Mobile Web Reducing Poverty – Blog Action Day 2008
October 15th, 2008 MobileFreak
Today is Blog Action Day 2008, and the topic this year is poverty. So let’s dig right in!
Did you know there are a number of small, impoverished communities around the world that are starting to become more self-sufficient and productive through the use of mobile phones?
Just consider these facts:
- According to a study on the impact of mobile phone use by developing countries by the London Business School, an increase of 10 mobile phones per 100 people boosts the economy’s growth rate by 0.6%.
- Uganda’s economy has been helped by the emphasis on mobile phones and other technologies by both the government and the private sector. One important factor in their economic growth: between 1996 to 2004, mobile phone subscribers increased from 3,500 to 987,456. Wow.
- (Our favorite) In Kenya, mobile phone users can buy talk-time and then send those minutes to a relative or friend. And because so few people have access to bank accounts, they can cash in the unused minutes at local stores. Mobile phone minutes have become currency.
Think about how powerful that last one is. There are plenty more interesting statistics out there, as many of our readers are well aware.
So what can we do to help fight poverty? Get involved.
Here are a few suggestions, and some of them have nothing to do with phones or the mobile web:
- Read about the text2teach program, then get involved.
- Donate your mobile phone to the Recycle to Eradicate Poverty project.
- Donate to the Global Fund.
Want more ideas? Go check out all the other great posts on fighting poverty at the Blog Action Day website.
NOTE: To do our part, MobileMammoth will fund a project in a developing country through the Kiva microfinance service. Then we will post about that project’s progress as we learn about it. We can’t wait to see how it goes!
Entry Filed under: News
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Great post, Thank you for sharing, I myself wrote about it here: http://www.guruofsales.com/general/427/fight-poverty-its-blog-action-day-today and got a huge respond from readers and other bloggers. Would you please honor us and share your thoughts by leaving a comment on our post? I am trying to come up with something new tomorrow and I will include and encourage readers to visit your blog back so we can all unite to fight poverty.
indeed. a similar thing has happened in the philippines, where mobile banking has become rather common, and where mobile phone use is ubiquitous.
for my part, i turn to sites like freerice (rice donation), kiva (microfinance), and goodsearch (donation per search), as ways to help alleviate poverty online. i also put up their banners on my blog. :)
saw this post via the blog action day site. it’s great that you’re participating. :)
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Hi, Give something to help the hungry people from Africa and India,
I made this blog about this subject:
on http://tinyurl.com/5pul7l
Recycle to Eradicate Poverty is continuously growing to create an easy system for change..
At http://www.onemillioncellphones.com, we allow anyone who has access to the Internet to get pre-paid baggies and make a difference. After entering in your information, we send as many baggies as you want to your address within 3-5 business days so that you can in turn distribute them among events, in offices, to pass out, etc. Each person simply puts their cell phones inside a baggie (up to 5 per bag) and places it into their mailbox.
For anyone selling mobile phones, it couldn’t be any easier.
in these days there are so many numbers of phone recyclers who will pay cash if you are selling old mobile phones.
Our website at http://www.sellmymobileguru.co.uk finds all the best deals for you and you can choose which payment method is best for you.
Selling mobile phones is becoming quite the trend these days as people have just realize how much they can get. In many cases, you will find that you can get so much more from selling mobile phones rather than exchanging them when you are looking for a brand new one.
If selling mobile phones is right for you, then it is really easy to select the best deal, see how you want your money and send off your phone free. In a few days, you will receive your payment and it’s all hassle-free.