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. 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. In exchange, Cerco is to pay 3.5 percent of its income to the state and train around 1,200 young people each year. Thanks to a partnership with French telecommunications giant Orange, the phone will be distributed in 200 shops across Ivory Coast.

Source: Ethiopian News September 10, 2022 08:30 UTC