5 Comments

1. Mark Pollock

   August 2, 2005

   Thanks for posting that. I had a conversation with a techie colleague over a year ago about exactly the same thing - getting good market information to primary suppliers. We ran aground on the problem of getting the technology to the suppliers for an affordable price. He was suggesting a big end solution - the carriers and vendors doing the heavy lifting (charity) and I was suggesting a charitable intervention (Oxfam collecting Nokia 5110s (with chargers) and shipping them off to Africa for resale on the second hand market - capitalism).

   This sort of thing could make a real difference.

2. Rafe

   August 3, 2005

   Check this out Mark, geeks vs poverty in West Africa http://www.geekcorps.org/

3. Mark Pollock

   August 6, 2005

   Ta.

4. Rafe

   August 8, 2005

   More on the sim card stampede in Ethiopia. http://www.meskelsquare.com/archives/2005/03/the_sim_card_st.html

5. Mar Pollock

   August 13, 2005

   That was intersting too. I predict some pretty horrendous billing problems with those 200,000 SIM cards. I doubt if there are too many direct debit opportunities over there.