Abstract

Africa is the place where the world poorest people are living. The majority of these people are experiencing living difficulties such as lack of food, shelter, job, education and other basic needs. Some of them even though well educated, have no opportunity to work to satisfy the above basic needs. Therefore, in order to deal with those issues people try to be organized into groups. They create opportunities that are sometimes illegal. It is the case of the market at DECKON, an example of self-employment solution that has created an economic area for selling various electronic equipment especially mobile phones. The traders are organized either in informal business for the ones or formal business for the others. However, their main problem is the lack of proper funding for their activities and the regularization of their business. In addition, they are sometimes abused by some government’s agents who deliberately delay the procedures or attempt to bribe them for the issue of their business legal papers. The traders also acutely lack the proper training in phone repairing, business management and entrepreneurial skills. The document proposes an ICT infrastructure named Peoplenet to improve access to knowledge that will help deal with the issues of dealers at Dekon.

1. Introduction

Sachs J. ³² revealed that it is usual for newspapers to announce everyday that “More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty.” And Daniel H ¹⁰ confirmed that poverty kills approximately 20,000 kids every day. Furthermore, around 28% of kids in Africa are likely stunted or underweight. Poverty is closely related to starvation, as parents have insufficient financial resources to meet the food requirements of their children.” (Bill Gates, 2015) also explained that “Worldwide, one in four children is stunted. Three-quarters of them live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. However, while stunting has declined by more than a third in South Asia since 1990, in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of stunted children is still on the rise, up to 12 million since 1990 to 56 million. Forty percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are stunted.”

“The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that between 2000 and 2008 Africa created 73 million jobs, but only 16 million for young people aged between 15 and 24. As a result, many young Africans find themselves unemployed” United Nation ³⁷. As we all know that those young people are the parents of most of new babies born, without job, it won’t be possible for them to have proper family life. Therefore Poverty is the most obvious consequence. Thus, in order to live and feed their families, Younger people do several types of business either legally or not. This is the reason why in most of African countries there is an economic sector named informal sector which actually is not so productive for the continent’s socio-economic growth. The Political economist Cheru asserts that: “a closer look at the informal sector in Africa provides a glimpse of what could be achieved if Africa’s economies and financial policies were more attuned to the continent’s everyday realities.” He sees the informal economy as being community-based, representing:

“… socio-political entities, with their own rules, forms of organization and internal hierarchies, constituted a node of resistance and defiance against state domination.” ¹⁹

Hence, owing to inquiries carried out with the youth with no monthly remunerated job, instead of staying at home without doing anything, they prefer to go to DECKON a kind of electronical equipment black market to sell any type of goods including: phones, computers, mobile phones parts and accessories, repairing mobiles phones. DECKON is a nerve center in Lomé, the capital town of Togo, a neighboring country of Ghana. Most of the activities that are ran are classified in the informal sector, which means that the majority of the youth working at DECKON are under no state control or rule due to the fact that they do not pay legal taxes and also they don’t declare their activities to the local Commercial Department.

There is a living out of these trades that are running in this zone because they almost do everything from repairing, sales, exchanges, purchases, to … contract manufacturing. These various activities done in this place contribute enormously to the national economy even though securing taxes recovering is difficult to reach. It also helps in the decrease of the unemployment in the country. It ensures young traders their vitals needs satisfaction and helps them survive.

This commercial area in Lomé is an informal market within which a link already exists between the commercial actors which, develops in the course of time and which enables sales and exchanges. The youth who are working there propose various services at reasonable price, therefore it exists sometimes problems of reliability concerning the quality of their services. Most of the time, there is some issues of insecurity because of the dishonesty of the people attending the market that usually happen, especially while goods come from theft. The severity of the lack of education is the cause of the above as “Information does not automatically change behaviors, but educators can nurture appropriate behaviors” said Monroe M (nd) ²⁸.

The big matter here is to help the Young people reorganize the systems of sales in the market of Dekon and overcome different issues due to some fraudulent and illegal activities involved. There are needs of establishing rules but also proposing systems that can help actors of the Deckon Market to regularly run their businesses and increase their revenue and their living conditions. Paying tax for example contributes to individual and collective development of people and also to socio-economic growth of the whole country including: building infrastructures, giving access to basic vital services like health, water… education… helping reduce inequalities. ²⁷. Thus, this document is proposing to address the various difficulties of the Young people of Deckon through the setting up of an information system platform named PeopleNet which “is a concept and plan for a virtual community service based open ICT principles. Its focus is on realizing underprivileged people's information rights, and its main goal is to provide and leverage the practical information poor citizens need to improve their living situations.” ³¹.

