One of the huge continents, Africa in which the popularity of poor people is really high and one can never think that country like this will be wealthy with communication technologies and especially in the field of smartphones. So, let us see in this piece of information that how this growing technology is helping people living in the country to eradicate poverty.
Further expansion of the mobile market is becoming necessary as it has been thriving for the last two decades. For daily usage, consumers are more comfortable in using mobiles and they are more convenient in carrying mobile phones instead of other devices, thus, the industry of mobile market will continue to grow globally.
For monetary institutions and banks, the market is also a wealth-producing one financially. As there is a growth in the mobile market, at the same time financial technology is also touching the sky, as a result, the users and the use of financial technology are also increasing. If a new and a big innovation is discovered, then, then there will be no expansion in the current payment system which is profitable to the people who make mobiles accessible to consumers and it is more convenient to the consumers also.
The growth of the mobile market is not only giving profit but, also it is acting as a catalyst in some parts of the world.
Everything you need to know about its historical existence
If you will go on to tell people that the industry of mobiles is highly developing in the areas of Africa where people do not even have knowledge of how to store their wealth, you are likely to receive deceiving reverts. But, honestly, the appropriate benefits of mobiles and their honest usage can be seen and realized in such areas only.
At the same time, the West has slowly started working into the combination of Finance technology and mobile. As compared to the cities, the rural African communities are miles ahead in accepting the new technology.
People in rural areas do not have bank accounts which is a matter of concern for all individuals. The income made by rural people is less and they get it after doing plenty of work. So, the wages should be guarded carefully by the individual. As we all know, the least secured form of money in the world is cash, which is in our hand and it is easy to steal and once if it is stolen, we cannot get it back. Thus, creating a sense of insecurity and possessiveness in the minds of people for their little amount of money they have in rural areas.
THE REVOLUTION BY THE RURAL PEOPLE
At a time when the people of the West have been debating on the safety of the contactless card system, the United Bank of Africa has already organized the facilities for much of Nigeria. The users of the contactless card system believe that when people run out of cash or are away from the banks, they can still enjoy all the benefits of contactless payments. It will be a sensible thing to shift from contactless cards to mobile payments because it is more convenient to carry one device instead of two and if one can do the work of both devices then why there is so much debate?
In an African society not using landlines, there is a gain of 0.5 per cent in gross domestic profit every time the African economy gives access to mobile technology to 10 per cent of its population. Thus, the whole African economy is enjoying the benefits of every new technology.
THERE’S ALSO SOMETHING BEYOND FINTECH
Farmers of rural African areas are using mobile phones for checking the weather reports through the internet as the weather plays a crucial role in farming activities and in the success of farmers. So, farmers nowadays are preferring using mobile phones instead of guessing to avoid ending up with a crop that is not appropriate for consumption. This is the key reason for the thriving of the Mobile market in Rural Africa.
Now, the farmers know when to sow seeds and when to harvest them at their fingertips. The farmers do not face any situation like earlier when they did not know when to sow the seed and harvest them leading to the crops do not grow according to them. This, in turn, wasted their one whole season leaving them with pent up expenses (in buying seeds, manure etc.) and barely any income. However, in a similar situation but where the small-scale farmer has access to a mobile phone, the results might be different. Wider information and better yields have helped them fight against poverty.
Using mobile in rural areas also helped with healthcare. For example, if there is an emergency and hospitals are away from the rural areas then the people of that area can consult a doctor through a mobile phone.
Using mobile phones have also benefited children in education. Children are now able to consult a teacher online, as well as they can attend online courses. Around 200.00 Kenyans are out of poverty over the last decade as the mobile payment company M-Pesa invested and brought innovations in a rural area of Africa.
THE FUTURE OF THE AREAS LIKE RURAL AFRICA
The relationship between two tech industries (FinTech and Mobile Tech) which are linked together and cannot grow without each other. If there is an increase in mobile users there will be a natural increase in the usage of apps. In each country of the world, cashless transactions are more usable than cash-based as it is more convenient and more secure. It is recorded that around 90 per cent of smartphone users have made online transactions in 2020.
Fintech in Africa is an example that how a rural society can work cashless as well as all the benefits that can be enjoyed by an individual. The most highly ranked factor of reducing poverty in rural Africa is the introduction of smartphones, and it can be ranked number one in the coming years.
