The Role of Mobile Telephony in Promoting Socio-Economic Activities in Rural Areas in Kenya: A Case Study of Trans Nzoia District

Abstract

Globally, mobile telephony is one type of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that has diffused exponentially, and in Kenya, it has spread not only in urban areas, but in rural areas as well. For a long time, rural areas have suffered from poverty due to the rural-urban digital divide and lack of access to timely information necessary for enhancing socio-economic activities. This study sought to explore the role of mobile telephony on the socio-economic lives of rural residents of Trans Nzoia district in Kenya, through an explorative and descriptive study that was guided by the Domestication Approach. It sought to establish the level of adoption of mobile telephony, and how its use had enhanced socio-economic lives in Trans Nzoia district. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected using 250 survey questionnaires distributed through stratified random sampling, and 3 focus group discussions constituted to accommodate respondents with literacy limitations. The study found that the adoption and use of the mobile phone in Trans Nzoia district had led to increased communication and enhanced socio-economic activities. Mobile telephony had been effective in narrowing down the information divide that previously existed, and its costs should be further reduced to enable more rural folk to adopt it into their daily activities, for socio-economic benefit.