2. Methodology

This research has considered a focus group approach of data collection, as Deckon youngsters are marginalized people; and it is also a new research for which it is difficult to apply observation as a research tool as it was inspired by RWJF ³⁰. “Focus groups are group interviews that give the researcher the ability to capture deeper information more economically than individual interviews.” ²

“The focus group method is a qualitative research technique or a group interview method, which brings together a cross-section of stakeholders in an informal discussion group format” revealed Roussi R ²⁹.

Therefore, one must know that for the purpose of the proposed solution to be applied to tackle the issues of the Deckon market young traders developed in this document, Peoplenet solution is based on helping the Youngsters through ICT infrastructures by supplying with business, health and mobile phone technical practical information dedicated to bring up wellbeing within the above group. Hence, this type of approach requires more commitment and integration of the Youngsters themselves in order to stress their strong participation for the production of the design of the future ICT infrastructure that should provide those specific information to the youngsters.

Life based Design (LBD) should be the design tool that will be helpful in achieving the above goal. This research is exploring the formal life of the participants and stakeholders of the Deckon Market as it is stated in the LBD processes by forming a focus group for this purpose. LBD is a human centered technical creative design encompassing: the formal life analysis, the concept design and design requirement, the fit for life design and the innovation design. ²²

“When looking from the point of view of LBD and microinnovation, a focus group can also be used as a bottom-up user-driven instrument for innovation; creating new ideas, creative concepts and for examining a specific subject or theme, such as different forms of life. In the area of social media, for example, a focus group can be organised to study how people talk about this specific phenomenon, and what kind of language a certain group uses. In addition to exposing the discursive elements of a particular phenomenon, the focus group method can also be used to collect data about the group’s knowledge, habits, motives, attitudes, experiences, and expectations. This is particularly what we are interested in within the LBD process – looking at real life examples, in addition to possible user suggested design solutions.” ²⁹

As an illustration of the use of LBD in the social and development environment, especially in the emerging and developing countries, Datye S ¹¹ developed an interesting solution for decision support for committing resource and acceptance within the voluntary sector. It is a guide for engineers in the technical solution development for the voluntary sector in Asia but also in Europe. This work was inspired by the LBD tool.

Our researches have used a focus group of twelve (12) youngsters from different aspect of the Deckon market activities. This group is including:

- Four (4) regular mobile phone shop owners

- Four (4) irregular mobile phone shop owners

- Four (4) mobile phone repairers.

Eight (8) focus group sessions of two (2) hours each were held in order to collect data under both my supervision and of Steeven Adotevi one of my Students. Audio tape and videos were used to collect all the primary data of this research. Secondary data have also been collected mainly from websites, e-books and e-journals.

The formal life we cover in this research is emphasizing the understanding of the question by exploring the biological, socio-cultural and psychological factors that are supporting the rules and regularities of actions Leikas ²².

The rule following actions, various factors and values and also the possible technology following action were determined during the investigation of the Deckon Market formal life. Various discussions engaged within the focus groups, have helped to the find the goals for the solution design.

Furthermore the analysis was focused on several themes including:

- Current and existing situation and context

- The recurrent activities that are performing

- The possible use of new technologies

- Difficulties encountered

- The goals to achieve in the search of lives improvement

- Exploration of some proposed and discussed technical ameliorations and innovations in the perspective of Peoplenet

- Discussion of alternative Peoplenet systems.

3. The Impoverished World

Africa is the poorest part of the world with significant poverty issues. This situation of the continent has its origins from several accident of the history.

