TTC Mobile celebrates 8 years of engaging hard-to-reach emerging markets

Happy birthday to us, as we are celebrating TTC Mobile’s 8th birthday on February 14, 2016! In 2008, the explosive growth of mobile technology in Africa was explored by the founders of TTC Mobile.

In 2016, 8 years later, mobile technology is a key player in the hard-to-reach areas of the continent of Africa, as well as in Asia and Latin America. What will the mobile technology world look like after the upcoming 8 years?

Explosive growth newspaper article

On February 14, 2008, New Vision Uganda, published an item with the heading “Dutch organization to fight AIDS with mobile phones”. On this date, the Text to Change Foundation launched its first interactive program, using text messages to improve knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS in Uganda. The program was one of a kind at the moment it was launched and reached 10,000 subscribers with SMS messages. The number of people visiting HIV Counselling and Testing services in Uganda greatly increased during the project period.

Around that time, Uganda had around 4 million phone users. 8 years later, this number is estimated to be more than 19.5 million. In other words: in less than only 8 years, the percentage of phone users in Uganda has increased with 34%. And these increases apply to most countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The use of mobile phones is truly booming in every distant corner of the world.

It has been challenging but the growth TTC Mobile has shown over the last 8 years has been truly impressive. We have been constantly on the lookout for new opportunities and collaborations in new markets. After the first program in 2008 TTC Mobile rapidly expanded to other countries in Africa and other parts of the world. TTC Mobile has executed hundreds of social impact driven campaigns in Africa, Asia and South America. Today, TTC Mobile has a reach of over a 200 million mobile phone users in 24 countries across three continents. TTC Mobile specializes in interactive mobile solutions. This signifies TTC Mobile’s strong commitment to reach the unreachable.

TTC Mobile serves a wide range of clients including NGOs, UN agencies, governments and (large) corporates. TTC Mobile’s campaigns and surveys are mostly on social and development related issues but could also be on promoting products or services or what type of product or service people like most.

Future of mobile technology and TTC Mobile
If numbers continue to grow at this speed (and they are) – this can only mean that mobile technology is playing an increasingly important role in the lives of the people in emerging markets. Great developments in this field are the growth of internet-enabled phones and the ambitions of global leaders such as Facebook’s Internet.org and Jana’s mCent app to connect “the next billion” to the internet. What else is to be expected in the upcoming years? And how is TTC Mobile, now 8 years old and a fully grown-up social enterprise, anticipating with the future of mobile technology?

The impact of mobile technology in developing countries has been tremendous and has profoundly changed the lives of people. Although the developing world’s smartphone adoption is steadily increasing, it is clear that if you want to reach the masses in emerging markets you will have to meet them on their feature phones. The most impact will be achieved through simplicity.

With the mobile internet landscape rapidly gaining traction, we see growing opportunities for online activation campaigns and surveys. With TTC Live, TTC Mobile has tapped into this development by building website versions specifically for feature phones. The user experience, whether on smart-or feature phones, remains key. Our goal is reaching as many people as possible in emerging markets and provide them with the opportunity to participate in global discussions and articulate their needs. We firmly believe that this will lead to better services and products for people in emerging economies. We are very excited about the future.

About the Author

Bas Hoefman is the founder and CEO of TTC Mobile. Bas was at the forefront of the revolutionary growth of mobile communications in emerging markets. He is a regular keynote speaker and renowned for his social entrepreneurship.

SOURCE: http://ttcmobile.com/celebrating-8-years/ (This article has been reproduced with the permission of the author)