Kongoussi: the economic benefits of second-hand cell phones

The local distribution takes place by Mr Lazara Sawadogo, who runs owes a telecentre in Kongoussi.
Lazare feels that the telephones he sells are reasonably priced. While people in the Kongoussi area are poor and naturally prefer less expensive items, the telephones are in great demand, since each stock that Lazare receives is sold out in just a few days. Since Yam Pukri and its partner started this scheme, many more people in his district own cell phones, allowing them to tap into neighbourhood news wherever they happen to be.

Experiences from small enterpreneurs
Lazare sells mobile phones to customers like Evelyne Marie Louise, Zakarie, Romuald and Francis who, like most of the customers, are small entrepreneurs.

Evelyne Marie Louise sells dolo (millet beer), as well as a meat soup. Since she bought her telephone, she often sells much of her dolo and all of her soup before she can even display them for sale, because she now receives orders by telephone. Some regular customers call to make reservations even when they're out of town. On days when she does not make dolo, the telephone allows her to spare these customers the trip.

Zakarie is a joiner with a workshop near Kongoussi's town hall. The telephone he bought a telephone from Lazare two years ago has revolutionised his business. Previously, he had to spend money and go every day to friends' houses, telecentres and other contact points to see whether someone had left an order for him. Today, this is no more than an unpleasant memory, since he now receives orders directly on his cell phone, and customers from Ouagadougou can reach him easily. But Zakarie would like to see the phones provided with new batteries and chargers, as he often finds it very difficult to obtain certain types of batteries and chargers in Kongoussi.

Romuald and Francis, market gardeners near Lake Bam, used to have great difficulty selling their produce, and they often had to let their tomatoes rot in the fields for lack of customers. Today, with their cell phones, their customers from Ghana and Togo can contact them directly before travelling to Burkina Faso. In the past, they had to wait until the customer came to them, but now everything has changed.

Conclusion: you cannot be competitive without a cell phone
The efforts of Yam Pukri and Terre des Hommes Suisse have brought ICT to the tomato fields of Burkina Faso, to the workshops of joiners, mechanics and tailors, to dance halls, and more. The cellular phone, long regarded as a luxury in the "land of honest men", is now part of the lives of all social and occupational classes. The convenience that it offers has made it indispensable in their work: your business cannot be efficient and competitive today without a cell phone. For these reasons, initiatives like that of Yam Pukri to popularise this tool in rural areas should be supported by the national authorities.

Charles Dalla, Burkina-NTIC
For original text in French, see http://www.burkina-ntic.org/repor1.php3?id_article=773