That the majority of Africans are materially poor is hardly disputable, nor very surprising. After all, the continent has been dealt a very unfavorable historical hand. A devastating and cruel global slave trade, long periods of colonial occupation, and a series of European-backed commercial ventures to exploit Africa’s considerable natural wealth provided little institutional, infrastructural, and human capital when African countries began to achieve independence during the past century (Illife 1987). More recently, cold war and post-cold war politics, prolonged conflicts, a series of structural adjustment experiments, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have left large parts of the region poorer than even twenty years ago. Barett C. (2005) et al

This situation is featured by a huge lack of basic needs as in South Africa young people have no access to basic infrastructures that could help them live a proper life in rural areas. They are forced in this case to join urban areas where there is job opportunity even few ‘Helserman ¹⁶.’ “Basic Infrastructure such as electrical reticulation and communications, essential pillars for economic growth, has not even been planned for many remote rural communities in South Africa. Geographic location should not place limitations on access to information and the use of Internet, which are considered vital to the promotion of learning, training and business development in developing communities” Helserman M ¹⁶. There is a general consensus that basic social services are the building blocks for human development. Indeed, they are now accepted as fundamental human rights. But there is a widening gap between this consensus and the reality of public spending on basic services in the developing world” ²⁶ Below is the poverty situation presented by Compassion (nd) ⁷ in Togo.

Many poor families in Togo’s rural areas migrate to such urban centers as the capital, Lomé, in search of employment and a better way of life. They find only more desperate poverty.

• Unable to afford housing, migrants to urban centers live along the roads in makeshift shelters, or crammed into small, rented rooms.

• Malnutrition among urban children is common.

• In the crowded cities, lack of access to safe water is a serious issue.

• In fact, 39 percent of people do not have access to clean water. As a result, diseases such as cholera are rampant.

• Education opportunities also are lacking in Togo’s cities.

• The few public schools are undersupplied and overcrowded – up to 100 students per classroom.

• In 2014, 59 percent of public school pupils failed the final government exam for their grade level.

The big issue in the above situation especially in this country is the difficulty for the young people to find job either employment or self-employment in order to transform their life and achieve an effective poverty relief.

4. Academic Qualification does not lead to Employment

Young people in Africa and especially in Togo are most of the time in such a situation that they complete university but do not have any job opportunities. Even those who have jobs are not well paid for the majority of them. In fact this country has an unprecedented unemployment issues that need to be tackled accurately. Most of the graduate young people from universities do not have easy access to job market. They have to ride commercial motorbike named ‘Zemidjan’, in order to support themselves and their families too. ²³

Moreover, in this country, either young graduate people or not, they just think of joining Western countries that they consider as an Eldorado. Therefore some young people choose to migrate regularly as student in France, Germany, Belgium, Canada and USA. However, without qualification, those young people hardly try to enter illegally western countries or overstaying. There are also some groups that opt to reach the Asian emerging world such as China, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Emirate, Oman, Abu Dhabi or Lebanon to find domestic or factory jobs. However, it is not all the emigration to prosperous countries that turn to positive experiences. We can recall the disappointment of this Ghanaian nurse who left her country, her husband and five (5) kids to join Netherland in order to have better life for her and the family left back home. She had expressed great disappointment by remembering some atrocities:

“In the meantime I've met this pregnant woman and I do not know whether she will survive. She was very ill and I have tried what I could as a nurse. But I do not have the right equipment and medication. It broke my heart but I could not do anything more. I want to warn anyone who thinks that Europe is a paradise. There are so many rules and laws and nobody told me about this. It is extremely difficult to build an existence or obtain a job. I'm desperate and I cry all day long. I can still return to Ghana but I am afraid that my family and relatives will be greatly disappointed in me. That is why I stay here, but I do not know if I can live like this any longer.” ³⁵

5. Poverty of Aspiration and/or Difficulties of Getting Practical Knowledges

One of the most important issues in several African countries is the poverty of aspiration: where we see people while leaving in a severe poverty with no business ideas and no goals to achieve in order to alleviate the deprivation situation. “There are people who are poor because they don't have enough money to live. There are people who are poor in spirit, as the Bible puts it, because they are without hope” said Daley J, ⁸. This is an expression of the limitation of ambitions; Young people, especially in those developing countries do not see any future coming up to replace their families and individual current situation. “Education policy should focus on raising young people’s aspirations in them as a central goal. Instead, because aspirations are evidently higher than is commonly acknowledged, policy-makers should pay more attention to giving young people practical support to help them achieve their aims, including better school careers advice.” ³

Moreover, there must be a robust infrastructure which must help the young people and adults leaving in poverty to collaborate with others and have the necessary information that will help them build their future. Peoplenet, poverty healing information system is an approach of solution that is dedicated to deliver hope by no financial means but through proper knowledge sharing as we all know that various knowledge are sprayed all over the world wide web with less use to poverty issues tackling.

