Mobile commerce in rural South Africa — Proof of concept of mobile solutions for the next billion mobile consumers

The biggest change in the mobile market in the coming years will not happen at the top consumer level where high end mobile devices will be equipped with the latest multimedia tools but at the untapped market of about one billion people in the mid segment of the world economic pyramid whose potential to become profitable telecom customers has been underestimated and misunderstood. In the Rural Living Lab (RLL) in Sekhukhune, South Africa, the C@R research project is developing mobile solutions that support Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to cope with business challenges in emerging economies. The first prototype already has proven its viability and appropriateness in the real world use case Mobile Procurement. Many important lessons learned and valuable outcomes have been derived which will significantly influence the further development of mobile solutions for the next billion mobile subscribers.