resulting from an endeavour initiated by Grameen Foundation 18 months ago called the Application Laboratory (AppLab).
"AppLab is a great example of innovation from and for the base of the pyramid, bringing relevant, actionable information to communities where access to the Internet is unavailable," said Alex Counts, president of Grameen Foundation.
Meanwhile, Google has also launched an initiative that will see Kenyan mobile software programmers gain access to international best practices to build technical and entrepreneurial skills.
The Internet firm announced that it will work with the MIT Africa Information Technology Initiative (AITI), an organisation that sends MIT students to Kenya, to organise a mobile programming course for Kenyan university students.
AITI will deliver the six-week course at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya, and anticipates students from Strathmore University, University of Nairobi, and Jomo Kenyatta University will learn how to develop mobile applications.
"The course topics will include Java, mobile technologies, J2ME, SMS, server-side technologies, and emergent mobile technologies. The course also seeks to build entrepreneurial skills by incorporating guest lecturers with expertise in the Kenyan technology market, a group mobile application project, and a business plan competition," said Elena Spitzer, Learning and Development, Google.
The last six months have seen Kenya's profile rise in the mobile software world as more local developers take on outsourced projects for international firms.
Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo said the government was keen to tap into the opportunities presented by growing international interest in the local software development, and was currently devising a strategy to enhance the country's offering.
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