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By: Issa Sikiti da Silva

For an average African a cellphone is a digital centre, a library, a laptop, a viable source of news, a vital device for mass telecommunications and a social media tool for communication, leading to self-perpetuating growth and prosperity, says Brett Loubser, Samsung product and technical support manager.

Delivering his address to delegates at the Mobile Web Africa Conference, at the Michaelangelo Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, yesterday, 13 October 2009, Loubser said, “The mobile Internet market in the developed world is extremely saturated, so all of the growth is largely happening in the developing world, something we must seriously think about.”

The cellular industry is having a huge impact on many African countries’ GDP and has become an enabler of the continent’s activity, with Nigeria being the case study for that growth.

Capitalising on the ‘new revolution’?

Given that mobile has become the popular way of accessing the net in Africa – 28% penetration versus 3.8% fixed-line penetration – according to Loubser, there is