https://peculiarmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/fullscreen
more

Rightbox

Govt has no business buying phones for farmers –Kareem

FG targets $10bn annual investment in power sector peculiarmagazine

Tajudeen Kareem is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Microfone Telecoms, a network for people in rural communities. He tells OLALEKAN ADETAYO why the network is pro-poor and why government should not directly buy phones for farmers

What is the idea behind Microfone?

Microfone means affordable phone. The idea was derived from a micro-telecoms initiative patterned along the concept of micro-credit. The idea is to use the inherent benefits of modern telecommunications services to boost business, promote entrepreneurship, create wealth and reduce poverty.

Our primary objective is to extend mobile telecommunications services to all rural communities throughout Nigeria.  We believe we can make significant contribution to improve the living standard and eradicate poverty from rural areas by providing access to affordable telecommunications.

When did you start nursing this idea?

We started some three years ago. The original idea was to explore the use of ICT to alleviate poverty, especially among people at the grass roots. We took a critical look at the progress made in the telecoms industry since the GSM came on the scene and we were confident that we could leverage this tremendous growth and use telecommunications as a tool for massive poverty reduction through employment generation, increase in productivity and creation of new business opportunities.

Besides, we were convinced that efficient telecommunications will serve as a catalyst for efficient service delivery by governments, private sector enterprises, service providers in the agriculture, health and education sectors as well as security and civil society organisations.

What makes Microfone different from other telecommunications service providers?  

We reckon that Nigeria has an estimated population of 160 million while tele-density is, by January estimates, 81.78 per cent indicating that there are about 114 million active telecoms lines in the country. By inference, some 46 million Nigerians have yet to be connected to any form of telecoms service. This is a significant portion of the population that we have identified who deserve to be reached.

Similarly, telecoms industry installed capacity is pegged at 226.6 million lines at the end of January, 2013.

The implication of all these is that the demand for telecommunications service will continue to grow in Nigeria. However, most infrastructure and facilities are concentrated in the urban areas. You will agree with me that Nigerians living in the rural communities, most especially the low income earners, are still deprived.

There is a virgin market at the grass roots and that is our target. Remember, I said Microfone means affordability. Our potential customers include farmers, artisans, market women and the Okada riders across Nigeria. Among these are people who have never had any phone or made a phone call.

Our customer care or call centre service is also very unique because our subscribers can make enquiries in standard and Pidgin English, as well as in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages. We have a partner named Novus Agro Nigeria Commodity Index. They collect and collate data on agricultural commodities across markets in Nigeria every week. This weekly market information is available to Microfone subscribers, to help them in their business. Farmers especially can monitor current prices across markets to enable them to decide where to get favourable offers.

Why is your business idea built around service at the grass roots?

Like I said, despite the huge number of mobile phone subscribers in the country, the rural communities are still largely uncovered. We believe this should not be so. The telephone, combined with access to the Internet, is a potent weapon to fight poverty by creating awareness. Knowledge is power. A society with knowledge can better improve the health and education standards of its people.

Modern agriculture thrives on adequate and timely information. Every entrepreneur who appreciates the value of prompt information stands to benefit from the opportunities offered by Microfone.  In a nutshell, we are passionate about the grass roots because we are determined to link the rural communities to the world, create job opportunities for the unemployed, boost income and improve standard of living, give voice to the voiceless and promote entrepreneurship and team spirit in our communities.

Have you approached government on the farmers’ phones?

We have informed three ministers about our operations and the services we can render to assist government in discharging its obligations to Nigerians. The Ministers of Agriculture, Communications and Women Affairs are aware of what we are doing. But specifically, we have made a presentation to the Rural Development Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

We have demonstrated clearly that government has no business buying phones for farmers when the private sector can do that more effectively. I am very optimistic that the Federal Government will partner Microfone because our products and services will boost its agricultural transformation agenda. We are already, through our partnership with Novus Agro Index, which I mentioned earlier, providing support for the success of the Growth Enhancement Scheme, whereby fertilisers and other basic agro inputs are sold to farmers at subsidized rates through their mobile telephones.

With our reach and penetration, the farmers can be sure that they will not be excluded from enjoying government’s subsidy once they are connected.

(Punch NG)

Comments

comments

This entry was posted in Business, Entertainment, News, People and Places, Politics, Science, Streams, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.