Dennis Kioko

A "wide" bump on a Kenyan road. These tend to be quite common as a way to slow cars for pedestrians to cross or at a junction. However, many unmarked and poorly visible bumps turn to hazards for motorists.  How long has it been since you heard the word “leap frog”? It’s a term that grew in popularity as it was used to describe the outcome of the arrival and spread of the mobile phone in Sub-Saharan Africa. For decades, “development” had appeared to stagnate in many of these countries, with slow-growing economies and little change in how people led their lives. In some instances, things appeared to have even gone into reverse gear. But then, while the developed world was freaking about something called the Millennium Bug in 2000, mobile networks were coming up across the continent. In the next decade, mobile phone usage would explode as many Africans were finally able to own phones for the first time ever. Previously, you had to lease a land line from a state-owned...