It is to understand that the poor must make tremendous efforts compared to the rich in order to achieve the same level of final wealth. This assumption is also due to some external constraints or several barriers which complement the individual efforts that prevent the poor to reach the above stage. This is not just because of the lack of initial wealth but is also encompassing: poor material circumstances like less influential contacts or fewer positive roles models, less access to relevant information and any other circumstances that do not help the poor to improve their lives condition. ⁹. The poverty of aspiration is constantly present within the younger generation of Togo. It is reflecting the above explained situation. However, people in Africa have their way of finding solutions to social issues in order to live. Mobile phone network and its various terminal businesses is one of the ways for some young people to improve their lives in Togo, especially at Deckon.

6. Mobile Phone and Its Importance in Africa

The mobile networking is hugely used by most of the companies and individuals in Africa, even the poor in remote and landlocked area where there is no road and any basic equipment. “Research shows that in typical rural district of Africa, up to 80% of households make regular use of mobile phones” Jenny C et al (2010). Moreover “the demand for mobile phone across Africa is huge and rapidly expanding. An overview of Evidence pointed out that less than 3% of the population access to telephone in 2001, but the number of mobile phone subscribers already grown to over 50 million, representing over 7% of the population.” ³⁶ The number of subscribers is currently expanding at around 35% a year and is forecasted to continue over the next year. Mobile phone users and its network subscribers have been evaluated to 367 million users in 2015 in Africa and the interest in smart phones and higher speed networks is highly increasing. Mobile phone connection is also expected to pass the 20% to 60% in 2020. This is due to the nowadays falling in the prices of smartphones and 400 million smartphone are expected to be used in this region of the world. ¹⁴

Therefore Mobile phone across Africa is highly and rapidly expanding. There is evidence that less than 3% of the population have access to telephone in 2001; however the number of mobile phone subscribers has already grown to more than 50 million, which represent over 7% of the population. Currently the expansion of the number of subscribers is around 35% a year and is forecasted to continue over the next year” ³³

7. Mobile Phones and Community Development in Africa

“Technology has the potential to lift people out of poverty. All signs point to the developing world skipping past the eras of landlines and desktop computers and going straight to mobile.” ¹² As mobile phone allow business in the information and virtual economies, including: the building of mobile applications and other activities like mobile phone credit sale and phone repair ⁵.

Mobiles phones are nowadays the tools to rebuild Africa and pull it from hunger and poverty issue.

- As an infrastructure service improving efficiency of market, promoting investment, reducing risk from disasters and contributing to empowerment

- As economic sector-mobile operator can make big profits and pay taxes

- As a development tool-case studies present innovative applications where mobile phones have increased the efficiency of service delivery to the poor (eg. Weather information, market prices) or opened opportunities for new services eg. Tracking of diseases

- As household expenditure that maintains social capitals and contribute to economic management” ³³.

8. DEKON Dealers Presentation

Most of the traders at DECKON square are most of time young between 24-35 and rarely adults of fourthy (40) years and over. Among the group of traders there are graduate young people who have not got job yet. “In the midst of high unemployment, establishing a business becomes a plausible alternative for the jobless” Gantka (1990) therefore, some people have gotten opportunities at Deckon to repair or sell phones and accessories of phones or contract manufacturing in order to get profits which will help them satisfy their basic needs.

This activity is truly interesting to unemployed young people. They enjoy it generally whenever they make profits and become rather sad when there are not a lot of customers around like any kind of business. One amazing thing is that these young people that do not know proper business strategies of sales are making apparently a lot of money even more than most of the civil servants who are monthly paid.

The investigations revealed that some mobile phone traders above all those who are in informal business are not doing any other activity apart from that. Those traders are the one who have not rented stores but are just working in cabins. Beside these people are some who rent stores. Generally, they do other works; it means that they have secondary occupations.

