Mobile Technologies and Entrepreneurial Development- Identifying the Missing Link

The phenomenal diffusion and explosive growth of mobile technologies in developing economies has sparked off an information revolution that has reframed the subject of development for policy makers, practitioners and academics. The use of mobile phones by rural micro-entrepreneurs addresses one of the fundamental challenges in creating relative wealth for poverty alleviation in rural communities. This paper uses meta-analysis, as a methodology, to review the ICT literature on mobile technologies and frames it under Porter’s Value Chain and System framework. It analyses how mobile technologies integrates informal actors in the value chain to undertake business activities. However, the framework is confined to an economic lens, and being deterministic, fails to highlight the social processes that underpin economic activities. Alternatively, the paper proposes a socio-technical framework that illuminates how mobile phone usage amplifies ‘social networks’ for micro-entrepreneurs within the value chain. By intertwining the social and geographical connections, technology enables new communications patterns to evolve for business success. As contribution to the ICT literature, the paper presents new insights on technology’s role in transforming market channels through the creation of social wealth for inclusive development. Also, it signifies how mobile technologies may offer financial services- via mobile banking- to boost entrepreneurial development in rural communities