The document discusses the future of technology in West Africa. It describes how cheap mobile phones, liberalization of telecom licenses, and prepaid payment models accelerated mobile growth dramatically in West Africa between 1998-2000. The International Telecommunication Union subsequently updated definitions of universal access and service to reflect growing mobile coverage and usage. New technologies like 3D printing, paper-based electronics, drones, and $10 smartphones could enable novel solutions for health, agriculture, and development challenges in the region despite concerns over costs and infrastructure. Local innovation and development partnerships exploring affordable alternatives can help apply these technologies in West Africa.

1. Ethel Cofie
The future of technology in West Africa
USAID DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM
omen in Tech

2. In 1998 …
oMaternal Health
oMobile ?
oLiberalization
oToo Poor
Perspective
Technology Partner To The World’s Non-profits

3. The combination of cheap Nokia mobile, liberalization of
telecom licenses and pre paid payment, steeped the
trajectory for mobile
GSMA :500 million mark in Q1 2013, increasing by about 20%
year-on-year. Connections are expected to grow by a further
50% (250 million connections) over the next five years
Even telecoms underestimated the market. The business plan
for the Kenyan telecom Safaricom in 2003 was to have
500,000 mobile phone subscribers by 2013: traders, priests,
taxi drivers, prostitutes—people willing to pay a premium to
stay in touch. Safaricom hit 21 million users in 2014
Between 1998-2000, this happened

4. The growth was soo dramatic that ITU Secretary-General, Yoshio UTSUMI,
at the ITU Telecom Africa Forum Opening12 November 2001 proposed
changing definition of universal access where
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ?
Establishing new targets
New definitions of universal access
Old definitions >>>>>>
 Universal access: >>>
 A telephone within walking distance
 Telecentres in every community
 Universal service: >>>>
 A telephone in every home
 A computer in every school
 Affordability: >>>>>>>>
 Subsidised access (high usage charges
subsidise low line rental)
New definitions
 Universal access:
 Mobile coverage of all main population
centres
 Internet cafés in every community
 Universal service:
 A mobilephone for everyone who wants
one
 An email address for every citizen
 Affordability:
 Pre-paid access
(pre-paid usage charges include line
rental)

5. One of the inspiration for Lyft (The Uber competitor ) was from
Zimbabwe where Logan Green(cofounder) saw first hand the sharing
economy in action
Did you know

6. I am here to tell the future

7. I am here to inspire you create the
future

8. My job is to here is to inspire you to look outside the
obvious when planning your projects .
I am here to tell you a story of how the future might look,
to give you an incline into what is on the horizon and to
inspire you to think beyond the obvious

9. What do you think this is ?
?

10. Paper ?
Well Harvard labs created paper posters that play music via printed circuits made with
conductive ink have been unveiled.
The prototype "Listening Post" poster is a guide to bands performing locally. The interactive
poster plays a short clip of a band's music when a thumbnail image is pressed..

11. Paper for Health ?
Conductive ink on Paper is a wonderful thing
The Ability to Print or even Draw an electronic circuit
board on paper will enable low cost , easily designed
solutions
Microsoft research labs created moisture sensor the
team has printed is meant for use on plants (. It detects
rainfall with one circuit and soil humidity with another,
transmitting its readings via a printed Wi-Fi antenna. The
team has printed paper wiring to connect the switch,
LED and battery of a 3D-printed flashlight.
Paper Computer

12. Paper for Health ?
[Harvard Research ]DNA-programmed blotting paper
could soon be giving doctors a simple disease test that
will reveal an infection in 30 minutes for just a few
pence.
Researchers have proved the technique works by
developing a prototype Ebola test in just 12 hours, and
using just $20 of materials.
The smart diagnostics use a soup of biological
ingredients including the genetic material RNA. –
Harvard
Paper

13. [Pause]Question Time ?
Shout out where you could apply paper to
your project/strategy.

14. Mobile …
Mobile Sheep …
• Swiss researchers discovered way to detect when
sheep are frightened from biological data like heartbeat
etc.
• They created alert system that identifies accurately
when sheep frightened, sends SMS to the shepherd
• The use in sheep-farming is if there is a wolf nearby.
• Wolf-detection system is a solution of 'reading our
minds' and generating mobile traffic
A lot of projects work in this format relying heavily on
voice, sms and ivr
Source: Textually 14 Aug 2012

15. HARDWARE INSERTS THE
NEXT FRONTIER FOR
MOBILE IN AFRICA

16. India :
Refractive Eye
testing
US : Portable
Ultra Sound
Canada : Wind
speed
detector

17. Imagine a device attached to the mobile phone that
pinpoint the existence of the RNA strand for Ebola and
display preliminary results.
Its Already Available
Rapid Disease Testing ?

