Economic Impact of mobile phones in developing countries Zimbabwe

Background: The combination of affordable mobile phones and different technologies (2G, 3G, and 4G) has enormous impact in developing nations. According to reports by World Bank, ITU, and GSMA, mobile broadband is growing fastest in developing countries and about 69 per 100 inhabitants in Africa have mobile cellular subscription. In line with the developments in the ICT world, the government of Zimbabwe established the first mobile operator, NetOne, in 1996. By the end of year 1998, the number of mobile network companies had increased to three. On the other hand, the economy of Zimbabwe is characterised by a high percentage of people who operate business in the informal sector. The informal sector comprise of small and medium enterprises who are engaged in various forms of businesses in order to earn a living (Sachdev & Ishan 2015).Objectives: This paper aims to explore the impact of mobile phones to small and medium enterprises in the nation of Zimbabwe.Setting and Methods: Publications and statistics from World Bank, ITU, GSMA and ADB were reviewed in order to understand the current mobile situation in developing nations. In addition, literature research was conducted in developing nations mainly with a focus in Asia, Latin America and Africa. To understand and gain some insight about the impact of mobile phones in Zimbabwe; a Case study was conducted with a total of 38 small to medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) from 11 cities in the nation of Zimbabwe....