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Acacia Partner Garners Two Major ICT Prizes

Thanks to Manobi-Senegal, farmers in the field can use their mobile phones to check prices before they set off to sell their produce. (Manobi Photo)

2005-01-19

A leading-edge Senegalese business that provides local farmers with up-to-the-minute market prices for their crops through their portable telephones has just won two major African information and communication technology (ICT) awards.

Manobi-Senegal was named Most Innovative Company and was also selected the overall organizational winner at the African ICT Achievers Awards ceremony held in November in Johannesburg, South Africa. The awards are rated among sponsors and recipients as the African ICT sector's analogue to Hollywood's movie Oscars.

Manobi's founder and CEO, Daniel Annerose, started the Internet and mobile service company just four years ago, with support from the Acacia Initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the communications company Alcatel, and Senegal's telecommunications company Sonatel.

Farmers in remote areas of Senegal were provided with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-enabled cell phones that allowed them to connect to the Internet to check strategic market information and compare competing local buyers' offers for produce. Subscribers have secured, on average, about 15% higher profits for their farms after having paid net costs, including the price of Manobi's service. Acacia's contribution has been to put in place a method for collecting the necessary market information and to test how the system was accepted by the farmers. The World Bank has subsequently also supported Manobi in extending the cellular network to include market information related to the fisheries sector.

Manobi, headquartered in France, created Manobi-Senegal as a joint venture with Sonatel. Manobi is also planning to open an office in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Johannesburg Mail & Guardian Online says the various services offered by Manobi, including business assistance and supply chain management, have wide potential in South Africa, in areas such as commerce, agriculture, and fisheries.

Annerose says that not only does his company's technology strengthen farmers' positions when they negotiate crop prices with buyers, it also saves time and aids better business decisions. It has also enabled new types of businesses in Senegal.

Manobi's underlying technology, called a multi-channel service platform (MCSP), can be used to collect and deliver information by voice, WAP, and the Internet. It incorporates a number of mobile wireless protocols that move short text messages, graphics, and audio between phones and other Internet devices.

The African ICT Achievers Awards' scope and prestige has grown steadily since they were first launched six years ago by market research company ForgeAhead and South Africa's Department of Communications. The theme for this year's ceremony, which included 17 award categories, was African excellence. Award sponsors include the South African Department of Trade and Industry and major corporate backers such as European communications giant Siemens AG and international financial service KPMG.

Keane J. Shore is an Ottawa-based freelance writer.

For more information:

Manobi Corporation, Amitié II, BP 25026, Dakar Fann, Senegal; Phone: +221-869-20-50; Fax: +221-869-20-62; Email: contact@manobi.net

Alioune Camara, Senior Program Officer, Acacia Initiative, IDRC Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, Angle Boulevard de l'Est, BP 11007, CD Annexe, Dakar, Senegal; Email: acamara@idrc.org.sn

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