The owners of these stores employ youth or put in their family members (younger brothers, sisters or cousins) in the shops because the owners have another activity which allows them to satisfy more their needs. “Lee asserts that businesses in which family members remain involved in management outperform companies that have managers with no family ties to the business. Lee noted that the family companies he studied outperformed non-family businesses in terms of revenue and employment growth, even during the 2001 recession.” ⁴

Based on our researches the financial services offer many possibilities and opportunities to the young sellers of mobile phone by granting them loans. However, those loans are given under certain conditions which are not simple. The financial system in those places is under-developed however, and there are not a lot of financial instruments. Capital markets are in their infancy, no possibilities for shareholding and SMEs do not have access to long-term funding. Non-bank financial intermediaries, such as micro-credits institutions, are the alternative for providing loans to smallest SMEs but they lack the proper resources to follow-up customers when they expand. ²⁰.

9. The Products Supply System

“ICT hardware is a very important component of ICT infrastructure and a pre-requisite to any meaningful deployment of ICT services to the population.” (ist-africa, nd) Hardware are rare down the continent and are very expensive due to the fact that making them in Africa is difficult and when they are imported they are highly taxed.

The Deckon traders have various suppliers from countries including: Dubai, China or Nigeria. For their procurement whether they go to the intermediary stores in Lomé or they order directly from abroad without passing by the intermediary stores. Wholesalers, most of the times go to Dubai, Nigeria or China depending on their perceptions of the market and the various countries’ offers and the qualities of their offers. African merchants go usually to Asian countries to buy cheaper goods in order to supply Africa. They migrate from one place to another. When a place becomes difficult they join another as for example they move from Dubai to the best formal Chinese cheaper good infrastructure Ghuanzou, and move again nowadays to Yiwu which is becoming the evolving marketplace for Africa Merchants. (Bredeloup S, 2012) In terms of African destination, the new Chinese exportation market for cheaper goods is Lomé and Nairobi (Bredeloup S, 2012).

Once Deckon traders are with the providers, they decide to take three different qualities of each goods: good quality which are costly but lasts and with several functions which allows the user to take more profit in the use of the phone, medium quality with a price that is quite expensive but looks like those of the first quality and it is only the traders who will be able identify it. Sometimes it’s a source of swindles because someone would like to pay a lot of money for a premium quality phone but will be lied to by the seller who is going to show him the phones of second quality which gives confusion. And the last category is a low quality product given at a lower price too. However, it also has necessary functions but with a very short time of life because they could be quickly damaged. The customers buy according to their revenue. Therefore sellers take it into account before ordering medium or low price phones and the articles.

Concerning the repairers they often build some small wood based rooms and make their activities, they usually make deals with the sellers of phones and accessories of phones to repair or change the screen or micro of phone and others, they fix the price of sale and the repairer makes his price based on the price given to the customer.

During the operations the repairer asks the client to hold on or to come back after some hours to get their phone back. During that period he goes to buy the spoilt phone parts of the phones that have problems from people who are selling them for use throughout the Dekon Market. Traders do business between one another and when the customer is around he only takes back his phone repaired but sometimes there are false repairers who usually tell lies to people or also some repairers who intentionally don’t repair well so that the person comes back in a short time or deliberately remove certain elements from the phone to sell it to someone else or use it for another phone and sell it.

Usually when a client wants to repair something on his phone but he paid himself the elements that is broken down elsewhere before coming, the work costs more; this is because when the repairer will go to buy it from one of his colleagues he makes profits by getting commission and also in repairing.

10. The Methods of Sales at DEKON

Phones are sorted in big store windows, often in standing classification allowing the passengers to see from the outside the various phones and accessories and others. The traders who are in the stores offer a receipt and guarantee of three days to the purchasers after any sale which gives them confidence and assurance of their purchases; they even offer cards to the customers for him to come back whenever they need their services.

They are at the roadside and when there are passengers they are called to come to buy or to be shown goods with this formula “Look Master/brother it is not expensive” believing that customers will come to them instead of overstepping them and go to the stores for their purchases. Some others consider that most of the purchasers are guided by rationality; it means to make choices to use for least resources in order to get goods of good quality and then maximize their gains. After operating a sale they neither offer most of the times, any receipt nor guarantee to the customers. It is risky to the purchaser who can be victim of fraudulent sale or buy from less qualified traders who could sell low quality in the place of the premium.

They move sometimes with their products in restaurants for instance NOPEGALI, a very famous modern African food Restaurant just next to Dekon Market, in some offices and buildings including FIATA building situated at the eastern part of Dekon in order to look for customers. Surrounding this zone exist travel and transport agencies and hotels and restaurants; Sellers move around to meet their targeted audience.