18. •3D Printing tattoos of human bodies
• “ink” of these nanoparticles suspended in a saline solution that could be injected under the
skin like a tattoo. The “tattoo” would last for a specified length of time, probably six months,
before needing to be refreshed.
•To get glucose readings, the patient would wear a monitor that shines near-infrared light on the
tattoo and detects the resulting fluorescence.
3D Printing For Health – Disease

19. The US Army
is working on a 3-D printer that is interfaced with the soldier. And that sensor can deliver
information to the computer software and then they would be able to have either powdered or
liquid matrices that are very nutrient dense, that they have on demand that they can take and
eat immediately to fill that need."
3D Printing For Fighting Malnutrition

20. Drones
Delivery of Health care items: Medicines
Agriculture :Monitoring of crops , tracking and monitoring
Landscape mapping and collecting of Data

21. Drones
I found a project I think is a testament to what can be achieved with the right type of thinking
where drones are concerned A Radical But Possible Plan to Connect African Nations With
Cargo Drones
Future Africa initiative at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Augmenting the road networks in Africa by
•Building first cargo robot route in Africa by 2016.
•It will be about 80 kilometres long and will connect several towns and villages.
•The first use case will be to fly units of blood from a blood bank to health clinics.

22. ??
Maybe you are asking
All these ideas sound great
but really with cost and issues with
energy and availability, they are not
really applicable to West Africa!!

23. 10 Dollar iPhone?
• Ah, the relentless pace of Moore's Law... Take any 'superphone' of today:
iPhone 4, Nokia N8, Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry Bold, or whatever is your
favorite
• Summer 2010: unsubsidized price of: US $600 gave you touch screen, 3G, WiFi,
GPS, 8mp & flash
• Winter 2011, same phone would cost $300
• Summer 2013: $150; winter 2014: $75 ,summer of 2016: $38; winter 2017: $19
• By summer 2019 cost of same specs of what was considered super phone in
2010 would be $10 (including distribution, marketing & profit)
Example :JiaYu G2F: 4.3inch ,touch screen, 3G,WiFi, GPS, 8mpcamera. Launched
May 2014 Cost US$81 (499 RMB)
Projection: TomiAhonen Consulting July 2010

24. 10 Dollar iPhone?
• Ah, the relentless pace of Moore's Law... Take any 'super phone' of today:
iPhone 4, Nokia N8, Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry Bold, or whatever is your
favorite
• Summer 2010: unsubsidized price of: US $600 gave you touch screen, 3G, Wi-Fi,
GPS, 8mp & flash
• Winter 2011, same phone would cost $300
• Summer 2013: $150; winter 2014: $75 ,summer of 2016: $38; winter 2017: $19
• By summer 2019 cost of same specs of what was considered super phone in
2010 would be $10 (including distribution, marketing & profit)
Example :JiaYu G2F: 4.3inch ,touch screen, 3G,WiFi, GPS, 8mpcamera. Launched
May 2014 Cost US$81 (499 RMB)
Projection: TomiAhonen Consulting July 2010

25. Just Remember
Just Remember
3D printers : Togo based maker space WoeLab Presented built 3D printer using E-
Waste from some of the largest dumps of old computer and electronic
equipment it sent ripples through the entire 3D printing and global community.
The 3D printer cost 100 USD
Smart phones , we have already touched on it , Moores law means we will be
seeing the 10USD smart phone
Paper/conductive ink : local innovation challenges and engagements are ways of
finding cheap alternative solutions . The World bank is currently running the
Negawatt challenge , for innovative solutions for energy within Africa pitting
Ghana against Kenya and Egypt
Drones : The DIY Makerfaire movement across Africa is ripe for working with
developmental partners into finding cheap alternatives to building solutions

26. In conclusion
If you were in the room in 1998 talking about how to improve
maternal health in Bolgatanga
Would you see the trend and the opportunity Or Would you go with
status quo

27. Thank you
Ethel Cofie
Email : ethel@ethelcofie.com
Website : www.ethelcofie.com
Technology Partner To The World’s Non-profits