From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Aug 28 2009 - 10:49:34 EDT
TECHNOLOGY-AFRICA: A Rural-Urban Digital Divide Challenges Women
By Joyce Mulama
*NAIROBI, Feb 14 (IPS) - Janet Malika owes her success to the little gadget
that is her cell phone. Formerly a struggling food hawker in the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi, she has become a cafeteria owner since acquiring the
device about five years ago, and using it to conduct business.*
"Before, I would waste a lot of time trying to get ingredients from the
market. By the time I got ready to start preparing food for sale, it would
be so late - and I ended up losing a lot of customers," she told IPS.
"With a cell phone all I have to do is call my suppliers, who will deliver
the ingredients within no time. Because of the phone, I am always on time in
preparing meals for customers. My business has expanded to the point that I
have opened a cafeteria. All I know now is profit."
And, she’s not the only one. A 2006 study conducted in Nairobi to explore
the effect mobile phones had on small businesses owned by women indicates
that most concerns benefited from use of the devices. The report was
commissioned by the International Development Research Centre, which is
funded by the Canadian government.
Most women interviewed said phone features such as calendars and clocks
"enhanced better planning of time and meetings", allowing them "to handle
business and family issues at the same time, maintain contact with
customers, keep track of business while away, and make orders and ensure
deliveries on time."
Technology has also come to the aid of Bernedette Mushilla. Since the
Nairobi-based sex therapist started marketing her practice through a web
site two years ago, her clients have increased from 500 to over 2,000.
"I get so many calls from people who are seeking advice on relationships and
sex matters, as opposed to previously, when I popularised my services by
word of mouth. The internet has truly made a difference in my business,"
Mushilla said in an interview with IPS.
The experiences of Malika and Mushilla typify how information and
communication technologies (ICTs) can transform the lives of women in Kenya
and elsewhere on the continent.
At present, however, the benefits of ICTs are largely restricted to towns
and cities, as most rural areas lack the infrastructure, equipment and
skills needed for communities to take full advantage of these technologies.
Government figures indicate that only 20 percent of Kenya’s population of
over 30 million has access to electricity; the majority of those who do
without live in outlying regions.
In addition, a high illiteracy rate among women has prevented many from
using ICTs to improve business efficiency and productivity. According to
United Nations statistics, more than 40 percent of women in Africa have no
access to basic education – with most who lack schooling based in rural
areas.
Given that official estimates put over 70 percent of the Kenyan population
in far-flung regions, this rural-urban digital divide is a source of some
concern.
"We will not achieve meaningful development for as long as we have women in
the rural areas still unable to use ICTs, which can greatly improve their
well being," says Constantine Abuya, executive director of the African
Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology, based in
Nairobi.
Various initiatives to help Africa’s rural women join the information age
are emerging.
A case in point is the new Regional Information Communication Technology
Support Programme (RICTSP), organised by the Inter Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD), which will allow women entrepreneurs in rural parts to
get grants for boosting their businesses, and advise them on ICTs.
"We are giving them grants because we know that it is difficult for these
women to get financing. We know they have low skill levels in ICTs," Bessie
Nyirenda, head of the RICTSP, told IPS. "Because radio is widely used in
these areas, advice on how to do business will be given through this
medium."
Last week (Feb. 7-8), a two-day workshop for business women’s associations
from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan was convened by IGAD: a regional
body comprising Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and
Uganda. The event, held in Nairobi, mapped out ways of promoting ICT use by
women in outlying regions.
Delegates from all four countries represented at the workshop noted that, in
addition to radio, the mobile phone had become a popular tool of
communication in rural areas because of the drastic shortage of fixed lines
there.
The same problem occurs in Kenya, where only 14,285 of the country’s 293,364
fixed lines are rural connections, according to the Communications
Commission of Kenya’s (CCK) annual report of 2005/2006.
This situation has seen impressive growth in subscriptions to the country’s
two mobile operators. Safaricom and Celtel now have about 6.5 million
subscribers, says the CCK report. (END/2007)
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