Mobile applications for informal economies

The proliferation of mobile phones across the world, to people of all statures, has provided platform to bring computing resources to the masses. In this paper we present three mobile phone applications designed to aid the businesses and people of informal economies in developing countries. The goal of the applications is to assist in the growth of the economy through financial education and awareness and to assist and further the literacy. Each application is motivated and inspired by the needs of the women at the Saint-Louis Women´s Business Center Incubator in Senegal, Africa. We present the motivations, application design and operation, and the lessons learned throughout a year of development.