Ever upwardly mobile

 

by Deborah Miarkowska

“Ever upwardly mobile”: how do cellphones benefit vulnerable people?

Lessons from farming cooperatives in Lesotho

Authors: Vincent,K.; Cull,T.; Freeland,N.
Produced by: Wahenga.net, Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (2009)
While there is growing evidence of cash transfers reducing hunger and vulnerability, less is known about effective delivery mechanisms for such transfers, particularly in remote areas. In this respect, information and communication technologies appear to offer some interesting possibilities. In August 2006, the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP) piloted a project using cell phones to deliver cash transfers to women in Lesotho. The initiative is documented in a RHVP briefing note.

Ten cellphones were provided to three women’s farming cooperatives in different agro-ecological zones, to people with similar profiles to the beneficiaries of cash transfer schemes. Recognising the lack of exposure to mobile telephones amongst the target users, joint monitoring committees were established. These comprised of a teacher in the community and a young student, together with the members of each farming group. Each handset was preloaded with ZAR500 (approximately $50) of airtime, with the intention that the recipients would use ZAR100 (approximately $10) of this for group communication, and then sell the remaining ZAR400 (approximately $40 as airtime or SMS) to other community members, such that the enterprise becomes self-sustaining.

A project evaluation in January 2009 found that the availability of cell phones had resulted in:

• a drop in travel times experienced by the women in the farming groups
• improved productivity and marketing success
• increased social capital in terms of access to networks and expertise
• income generation for cooperative members, who were able to purchase airtime at a discount and then sell it on at the retail price to other members of the community

In future, relatively inexpensive solar chargers could be made available to the women to help them charge phone batteries, particularly in places where there are electricity shortages. Installing community phones, that charge less per call than cellphones, and disseminating information through radio programmes and laptops, are other possible activities for the project.

RHVP has used the information generated by the project to inform other governments in southern Africa about cash transfer delivery mechanisms, including in Swaziland, Malawi and Mozambique.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=42924

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