As the surge of mobile into prominence in developing countries begins to create its first harvests, innovation is sprouting in places too long trying to catch-up. The new mobile phone platform in Africa is an example, reported by Mobile Africa:

BusyLab, a software research & development business based in Accra Ghana, has spent the last two years developing a suite of tools that will target the agriculture sector across Africa with innovative ways to market goods and services. The service, known as ‘TradeNet’ allows users to sign-up for SMS alerts for whatever commodities and areas they are interested in. Users can request prices which are provided in real time on the network from many market enumerators that are active throughout 380 markets spread across the continent. Users can also indicate their areas of business and receive instant SMS alerts for offers to buy or sell as soon as anyone else on the network has submitted an offer via their mobile.