[UgaBYTES] Google and Grameen Foundation launch AppLab

[Karamagi Ednah]

Hello Peter

BROSDI is behind this. Please visit this link ...
http://celac.or.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=1

If after you have any more information, dont hesitate to contact me via
email or on phone 0392963527 (i leave for South Africa tomorrow and so the
phone will be off till next week) or Maria on 0392962526 (she is around)

ednah
......................


> Dear Colleagues
>
> Does anyone have any further information about this ... it seems that
> it might have huge potential if it is used in the correct way. I can
> also see serious limitations because of the quality of the Google data
> and the lack of validation of data ... but I don't know enough about
> how the application works to be definitive about this. Let me know if
> you have any useful information.
>
> Peter
> ___________
> Peter Burgess
> Tr-Ac-Net Inc ... The Transparency and Accountability Network
> Community Analytics (CA)
> Integrated Malaria Management (IMM)
> Microfinance Focus Magazine in New York
> website: www.tr-ac-net.org
> tel: 917 432 1191 or 212 772 6918 or 212 744 6469
> email: peterbnyc at gmail.com
> skype: peterburgessnyc
> Books: Search Peter Burgess at www.lulu.com
>
> /////////////////////////////////////
> Africa: Google and Grameen Foundation launch AppLab
> Tuesday 28 July 2009 / by Claire Schaffner
> The Grameen Foundation (a micro-credit bank) and Google have launched
> AppLab, a range of applications available via SMS (Short Message
> Service), in Uganda. This initiative allows those without Internet to
> access information quickly and cheaply. This service will soon be
> introduced to other African countries.
>
> Henceforth, high-tech phones are not the only ones to provide access
> to the Google search engine. June 29, The Grameen Foundation
> microcredit bank, MTN (mobile phone company) and Google launched
> Google SMS, a range of applications available via sms, under their
> AppLab (Application Laboratory) project. For now, the service is only
> available in Uganda, but it should soon be introduced to other
> countries.
>
> The application is simple: the user sends an SMS with a question (to
> Google SMS Tips) or a keyword (to Google SMS search) and receives an
> answer that best matches their search. The service replaces online
> search engines, while the computer is replaced by a mobile phone. A
> farmer can, therefore, receive forecasts, market prices, advice on how
> to grow crops through biological methods, on his/her mobile phone,
> among others.
>
> AppLab also provides information services in the health area; locating
> the nearest clinic, information on HIV and malaria, answers to
> adolescent puberty-related questions.
>
> Google Trader, a virtual marketplace service, can also be accessed:
> this service allows sellers of agricultural products and commodities
> to locate and communicate with buyers. The phone service is expected
> to cut travel costs, while making information that has so far been
> inaccessible available to certain populations, especially in rural
> areas where electricity and Internet access is often poor.
>
> Meeting the needs of local people
>
> To implement the project, Grameen Foundation has been working with
> local partners to help identify the needs of the population. Before
> the service, adapted to specific local populations, is launched, a
> preliminary study is conducted to ensure that the needs of the local
> populations are met. In Uganda, the Grameen Foundation has been
> working with local agencies since 2007. The Busoga Rural Open Source
> Development Initiative (BRODSI), among others, provided data on the
> needs of farmers and helped develop solutions proposed by AppLab.
>
> Grameen Foundation is also involved in assisting the development of
> village phone operators for the benefit of users who cannot read, do
> not speak English or own a laptop computer. The service includes the
> possibility to rent a mobile telephone or even ask for help to send
> and receive SMS.
>
> The service, since its inception, has continued to grow. When a
> request is unknown to the search engine, it is directed to a service
> which processes and relays information to the Google SMS database. SMS
> use is expanding in Africa and signify a niche market for operators
> who wish to reach less accessible areas. A few months ago, mobile
> phone operators across sub-Saharan Africa launched banking services
> via SMS.
>
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>


-- 
Executive Director, BROSDI
P.O.BOX 26970
Kampala, Uganda
Websites: http://www.brosdi.or.ug, http://www.celac.or.ug
Telephone: +256 772 506 227; +256 392 963 527
Fax: +256 41 343 005