Cellphones connecting business in Africa

Companies doing business in Africa may find that cellphones provide the best and most efficient means of handling information and transactions, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) Information Economy Report 2009. “In the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Asia and Africa, mobile phones are used to conduct sales and purchases and to negotiate prices,” it says. Small and micro businesses are leading the way towards business-by-cellphone due to the challenges and costs of fixed line infrastructure in Africa. This has implications for the way that South African exporters, importers and logistics companies communicate with customers, branches and suppliers in the rest of the continent.