Voice-operated smartphones target millions in Africa who can't read or write | Fin24

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Voice-operated smartphones are aiming at a vast yet widely overlooked market in sub-Saharan Africa - the tens of millions of people who face huge challenges in life because they cannot read or write. | Fin24

In Ivory Coast, a so-called"Superphone" using a vocal assistant that responds to commands in a local language is being pitched to the large segment of the population - as many as 40 percent - who are illiterate.

Cerco hopes to expand this to 1 000 languages, reaching half of the continent's population, thanks to help from a network of 3 000 volunteers. "Our way skips reading and writing and goes straight to integrating people into economic and social life." Lack of numbers or economic clout often means these languages are overlooked by developers who have already devised vocal assistants for languages in bigger markets.Other companies investing in the voice-operation field in Africa include Mobobi, which has created a Twi language voice assistant in Ghana called Abena AI, while Mozilla is working on an assistant in Kiswahili, which has an estimated 100 million speakers in East Africa.

 

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Fin24 Great this is a vast market. If you look at vn on WhatsApp it's amazing because even older people no longer struggle with writing sms etc. It's amazing to witness how technology can transform communication barriers in this manner. I like it.

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