Kenya poised to be the first African country to fully adopt NFC technology and m-commerce
The advent of mobile technology has opened the way for many innovative concepts to take form. Mobile commerce, for instance, has become a powerful concept that has been made possible through NFC technology. The technology enables consumers to make payments for goods and services using their smart phones or other mobile devices. Driven by NFC technology and the prevalence of mobile devices, m-commerce is beginning to gain traction all over the world and has recently broken into the African market. Kenya is poised to become the first country on the continent to embrace m-commerce and NFC technology.
Google teams with Citi Hoppa to test NFC-based services
Several technology companies in Kenya have banded together to promote the use of NFC technology. Google has teamed with Citi Hoppa, a bus service in Nairobi, to test NFC-based services. Google will provide Citi Hoppa with NFC-enabled smart phones, which will be used by bus conductors to collect money from passengers. The service is currently in its early stages of testing and Google will examine the data it collects through the pilot project to determine whether the service is viable for widespread use.
Airtel Africa and Oberthur Technologies look for ways to bring NFC products to Kenya
Mobile network operator Airtel Africa and technology firm Oberthur Technologies are experimenting with ways to bring NFC technology to Kenya and the rest of the continent. The two companies are developing a number of services that make use of NFC technology, include those in the realm of m-commerce, together but have been relatively secretive of their venture. Both companies believe that NFC technology could become an important part of Kenya, but there are concerns over the technology’s popularity due to the lack of NFC-enabled mobile devices.
Lack of NFC-enabled mobile devices may hurt progress
NFC technology and m-commerce has been able to take off in some countries because of their access to NFC-enabled mobile devices. These countries are typically more developed than Kenya and their status as such has created higher levels of smart phone penetration amongst consumers. In countries where NFC-enabled mobile devices are not accessible, m-commerce and NFC-based services are not likely to survive for long.
