Mobile Phones Have Reached Ugandan Villages

A recent story written in the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) reports that mobile phones have made it successfully into the hands of Ugandan villagers. Local villagers set up phone shops near their homes and provide mobile phone access to their neighbors. To acquire funding for these shops, villagers take out loans from what is known as microfinance institutions. Microfinance institutions are establishments that provide loans and other means of building credit to provide those living in poverty with the resources to aid them in acquiring credit. Once the loan is acquired, the business villagers offer their customers handsets and car batteries to charge them is electricity is not available. Owners of these mobile shops have been quite successful. One of the owners was able to repay her loan within four months and began using her profits to make investments. Opportunities like these put economic power into the hands of those who need it the most.