With more than 90 million mobile phone users and 50 percent penetration, Nigeria is one of the most “mobile” countries in Africa. Add the fact that 67 percent of Nigeria’s adult population is unbanked, and we have the place to which the phrase “huge potential for the development of mobile payments” fits just right.

And it’s not only mobile payments. Nigeria is said to be the pioneer of mobile marketing in Africa. InMobi report says that “while Africa grew by 21% to reach 4.2 billion monthly impressions. This growth was largely driven by the continued growing trend towards smartphone adoption in these markets.” But let’s put fancy smartphones aside. Non -smartphone users tend to show an even higher propensity for mobile purchases over desktop computer purchases than smartphone users do.

So, once again – it’s not advanced mobile devices which define the success of this or that service. It’s a service itself and its’ accessibility for all mobile devices on the market. Especially if we are talking about Africa where conventional mobile phones are more widespread. We might be biased, as Global USSD works on any phones. But let’s be honest – it’s that mass market appeal which pays off. The more people can access your service – the better.

Irregular income, unemployment and distance to the bank branch especially for rural population, are the main barriers to having a bank account in Nigeria. At the same time, these barriers are what will drive the mobile market there.

This potential for mobile payments and mobile marketing needs one good technology to fulfill itself. If you developing a mobile payment service in Nigeria or want to start up a marketing campaign have a good look at Global USSD. In fact have a look at it even if you want to do the things mentioned above and you are not in Nigeria.

Global USSD can help you to create mobile services from scratch, including the financial ones, and deliver them to any country in the world. We have direct connection to the SS7 network which allows us to connect with any carrier in the world. You simply don’t have to integrate with operators’ infrastructure. All you need to do is create a service using Global USSD interface for a quick and simple service development. It is based on XML language and it is much like creating a blog. To develop a complex service we provide our API. Then Global USSD handles the delivery.

If you are interested write to us at info@eyeline.mobi. Stay tuned.

[photo: flickr/96dpi]