Theft keeps Africa mobile

We’ve written before about the enormous growth of mobile phones in Africa. Two different stories this week highlight rather different explanations for this boom.

One, the introduction of a mobile phone-based money transfer service in Kenya has been met with an enthusiastic response. The M-Pesa service lets subscribers instantly send money to friends, family or others via text message. The money arrives as a virtual cash voucher, which can be spent or cashed in at a number of appointed agents. One early adopter of the system explains that he used to transfer money to his family via postal order previously, but this usually took a long time.

In emergencies, he would simply stuff cash into an envelope and give it to a truck driver heading in the right direction, who often simply pocketed it. Rather more reliable alternatives are clearly welcome for users like him. Unsurprisingly, other developing countries, including Afghanistan, plan to roll out similar systems soon.

Meanwhile, further south, soaring global commodity prices has resulted in a surge of copper cable thefts, disrupting land line phone services. Telkom, South Africa’s major telco, says its telephone cables have become a major target, causing the firm to spend about R100m (nearly US$14m) on security alone. Its executives say the issue is a problem in India and China too. It believes more than half the line fault reports it gets are due to copper cable theft.

Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, South African mobile phone operator MTN last week reported record growth, including a 73% increase in subscribers.