As mobile phones bring “business opportunities in the information and virtual economies, such as the development of mobile application and ancillary activities such as mobile phone credit sale and phone repair” ⁵, at Dekon, repairers are often in small room or cabins; their position in the Market is a bit hidden as back offices. If someone wants to repair his phone he must look for them. When a customer comes to repair a phone he explains the problem to the repairer, then the repairer gives him a price and asks him to wait lest he satisfies the new customers. In Contrary, for the ancient customers he may ask them to go and come back later if he is busy. After the repairing the repairer asks the customers to talk to their friends and families who may like to fix their phones in the future.

However, the big issue is the lack of a proper knowledge and the training requested for the mobile phone repairing job. Most of the young people who do this job do not learn it at school or from a specialized training provider. There is need of training them properly to give them chance to become efficient as “the way a business gathers shares and exploits this knowledge can be central to its ability to develop successfully. This doesn't just apply to huge multinational companies. Knowledge management can benefit everyone from a local newsstand to a manufacturing firm.” ¹⁸. Hence a virtual infrastructure that could be updated continuously must be developed to teach Deckon repairers repairing techniques.

11. Relationship with the Government

There are two (2) kinds of mobile phone sellers at DEKON: the majority who are in informal activities and those who collaborate with the government (those who fulfill their obligations as traders).

Generally those who are in the informal sector occupy places they do not rent and are victims of tax collectors pursues, considering that they are not enrolled and they don’t pay their taxes that they owe to the government.

They often play hide and seek with tax collectors who pass at the end of the year or at the beginning of the year to collect taxes.

“Nine in 10 rural and urban workers have informal jobs in Africa and most employees are women and youth. The prominence of the informal sector in most African economies stems from the opportunities it offers to the most vulnerable populations such as the poorest, women and youth. Even though the informal sector is an opportunity for generating reasonable incomes for many people, most informal workers are without secure income, employments benefits and social protection. This explains why informality often overlaps with poverty. For instance, in countries where informality is decreasing, the number of working poor is also decreasing and vice versa.” ¹

According to the Deckon Informal sector traders, the government cheats them when they pay taxes. They argue that they work hard to get their money with no assistance from the government.

They consider that government does not give them any help while they are striving to survive by doing this activity. Therefore, they do not give any consideration to the taxes collection.

As for the minority who is in the formal business, they are registered at the Chamber of Commerce and pay their taxes annually because they know the importance of it; at least it is an obligation for them as traders.

12. Daily Issues of Traders

Economic problem of traders: lack of funds, difficult access to bank credits, lack of transparency in currency allocation.

The sellers or traders who are self-employed and even the regional wholesalers do very often lack of funds to buy big quantities of goods. Their capital is most of the time weak. These operators cannot afford long package of products. Then they sell as quickly as possible to clear their money and make it turn to disengage the margin which will make the family survive. This way of doing business weakens their power of dealing. There is regular complaint of traders concerning the inaccessibility of bank loans, requiring commercial banks. Those financial institutions usually require guarantees that traders cannot provide. Therefore, they only rely on microfinances which offer loans with higher interests. “Most African financial systems are fragmented. The “missing middle” in the pattern of size of firm is matched by one in the range of financing available. Lack of funding for SMEs has partly been made up by micro-credit institutions, whose growth is due to the flexible loans they offer to small businesses. In Angola, Novobanco provides loans free of bank charges, without a minimum deposit and with informal guarantees (property assets and a guarantor), as well as permanent contact with loan managers. Though adapted to local needs, however, micro-credit institutions remain fragile and modest-sized” ²⁰.

Hann M et. al ¹⁵ revealed that there is connection between socio-economic behaviors and some diseases even though lack of access to health care is the cause of illness in the poor communities. It is important to talk about the often overlooked aspects that are the Health issues faced by the young people who are most of the times exposed to drug additions, several diseases and HIV virus as the sector where DEKON market is established is surrounded by prostitution ghettos and drug dealers. Most of these young people do use drug and have unprotected sex during the day or after their activities. They do not have any health or social security system that will cover them. They also do not have any health education or HIV awareness project implemented in order to reduce the risk of contamination.

Traders waste much time in the local or national administration owing to the slowness of the agents in the treatment of the files. Whether it is a matter of importation or exportation authorization delivery or customs or transit formalities, the procedure of documents processing are too long.

