African Youth to benefit from the Mobile Revolution

The explosion of mobile telephony in the just-ended decade shattered the myth that Africans are slow to take up technology.

The mobile distribution, though still low by global standards, is one of the fastest growing in the world and proves one other thing - that technologies which address practical problems will always be readily embraced.

Besides the difficult-to-compute millions of shillings that the technology has contributed to the economy, at a personal level, it has revolutionised how Africans communicate, transact business and even exchange money.

The biggest segment of the community to benefit from this technology are the youth, who have opened myriads of retail mobile-related businesses, from the sale of sets, accessories, repairs, programming and many others.

The momentum has only started and an even higher pace is expected in coming years. And this is where young people can benefit by developing real-life solutions to build around the technology.

There is no doubt that a convergence of sorts will happen around the mobile phone in coming years, and the biggest winners will be companies and individuals who today provide tomorrow's solutions.

Largely, young people have shunned traditional engagements such as agriculture for not being trendy, but this time, with cash available from the Youth Development Funds, there is no reason why they should not invest in the business.

We are optimistic that this time round, government regulatory authorities will not stand in the way of innovations, and that they will provide the right policy framework in good time. It must also seek ways to thwart the manipulations of traditional corporate cartels.