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As access to digital platforms in Africa is mostly through 'mobile' networks, this paper addresses the mismatch of universalised reports on 'mobile' access and the experiences from digital health practice and cases in Zambia and Zimbabwe.…
In many regions of the world, sparse data on key economic outcomes inhibits the development, targeting, and evaluation of public policy. We demonstrate how advancements in satellite imagery and machine learning can help ameliorate these…
The proliferation of mobile phones has made mobile payments to be widely used in developing economies. However, mobile payment usage in Malawi is low, and there are many limitations to encourage users to continuously use mobile payments.…
Can mobile phone data improve program targeting? By combining rich survey data from a "big push" anti-poverty program in Afghanistan with detailed mobile phone logs from program beneficiaries, we study the extent to which machine learning…
We present results of an experiment benchmarking a workforce training program against cash transfers for underemployed young adults in Rwanda. 3.5 years after treatment, the training program enhances productive time use and asset…
Detailed knowledge of the energy needs at relatively high spatial and temporal resolution is crucial for the electricity infrastructure planning of a region. However, such information is typically limited by the scarcity of data on human…
-It has considered almost 30 years since the emergence of e-commerce, but it is still a global phenomenon to this day. E-commerce is replacing the traditional way of doing business. Yet, expectations of sustainable development have been…
Improving access to essential public services like healthcare and education is crucial for human development, particularly in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited reliable transportation and sparse public facilities present…
The United Nations Broadband Commission has committed the international community to accelerate universal broadband. However, the cost of meeting this objective, and the feasibility of doing so on a commercially viable basis, are not well…
Understanding temporary migration is crucial for addressing various socio-economic and environmental challenges in developing countries. However, traditional surveys often fail to capture such movements effectively, leading to a scarcity of…
This paper presents a novel semi-supervised algorithmic approach to creating large scale sociocentric networks in rural East Africa. We describe the construction of 32 large-scale sociocentric social networks in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.…
The mapping of populations socio-economic well-being is highly constrained by the logistics of censuses and surveys. Consequently, spatially detailed changes across scales of days, weeks, or months, or even year to year, are difficult to…
Network-based marketing refers to a collection of marketing techniques that take advantage of links between consumers to increase sales. We concentrate on the consumer networks formed using direct interactions (e.g., communications) between…
According to the latest World Economic Forum report, about 70% of the African population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. This makes agriculture a critical sector within the African continent. Nonetheless, agricultural…
Digital services have the potential to improve rural entrepreneurs' access to wider markets and increase their competitiveness among other benefits. Moreover, during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in which movement and physical contacts have…
Digital loans have exploded in popularity across low and middle income countries, providing short term, high interest credit via mobile phones. This paper reports the results of a randomized evaluation of a digital loan product in Nigeria.…
Digital financial services have catalyzed financial inclusion in Africa. Commonly implemented as a mobile wallet service referred to as mobile money (MoMo), the technology provides enormous benefits to its users, some of whom have long been…
E-commerce is rapidly transforming economies across Africa, offering immense opportunities for economic growth, market expansion, and digital inclusion. This study investigates the effects of e-commerce on select African regions. By…
Understanding how people move within a geographic area, e.g. a city, a country or the whole world, is fundamental in several applications, from predicting the spatio-temporal evolution of an epidemics to inferring migration patterns. Mobile…
Statistics on migration flows are often derived from census data, which suffer from intrinsic limitations, including costs and infrequent sampling. When censuses are used, there is typically a time gap - up to a few years - between the data…