“In Africa, bureaucrats attempt to increase their level of compensation by lobbying lawmakers and politicians and by engaging in other activities to influence the political system and maximize benefits accruing to them. Many civil servants also illegally increase their compensation by providing services to interest groups that seek favors from the government. Political coalitions seeking ways to subvert the existing rules to redistribute national income and wealth in their favor can achieve their objectives by bribing civil servants whose job is to enforce state regulations and implement national development plans. If bureaucrats discover they can earn more income from providing services to groups seeking state favors than from their regular (public) jobs, they may pay more attention to the demands of such interest groups than to the proper enforcement of state laws and regulations and the effective implementation of national development plans” ²⁴

The agents who are not well paid don’t mind to quickly assign their signatures and seals. In order to avoid these delays, the dealers need to share their profit with the administrative agent for the file to move. Traders complain too much about this delay in the customs offices and in any other government offices too.

13. Peoplenet Knowledge Platform as an Approach of Solution

If African young peoples in order to survive in this unemployment situation and feed themselves and sometime their whole families including: parents, wives, children… need to work or be self-employed, they are supposed to find opportunities which are not easy to get. DECKON market in Togo is a real opportunity for getting the daily food and also to start a lucrative activity that could be the beginning of an interesting business. However, there are some issues to overcome including: an adequate funding, the tax and all legal business establishments and acquiring knowledges. Peoplenet, a knowledge based on ICT infrastructure is an approach of solution which could help Deckon traders to gather information in order to develop more their business activities. Peoplenet is a poverty reducing tool that is able to build and share knowledges in order to virtually help reinforce capacities and fight against poverty. “PeopleNet is a community information service designed for building information distribution between people who want to help others and people who need that information.” ³¹

Peoplenet will be making available personal and collective information to all disadvantaged people taking in account their respective formal life in order to provide them with the necessary transformational information that they are looking for to unlock their talents and improve their living conditions, as revealed by the Chinese axiom: "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him once. Teach him how to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.” Therefore, Peoplenet will teach Deckon dealers in order to give them the necessary knowledge they will be looking for, for their business improvement and socio-economic development.

Peoplenet stands for practical information to the impoverished people

Several pieces of information are available on the web but are not directly applied to individual and collective poverty situations in order to practically solve social issues in the developing world. Even though nowadays the information which was just coming from the automatization of the real world by transposing newspapers, televisions… radio and informal words to live on the web is completed by a type of web revolutionary information, enhancing with more and more users participation through wikis, blogs, podcasting, Kolbitsch J et al ²¹, this usability aspect should necessary lead to transformational abilities and impacts the poor themselves; the young people who would be empowered throughout Peoplenet by proper advices and online practical tutorials on for example, how to properly repair mobile phones or find practical solutions to mobile phones various technical issues, deliver training in management and trading practices such us negotiating loan for small business, manage money, how to acquire and keep customers strategies, give counselling on paying taxes and prepare them to face any type of corruption they may encounter in order for them to perform better and become the real managers of their business. Those knowledges are important for the improvement of their activities and life conditions that would significantly change and progress. Mchombu K et al ²⁵ have argued that:

“Vital role of information and knowledge in human development has been hailed by many agencies in the world. The World Bank (1998) and PANOS (online), Asia Development Bank (2007) have all noted that all human development is based on the acquisition, dissemination and use of knowledge. Poverty eradication, therefore, would also be one area which would tremendously benefit from access to relevant and appropriate information (FAO, 2006).”

14. Final Comment

Poverty stigmas are widespread in most of the developing countries especially in Africa whereas their nowadays economics progress. Wealth is not well shared within the population. Therefore, inequalities are identified everywhere. One of the severe causes of poverty is the unemployment of the young people. Youngsters in Togo have tried to find a way through by developing the Deckon Market seen above. However, this initiative needs to be supported.

Therefore, Peoplenet, the ICT transformational infrastructure based on the design and the development of a web application platform will be a very useful development tool with a strong commitment not only from the world class expert partners, but also from a strong inclusion of the poor themselves in order to produce or transmit the dedicated poverty eradication various systematic and practical information including on entrepreneurship and small business development and trading and ICT mobile phones technics as far as the Deckon young people are concerned.

References