“Camcyberspacetopia”
for Cameroon-cyberspace-utopia, sounds gaga right? So what contents about Camerroon can you get in cyberspace? Typing Cameroon in Google gave 93,400,000 results
as compared to 995,000,000 results for the United States of America. This implies
a factor difference of 10. From this simple example we know Cameroon exist in the
cyberspace environment and can be accessed through the worldwideweb. Let us probe into some aspects of cyberspace of concern to Cameroon. ICT and
Kulture focused its attention on two main elements: the mobile application industry and internet usage/penetration.
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| Mobile apps can be used by pregnant mothers Photo Didier De Masso |
Typing into Google
search engine the key terms "mob apps industry in Cameroon yielded just 21
results for an ultra-refined search but a lesser refined search with the terms “development
of mob app in Cameroon yielded 13, 900, 000 results and another lesser refined
search with the terms “app industry in
Cameroon “gave 6, 870, 000 results. These figures are important because they
show on the one hand that lots is been said about the mob industry and mob
applications in Cameroon and on the other hand that there are just a few mob
apps available or mob app enterprises available more specifically. It is still
important at this stage to expose the IT environment in Cameroon. Internet World Statistics (2014) web site, shows
important information to consider about Cameroon’s internet usage, broadband, and
telecommunications. For instance, Internet Usage Statistics: 1,006,494
Internet users as of June 2012; 5.0% of the population, according to
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) an authority in the telecommunication
sector. Facebook Subscribers: 562,480 Facebook
users as of Dec. 2012; 2.8% of the population, according to Facebook.
The development of the IT sector
will bring with it the development of all other sectors including the mobile industry (technology and service).
The mobile industry is of interest because from experience mobile phones are the
most used information and communication technologies in Cameroon. In fact,
according to the ITU (2013) there are about 13 108 058 mobile telephone
subscribers in Cameroon. That is about 64.04 mobile phones per 100 inhabitants
were used in 2012. Interestingly according to the World Bank (2014) 70 mobile
phones per 100 inhabitants were used in 2013. From these data we know there is
an increase. We can expect an increase to occur each year. The implications of
these are enormous you can think of m-health, m-education, m-fiance, m-tourism,
m-leisure and even the mobile application industry.The mobile application industry is of outmost
concern because it involves a big unexploited market of the IT sector. Moreover
we think that its development could develop the other sectors of the mob
industry (m-health, m-education, m-fiance etc). According to Abega Musa one of the founder
of Mgsoftlimited during a programme over the CRTV radio channel there are just
20 mobile applications made in Cameroon. This is insignificant for the market available
and it calls for a reflection. What is the problem?
It is imperative to highlight that
ICT and Kulture’s concern on the issue of the mobile industry and mob apps in Cameroon
is not new. In his blog Gerald Nuba (2007) stated the need for Cameroonian IT
professionals to work towards the making of Cameroonian software which could be
used for a variety of domains. Hilda Mora (2012) in her article for iHub gave
several reasons for mobile phones being important tools for development and concomitantly
for Cameroonian’s economy. Let us just name a few of these reasons:
·
Mobile phones only require basic
literacy, and therefore are accessible to a large segment of the population.
·
Due to their unique characteristics, the
mobile phone is an especially good ‘leapfrogger’ it works using the radio spectrum,
as such there is no need to rely on physical infrastructure such as roads and
phone wires, and base-stations can be powered using their own generators in
places where there is no electrical grid (Economist, 2008)
This
implies that mobile phones can be used virtually by everyone, in all areas and
at minimum cost. According to Mora (2012), the greatest benefits of the mobile
telephony to Cameroon are in the development of mob applications used to
improve on food security and corruption. This is interesting since it means a certain
base exists already. Therefore, more Cameroonian developers should be involved in the development
of mob apps then. It is of relevance to
mention the role of ICT events to enhance students, researchers and
professionals to get involved in the mob application industry. It is a good
deal!
References
World Bank Data (2014) Mobile Cellular subscription per 100 people http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2
consulted 6th July 2014
Mgsoftlimited (2014) http://www.mgsoftlimited.com/
Internet World Statistics (2014) Internet World Statistics:
Cameroon http://www.internetworldstats.com/af/cm.htm
consulted 6th July 2014
International Telecommunication Union ( 2013)Mobile Cellular 2000-2012 http://www.itu.int
CRTV Radio (2014). CRTV m’ accompagne interview of Abega
Musa and His colleague on the 7th
of April 2014
Gerald Nuba (2007). How Software can be used for
Development in Cameroon the Cameroon Way. http://blogs.happysend.com/gerald%20nupa/8/How_Software_can_be_used_for_Development_in_Cameroon_the_Cameroon_Way.aspx
consulted 6th July 2014
Hilda Mora (2012). How Mobile technology has been
used to create an impact in Cameroon http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2012/10/how-mobile-technology-has-been-used-to-create-an-impact-in-cameroon/
consulted 6th July 2014
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