Bitcoin Forum

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/24/mobile-phones-africa-microfinance-farming

It may seem unlikely, given its track record in technological development, but Africa is at the centre of a mobile revolution. In the west, we have been adapting mobile phones to be more like our computers: the smartphone could be described as a PC for your pocket. In Africa, where a billion people use only 4% of the world's electricity, many cannot afford to charge a computer, let alone buy one. This has led phone users and developers to be more resourceful, and African mobiles are being used to do things that the developed world is only now beginning to pick up on.

The most dramatic example of this is mobile banking. Four years ago, in neighbouring Kenya, the mobile network Safaricom introduced a service called M-Pesa which allows users to store money on their mobiles. If you want to pay a utilities bill or send money to a friend, you simply dispatch the amount by text and the recipient converts it into cash at their local M-Pesa office. It is cheap, easy to use and, for millions of Africans unable to access a bank account or afford the hefty charges of using one, nothing short of revolutionary.

Thanks a lot for this article. It's really true that M-Pesa and other systems like this are making a difference for many people.

I totally agree with the author and I also think that Bitcoin has a crucial role to play in this monetary revolution. Just think of the possibility of replacing Western Union and its horrendously high fees with a proper exchange in any African country like Uganda.
Check my sig to see what else is needed to get things going in Africa for Bitcoin. ;)

If Africa is so ingenious about banking and currency transfer, why do I keep getting Emails from relatives of dead African generals and/or political figures who can't seem to get their $40-100M USD out of an account and need MY help?

Not exactly the same but related: http://www.economist.com/node/17366137?story_id=17366137&fsrc=scn/tw/te/rss/pe

Ironically I'm sure that must be very hard to buy bitcoins from Uganda :P

All this sounds good but Bitcoin's possible uses are unreachable in the so called "third world" and I think Bitcoin has a very important challenge with Africa and Latin America.

@hugolp: Thanks for the article.

Well, actually it is but it wouldn't be that hard if a proper exchange would be in place.
You could just send your money via cash, bank transaction or M-Pesa and receive Bitcoins.

At the moment: Yes, because of a lack of Bitcoin infrastructure. But in the future I see Bitcoin as a very big player in developing countries because it's bypassing the weaknesses of other systems already in place (like Paypal or Western Union).
Just imagine someone wants to send some money from Northern America or Europe to Africa. With a proper exchange in place the algorithm wouldn't be that complicated:

1.) Sender trades fiat money for Bitcoins
2.) Sender sends Bitcoins to the receiver
3.) Receiver receives the Bitcoins (*)
4.) Receiver trades Bitcoins for local fiat money
5.) done

(*): Actually, this step would be the hardest one in Africa as you need a pretty potent internet connection to download the whole block chain. Apps for smartphones could be a part of the solution but smartphones are still not that common in Africa.

Good one.

To hold THAT much money, the phones obviously have to be very big and heavy. Two person job to lift them and carry them out of the country.

Perhaps we should start replying to all those emails that they should convert those millions into BTC and then we'll help them get those out of the country.