Moves are underway in Sierra Leone to empower women by phone and a higher computer literacy

Admire Bio has the reassured presence of a successful businesswoman, with an edge that reveals she is still hungry for more. Bio, 28, a single mother living with her parents, set up her first internet cafe in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, only a year ago. She has expanded with two more branches, and plans to go national if she can secure a bank loan.

"My biggest motivation is a challenge \ men," she says, "[get women] to say. 'Yes, I can succeed without you" "

But things 't be easy. "They make people dependent," \ says trillion "For women only get loans with collateral from male relatives. My fiance gave his country. Worse still, it 's usual to be related to sex by Bank staff under pressure when it secure '\ ta man' isn \ s, when women apply for loans. I 'm angry women can' t be alone successfully. "

The swell of Internet users said in their organic coffee is excellent in one way. Access to the Internet and computer skills is an area of ??much needed growth and investment. Only about 0.3% of the population than Internet users (pdf) described as fiber-optic broadband will come only next year. Organic is offering women evening computer courses "them \ stronger".

Meanwhile, mobile phones are ubiquitous in urban areas have at least about 26% of people with a (pdf). In the absence of widespread Internet access, mobile phones have seen as a kind of panacea for development in Africa.

Kenya 's M-Pesa money transfer is in technology development gurus and experts alike as an example of how poverty can be bypassed and the accelerated development celebrated. However, "banking the unbanked" has been put into question by some, as a mobile, often offering money for already wealthy groups.

M-Pesa 's success inspired Sheka Forna returned to his homeland, Sierra Leone, starting at Splash. Since it launched in 2009, Splash has convinced some 100,000 people from leaving real money on virtual kind, as effectively with their SIM cards, bank accounts.

Airtel \ s city dwellers buy a cup of coffee or their wages' s Zap cash transfer service has changed the way Sierra Leone ". But Splash 's growth is slower than the company' s projections, says Forna." We 're a new brand and phone coverage is limited and expensive. Getting agents nationwide splash cash transaction has been hard, with poor literacy and limited mobile-savvy market. "

Facilitating micro-credit repayments by mobile phones was the original motivation for M-Pesa. In Sierra Leone, but the leap in technology with micro loans has been more of a stumble.

Hope Micro was one of the largest microfinance institutions in the country. But it suffered a 20% portfolio loss (about $ 300,000), if half of its customers by default in 2009. "Without a credit rating agency, rather than customers the equivalent of several credit cards It 'sa blow to women - they' re 85% of our customers, \.," Says SD canoe, the institution 's director.

Hope Micro began a six-month pilot project with Splash, the interest (currently 36%) to reduce, and add a competitive advantage. "It was not 't succeed," said Kanu. "Few of our clients are mobile-literate. Splash agents are small shopkeepers and their revenue wasn 't enough to be committed."

To build mobile reading, Splash and Hope Micro, a new pilot project have started: Dispersing \ loans, says canoe "are used to customers, the idea that their money is actually there \ get". In just one month, the pilot has already distributed $ 30,000.

The Sierra Leone-technology market is still in its infancy, says Trina DasGupta, director of mWomen program that seeks to promote female phone ownership with a view to improving access to services and increasing economic empowerment.

Part of the problem is a gap between the genders in telephone ownership, and in Sierra Leone, women are 43% less likely than men own a mobile. "This means that poor women are held in the Finance and Information Services dark times - referring to men who are the primary cell phone owners," she says.

This year, sent the U.S. State Department fact-finding mission of a women's technology experts and entrepreneurs to see how the technology to reduce poverty and close the gap between the sexes.

"It was not 'ta business women' s group to present the delegation," says Naasu Fofanah of UNIPSIL, the UN 's peace-building office. "That was a frightening gap. We know that effective development comes when women are targeted. The same must be true if the improving women 's ability to do business, for example, women' s to finance free access and improve their technological know-how. "

"It 'sa need a genuine culture of entrepreneurship to cultivate the women to grow. As a first step we want to put women on the business card \," she says.

UNIPSIL and local NGOs provide SL with women across the country together to establish a national business network. "If we do this kind of structure that we begin to bridge the gap between urban and rural businesses bridge, for example through technology transfer, networking and training," said Manja Kargbo by Afford-SL.

"\ Yes \, I 'll join a woman' s network" \, says Marvel trillion "I always tell women that they can be like me -. Power through savings and investment business with technology"